TECHNOLOGY AND LABOUR

Here are a selection of care packages to help you through the pandemic in your time of need. Please choose the box which is appropriate for you. *Terms and Conditions apply

Care Package I: The Bare Minimum
These ration kits/meals have been made by the government/ well wishers to fulfill the needs of migrant workers, daily wage workers, domestic workers and the urban poor. We would like to thank the upper caste and class publics whose benevolence has sponsored these meals and kits for the poor.

Ration Kit
5 kgs rice
3kg dal
I packet oil
Spices – One packet of turmeric and one packet of chilli powder
Assortment of old/ rotting vegetables

Ready Meal
Meal of Rice and Dal (same through the week)
Pickle (If available)

Terms and Conditions
1) This box will serve a family of 4 for 3 weeks. If it is less, please adjust.

2) The box is standardized. If you are a migrant worker and unfamiliar with local ingredients, please adjust.

3) This is designed for the poor and underprivileged by the government. It is the bare minimum, please adjust.

4) It is mandatory to provide all the following information to confirm your identity. Failure to provide any document will result in you not getting a box.
– Name
– Father’s Name
– Local Address
– Permanent Address  
– Father’s Address    
– Phone number
– Father’s Phone number
– Thumb impression
– Passport sized photograph  
– Aadhar card
– Pan card  
– Voter ID
– Passport
– Ration Card
– Driving license  
– Matriculation certificate
– Marriage certificate
– Caste Certificate
– Document stating religious affiliation
– Bank statement (last 3 years)
– Bank passbook
– Proof of citizenship dating back to 1970  

5) The Ration kits are provided by the government. Ready meals are prepared by upper class individuals looking down on your Basti from the surrounding high rise apartment complexes.

6) Kits and ready meals will be made available only one month into the lockdown. Till then, please adjust.

7) We will not be able to tell you the time or location in advance. Be alert to when and where we arrive. If you miss the delivery we will not be able to provide you with a box. Please adjust.

8) While we have collected your details we cannot guarantee 1 box per family. Boxes will be handed out on a first come first serve basis. Please adjust.

9) You will only get 1 box whether you are a single person or a family of 6. Please adjust.

10) Please collect your boxes in an organized manner. If you break the queue, you will be lathi charged. Collect the box with a grateful demeanour. Please adjust.

11) You will be required to stand for a photo holding the box with the respective MP, MLA, govt official or well wisher present. Smile and look grateful. Photos are mandatory. Please adjust.

12) You will be photographed cooking the food, eating the food,  and sharing the food with  friends and family. Smile and look grateful. These photos are mandatory.  Please adjust.

13) Only one ration box can be provided per lockdown. If you are in further need please contact private NGOs, well wishers, anyone else. The government has done its best. Please adjust.

Care Package II – Freshly Made Meals At Your Doorstep!
This package has been designed to take care of Middle Class and Upper Class/caste individuals and families currently in quarantine or recovering from Covid 19.

– Made to order by experienced home cooks and chefs.
– Boxes will be delivered to your doorstep at your convenience.
– No ID proof is required, just log in to Dunzo for delivery.
– Food is freshly prepared by chefs who have taken adequate health precautions in freshly sanitized kitchens.
– Boxes include a veg option, non veg option, Caste based option, Religion based option, Flavor of the day option, catch of the day option, gluten free option.
– In case you have any dietary options please let us know.

Terms & Conditions
1) Low cost, high quality meals at your convenience. Please be comfortable in this crisis and take care of yourself.

***

Government lockdowns had large cracks through which the working class fell through. To cover up the gaps created by the government apathy, civil society, NGOs and well wishers got involved in relief work. I was part of such measures. Such work was well intentioned and the need of the hour. However good will cannot cover up the imperfections to the system. Along ration delivery trips it became clear that relief work is built without a lack of sensitivity to those one is providing relief to. The packages are not built to their needs and means of handing them out is quite disrespectful not holding the dignity of the workers in mind. I remember standing with bags of rice and dal and oil (a full meal apparently) a mug in hand, 1000s of workers lining up for hours  with torn up bags to collect the most basic morsels of food. In other cases well wishers arrive with ready meals to provide to migrant workers waiting at the station. The well wishers turn indignant when a worker refuses. How can they? ” Throughout we collect information about them all, who are you, give me your ID, why do you need the bag? Who are we to ask the questions? The government provides ration kits with rotten vegetables. “This is what we can do. Please adjust. The word adjust was heard so many times to mitigate the struggle of an already exploited section of the study. The word in such scenarios becomes oppressive. Especially when one compares with the relief work carried out for upper class and caste groups. Yes there is a monetary transaction, but does that mean that one can provide sensitivity and care only to those who afford it. However the question is not just monetary. It is based on caste and class. The working population is dominated by that demographic. Sensitivity and care has never been afforded to them even when they are providing a paid service. Perception of such groups is to invisibilise them.This continues in the lockdown even when the ghost becomes slightly visible. One may see the outline but we do not see the person.