At least 31 killed in floods in India’s Tamil Nadu
Chennai, IndiaReuters At least 31 people were killed in floods and heavy rain in India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu this week, a top federal minister said on Friday, as rescuers struggled to reach scores still stranded in high waters. Heavy rains have paralysed several districts of the state, inundating entire neighbourhoods, roads and railway […]
Over 700 people tested for Nipah virus after two deaths in India
New Delhi, India Reuters The southern Indian state of Kerala shut some schools, offices and public transport on Wednesday in a race to stop the spread of the rare and deadly Nipah virus, which has killed two people. Two adults and a child were still infected in hospital, and more than 700 people were being […]
Protecting livelihoods: Indian fishermen use smartphones to map a vanishing way of life
Fishermen in Tamil Nadu are using apps to map their ancestral lands and protect old ways from new development. VISHI DOSHI and LAASYA SHEKHAR, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, report…
Sitting pretty? Indian shop workers win the right to a chair
Chennai, IndiaThomson Reuters Foundation On her feet at work for 10 hours each day,Indian shop assistant S Lakshmi lumbers home at the end of her shift to nurse her aching legs and swollen ankles. But relief may be in sight. Tamil Nadu became last month the second Indian state to enshrine the “right to sit” for retail […]
Declaring war on bonded labour, Indian state launches anniversary crackdown
Chennai, IndiaThomson Reuters Foundation Promising to eradicate bonded labour for good, the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu said on Tuesday it would ensure strict enforcement to root out a form of slavery that persists despite being banned 45 years ago. India has about eight million modern slaves, according to Australia-based Walk Free’s Global Slavery […]
Rescue of 35 child workers triggers probe in India’s garment factory hub
Chennai, IndiaThomson Reuters Foundation Efforts to tackle child labour in garment factories in southern India are being ramped up after the rescue of 35 children from a spinning mill, officials said on Thursday, amid concerns of an increase in trafficking as coronavirus restrictions are eased. In one of the first cases of child labour reported […]
‘India’s George Floyds’ spur calls for end to police brutality
Chennai, IndiaThomson Reuters Foundation The rare arrest of six police officers on murder charges over the death of two men in custody has emboldened victims to speak up against targeted police brutality in India, and demand an end to impunity. Shopkeeper J Jayaraj, 59, and his son Bennicks Immanuel, 31, were beaten so badly for […]
Indians pitch in to feed the hungry in coronavirus lockdown
Mumbai/Chennai, IndiaThomson Reuters Foundation Indian businessman Shishpal Singh was still stirring vegetables and rice at his Mumbai apartment block when migrant workers laid off in the coronavirus lockdown began queueing nearby, desperate for a hot meal. The men had travelled to the western city from the southern state of Tamil Nadu to lay gas pipelines […]
Coronavirus threatens Indian garment workers stranded in factory housing
Chennai, IndiaThomson Reuters Foundation The coronavirus pandemic has left tens of thousands of Indian garment workers stranded in cramped accommodation on factory premises where social distancing is difficult to put into practice, labour rights campaigners said on Monday. A three-week nationwide lockdown has left an estimated 300,000 workers in India’s multi-billion dollar garment stuck in […]
Australia to return historic Indian artefacts amid investigation
Melbourne, AustraliaReuters Australia will return three culturally significant artefacts to India when Prime Minister Scott Morrison visits the country early next year, the Australian Government said on Wednesday. The artefacts were bought in good faith by the National Gallery of Australia from a New York-based art dealer who is currently under investigation, the Prime Minister’s […]