NPRD WelcomeS TN Govt's Ex gratia for Disabled

THE National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD), in a statement issued on June 16, has congratulated the disability movement in Tamil Nadu for forcing the Tamil Nadu state government to announce an ex gratia of Rs 1000.

Unlike the ex gratia announced by the union finance minister, which covers a mere 3.81 per cent of the disabled population, this ex gratia will be given to the all disabled persons who possess a disability certificate. This would benefit around 13,35,000 lakh disabled persons in Tamil Nadu.

Migrant workers stuck in a Quagmire

THE Supreme Court has finally passed the desired judgement, though too late, on the travel of migrant workers back to their homes. The SC has ordered that the centre and the state governments must ensure that within 15 days the migrant workers reach their destination. So far so good.

Lakhs Participate in June 16 Protest

Lakhs of people participated in the June 16 protest programme called by the Party demanding relief to the people who are badly hit by the Corona crisis and the resultant lockdown. These protests were held across the country observing the regulations and restrictions prevailing in each area, maintaining physical distancing, wearing protective masks etc.

Kisan, Worker Unions Gear Up for Big Struggles

A JOINT meeting of the central leadership of All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), All India Agricultural Workers’ Union (AIAWU) and Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) was held on June 9 to discuss the current acute distress and growing economic crisis in the country during the Covid-19 pandemic. The meeting concluded that instead of taking effective measures to contain the pandemic, the BJP government is aggressively trying to centralise entire governance through authoritarian measures and fascistic intent.

Cuba prepares to begin post-epidemic recovery

Cuba is preparing to enter the first stage of recovery, with a view toward maintaining control of the COVID-19 epidemic within the country, achieved as a result of “the work of all institutions and our people’s participation as an active element in the battle,” noted President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, presiding an extraordinary session of the Council of Ministers, June 10, led by Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz, where the plan of measures to be implemented in the three phases of the first stage of the country's recovery was presented.

Crushing Burden of Petrol-Diesel Price Hikes

THE petrol and diesel prices have been hiked daily for eleven successive days from June 7 to 17. By these hikes, the retail price of petrol has increased by Rs 6.02 per litre and diesel by Rs 6.40 per litre.

These daily hikes by the oil companies, at the behest of the government, have come at a time when the economy is contracting and demand is at an all-time low with unprecedented levels of unemployment and loss of incomes and livelihoods.

With Covid Surge, Amit Shah Starts Blame the Opposition Game

WITH more than 3.5 lakhs infected with Covid-19, India is already among the top four countries in the world affected by the pandemic. But that is not all. When we look at a pandemic, we need to look at not just the total infected, but the speed with which the infections are spreading. India now has the third highest number of daily deaths and new cases, again confirming the speed at which the Covid-19 pandemic is moving in the country. This is unlike other countries, where lockdowns flattened the curve, and then brought down the number of new infections.

CITU Supports Coal Workers’ Strike against Privatisation

THE Centre of Indian Trade Unions, in a statement issued on June 18, has welcomed the joint decision by all the federations and unions of workers to go for three days countrywide strike from July 2-4, 2020 in all coal mines and establishments in the country demanding scrapping of the government decision to allow commercial mining of coal by private sector including foreign entities, separating CMPDIL from Coal India Ltd and the move to privatise public sector coal mining companies in the process.

Assam Gas Blowout & Fire: Harbinger of Ecological Disaster in NE India

PSU Oil India Limited’s (OIL) natural gas Well No.5 in its Baghjan Oil Fields in Assam’s Tinsukhia district in Eastern Assam, less than a kilometre from the ecologically rich and fragile Dibru-Saikhova National Park and Biosphere Reserve with several other ecological hotspots in close proximity, suffered a blowout ie, an uncontrolled release of natural gas, on May 27, 2020, throwing up huge quantities of gas at high pressure into the air.

A Stock Market Boom amidst a Real Economy Crisis

SOMETHING very odd is happening in the United States. The coronavirus toll keeps rising with no end in sight. The economy has virtually collapsed with more than 40 million people filing for unemployment. Thousands are out on the streets protesting against the rampant racism that marks that society. Relations with China have reached a nadir. Altogether, as philosopher Cornel West put it, the US is showing every sign of being a “failed social experiment”. And yet there is a veritable boom in the US stock market.

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