'MGNREGA was about a guaranteed right to work.' 'The new law does not guarantee employment at all.' 'It removes everything that made MGNREGA a legal guarantee.'
The second phase of the Systematic Integration of Rolls (SIR) in West Bengal is causing distress among elderly, disabled, and vulnerable voters, leading to political accusations ahead of the assembly polls.
With the cane crushing season set to commence on November 15, lakhs of cutters from various districts have already migrated to the sugarcane belts in western Maharashtra and many other states, according to the Maharashtra Sugarcane Cutters and Transport Association.
Janhvi Kapoor is having a golden moment at the Toronto International Film Festival, and she captures it perfectly by wearing a gown of the same colour.
When missiles fly in this region, they are never just aimed at military targets.
'Stalin's intention is plain and simple.' 'The DMK wants to convert what is an 'incumbency-centred' election for the party-led alliance into one more 'Modi/BJP election' after Stalin's successive success in 2019 and 2021, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
What we are watching is something different: A fog manufactured and maintained by the people who started the war, so that the question of why it was started never has to be answered, observes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the war in the Middle East.
With more than 21 lakh migrant workers returning to the state as per official data, the Nitish Kumar government faces an enormous challenge in providing jobs for them.
A large number of migrants were waiting for food and transport on MP-Maharashtra border for hours.
Dominic Xavier offers his take on the plight of the migrant workers.
'Ensure they board special trains to reach their native places'
Labour ministry guidelines say workers returning to cities must get housing, health insurance, facemasks. The Centre has also asked states to issue guidelines to employers to take care of the needs of migrant workers.
Nearly 900 tonnes of ash generated from the incineration of toxic waste linked to the Bhopal gas tragedy remains undispensed after the Madhya Pradesh High Court directed the state government to find an alternative disposal site.
'Even if I didn't have anything to do with it, I would be very, very proud that this is the film that is representing India.'
As various social media content of alleged attacks on migrant workers from Tamil Nadu have turned out to be fake, Chief Minister M K Stalin has alleged the "lies spread" regarding such assaults in the state was a fallout of his recent call for opposition unity to dislodge the ruling BJP at the Centre next year.
The Rajya Sabha currently has 19 government Bills pending, with the oldest dating back to 1992. These bills cover a range of issues including population control, rent control, seed quality, migrant workers, and tribal autonomy.
What worries state officials is that Bihar expects to receive more than 1 million migrant workers by the end of May.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the worst Covid-19 affected state of Maharashtra to be more vigilant and make concerted efforts in identifying and sending the migrant workers still stranded there to their native places. The top court, which directed all states and Union territories to transport all stranded workers by train, bus or other modes within 15 days, said there were "huge lapses" by the Maharashtra authorities in dealing with the issue and asked the government there to announce a suitable place for their registration.
Fearing another lockdown in the wake of a sudden spike in COVID-19 cases in Gujarat, migrant workers and their families have started leaving Surat and Ahmedabad, two of the state's most severely affected cities.
The apex court, which passed interim directions, said all migrant workers who are stranded at various places shall be provided food by concerned states and Union Territories (UTs) at places which shall be publicised and notified to them for the period they are waiting for their turn to board a train or a bus.
In a letter to chief secretaries of all states and union territories, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla also sought their cooperation in running more Shramik Special trains for the migrant workers.
'A work guarantee that can be switched off at will is no guarantee at all.'
There was no announcement from the government on guaranteeing a minimum basic income, which is the need of the hour. The announcements on portability of ration cards and affordable rental housing to workers are for the long and medium terms. Migrant workers need immediate relief.
These workers do not have jobs and the Railways should not charge train fare from them, Deshmukh said in a video message. The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday said the Railways has subsidised 85 per cent of ticket fare for special trains being run to transport migrant workers and the state governments have to pay the remaining 15 per cent.
A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, SK Kaul and MR Shah took note of the submissions of the Centre and state governments on steps taken so far to mitigate the miseries of the migrant workers stranded across the country during the Covid-19 lockdown.
"They are calling us dramabaaz. What happened yesterday by stopping migrants and interacting with them on the road and wasting their time? Aren't they dramabaaz?," she quipped.
Due to a sharp rise in Covid cases, Mumbai's civic body, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, on Thursday imposed a weekend lockdown in the city until further orders.
Police officials said over 5,000 people gathered at Anand Vihar including at ISBT as well as the railway station and the numbers were rising.
Hundreds of migrant workers from Delhi, Haryana and even Punjab reached Anand Vihar, Ghazipur and Ghaziabad's Lal Kuan area after taking arduous treks of many kilometers on foot to take buses to their respective native places
The Economic Offence Unit (EOU) of the Bihar Police has booked four persons in connection with the case, they said in a statement.
Hardworking people who toil from dawn to dusk and beyond speak about their everyday lives and what they want from the sarkar as Bihar prepares to vote.
According to a police release, Thirunindravur Police Station in Avadi has registered a case based on the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) IT wing member's complaint seeking action against the website CEO Rahul Rusan and editor Nupur Sharma.
'The US slump could hit our hosiery market hard since 40 per cent of our exports go there.' 'Job losses could be severe if the government doesn't step in fast.'
All along, we were told SIR was an essential exercise carried out as part of the Election Commission's regular duties. But now that the ideological mentor of the ruling party has declared that SIR is a means of detecting infiltrators, one understands the unseemly haste with which it is being carried out, notes Jyoti Punwani.
'Because of the size and complexity of the economy, we can address almost every job that is there, from agriculture farming to healthcare.'
Glimpses from India and around the world that will make you smile and cry.
The top court also directed authorities to consider withdrawing all cases against migrant workers for alleged violation of lockdown norms under the Disaster Management Act.
A glimpse of the film, via the trailer, indicates a sincerity of purpose and the shining of a light into those corners of India that remain dark amidst progress and prosperity, notes Deepa Gahlot.
For states like West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, where migration is high, the return of workers could be as much an opportunity as a liability. All states have launched portals to register migrant workers; additional fields like nature of employment and remuneration in the past 2-3 years are being added to help in skill mapping.
According to an official statement, in a letter to Goyal, Pawar said that the migrant workers, stranded in different parts of Maharashtra, may step out in big numbers to return to their states when the train services resume after the lockdown is lifted. This can lead to law and order problem (with workers coming out in big numbers), he added. To avoid this, the railway ministry should run special trains, he demanded.
