A new study, carried out by an organization that has been working for the advancement of the building artisan, mainly masons, for nearly two decades, has found that only 5% respondents are aware of taking the three necessary precautions amidst Covid-19 crisis while on work on site and at home -- use masks, physical distancing, and washing hands.

Findings of a telephonic-survey by interviewing 3,121 households across 50 plus cities of the country from May 7 to May 17, 2020 by scholars of the Impact and Policy Research Institute (IMPRI), Delhi, have suggested that eight out of 10 casual daily wage labourers and six out of 10 salaried workers reported unemployed or loss employment during lockdown due to closure of business/construction activities and inability to visit their workplaces.

A report on the status of the Central Information Commission (CIC) and State Information Commissions (SICs) across India during the Covid-19 crisis, released by two civil rights organizations, Satark Nagrik Sangathan and Centre for Equity Studies, has said that of the 29 commissions set up under the Right to Information (RTI) Act , 21 have not held any hearings during during the lockdown period, currently in its fourth phase.

Sabarmati downstream of Ahmedabad before lockdown A new Gujarat government report, “Impact of Lockdown due to Covid-19 Pandemic on Surface Water Quality”, published by the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) has claimed that the health of several of Gujarat rivers, many of which fall into the list of the most-polluted rivers of India, has improved, thanks to “the enforcement of the national lockdown.”

A fresh survey of Ahmedabad’s low income households under the directions of Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) faculty Prof Ankur Sarin has revealed that, during the current lockdown, around 85% households reported not earning regular incomes anymore as against 76% households during an earlier survey. The survey was carried out between April 23 and May 2, while the previous round took place between March 24 and April 22.

A fresh round of telephonic survey carried out by a group of activists suggests that while 82% of respondents have ration card, and of these 96% said they do receive grain from the fair price shops, nearly half of them (54%) said they have not received two months’ ration in April despite clear government directions.

A civil society tracker, based on available information in newspapers, online news portals and social media, has said that there have been in all 310 deaths till April 30 unnatural non-covid deaths, mainly linked to the lockdown imposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24. Pointing out these reasons for these deaths include suicide, lathicharge and hunger amidst migration, the tracker has called the lockdown a major “humanitarian crisis.”