The Lockdown Crisis in Jhargram

Jhargram has remained a green zone so far with only one reported death. However, the lockdown has affected the economies of the villages here immensely.

Since the restrictions began, shops and small businesses have suffered huge losses, labourers have had no income, farmers found themselves unable to sell and transport their produce. In response to the looming uncertainty, they scaled down operations, rendering many farm labourers jobless.

The relief that is supposed to be distributed through ration shops are often in short supply. At the time of writing this post, there have been no supplies at some of the local ration shops for over two weeks. Even when there are provisions, a pecking order based on local politics and caste is followed for the distribution.

This means that the poorest people in Jhargram have no work, no access to aid from the government, and many have already cut down to one meal a day.

The youth of Jhargram have not given up. Each village we go to we find bright young minds taking initiative to take care of their fellow human beings. They understand that the struggle for the future survival of their communities will be a long one.

Three weeks back we put out an appeal and solidarity poured in from across the country and the world. With that support we were able to distribute food and provisions to over a 100 families each in the six villages of Koima, Shalboni, Jitushol, Ghritokham, Bagmudi and Painabhanga.

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We have reached out to a 100 families each in six villages so far, yet there are many others that need relief. We can only keep doing the good work as long as you keep supporting us, so consider making a contribution. At a time like this no amount is too little or too much.

Feel free to message anytime for any questions or suggestions you might have.

Send your contributions to:

Gpay:
abhijay.gpt@okaxis

You can also transfer the amount to:

Account Name: Abhijay Gupta
Account No.: 20670110065914
Bank & Branch: UCO BANK – JHARGRAM
IFSC Code: UCBA0002067

For international contributions:
TransferWise definitely works!
https://transferwise.com/

Solidarity, not charity!

#mutualaid #globalmayday2020 #1world1struggle