Rural Maharashtra

In Kolhapur's Shirol taluka, a power loom worker ensures those in need gain hassle-free access to public healthcare

Arun Manjare makes navigating the labyrinthine rural public healthcare system easier for many in Shirol taluka

For MPSC aspirants in rural Maharashtra, lockdown curtails access to vital library services, educational resources

Students in Maharashtra's villages often travel several kms to the nearest library to prepare for the MPSC exams, or move to big cities and towns to work part-time even as they study. With the lockdown, most are now stuck at home, where the seven-hour study routine has whittled down to two, and books and other material are scant.

Over 2 lakh farmers in Maharashtra sit on piles of unsold cotton due to COVID-19 lockdown; stock worth Rs 5,500 crore yet to be procured

The farmers stuck in this quagmire, due to the COVID-19 lockdown, are mostly from Vidarbha, a huge cotton belt, and from districts like Parbhani, Aurangabad and Jalna in Marathwada. Being a labour intensive cash crop with an investment of Rs 25,000 per acre, the delay in procurement makes cotton farmers even more vulnerable.

Coronavirus Outbreak: Rural Maharashtra's ASHA workers toil despite lack of safety measures, limited pay

Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers, the foot soldiers of rural healthcare in India, earn about Rs 3000 per month. Tasked with surveying households and spreading awareness about the coronavirus pandemic, these workers find themselves exposed to risk due to a lack of adequate masks and no sanitisers

Despite Maharashtra lockdown, labourers rushing to leave Mumbai, Pune in jampacked buses face coronavirus threat

There are a total of about 250 buses – government and private – coming in to Maharashtra's Latur everyday from Mumbai and Pune. A government bus has a capacity of seating 60, while private buses can accommodate up to 150 passengers. Even if one goes by the conservative estimate of 60 people per bus, it means 15,000 people per day are travelling in a jam packed vehicle.

Maharashtra Assembly election: Marathwada, Vidarbha battle farm crisis, but most willing to give Fadnavis-led govt second chance

In Maharashtra, the BJP-Shiv Sena combine appears to have succeeded, to a large extent, in getting its message across to the people in Latur, one of the few remaining Congress strongholds in the state.

Beed: High hysterectomy rate among sugarcane cutters signals unethical medical practices, poor work conditions

Contractors who get these workers to cut cane, often urged the women to go in for the surgery so that they stop menstruating and it makes their lives easier, and they can work uninterrupted, among other reasons. Many of the women regretted having their uterus removed but felt they had little choice.

In Maharashtra's Kalambi village, a charpoy weaver strives to save his art form amidst caste discrimination

Khavle has rare skills of weaving handmade charpoys. This art form saw a downfall and eventually reached the verge of extinction in Maharashtra’s Sangli district a decade ago.

In Maharashtra's Golavali village, a farmer-artist is inspiring her community to turn scrap into art

Sharmila Kinjalkar is a farmer, agricultural labourer and a self-taught craftswoman in rural Maharashtra who is turning items of trash into things like lanterns, garlands and dormats

Vidarbha's cotton farmers dread repeat of last monsoon's pink bollworm attack which destroyed 80% of their crop

With the onset of a steady monsoon, farmers of water-starved Vidarbha in north-eastern Maharashtra are getting ready to sow cotton.