ROZGAR ADHIKAR YATRA IN RANCHI
(from the Yatra's communication team)
RANCHI, 17 JUNE 2004. The Rozgar Adhikar Yatra enjoyed a warm
reception in Ranchi yesterday after completing the first part of its
5,000 km journey. The Yatra was welcomed with garlands, songs, diyas,
music and folk dances including a very special performance by renowned
folk artist Mukun Nayak and his associates. The Yatra will stay in
Ranchi for three days for a national convention on employment
guarantee and the right to work, before starting its final journey
towards Delhi on 19 June.
Our last report was sent as the Yatra was about to leave Chhattisgarh
for Jharkhand. Just after that, the Yatra was brutally attacked by
police personnel in civilian clothes, armed with lathis and loaded
guns. A detailed first-hand account of the incident is available at
www.righttofoodindia.org. The facts speak for themselves.
The lathi charge in Balrampur did not deter the Yatra. On the
contrary, the incident triggered a wave of public support in the area
and the Yatra found it hard to keep up with ever-increasing requests
for new stopovers as it continued its journey through Jharkhand, Bihar
and West Bengal. Public meetings, street demonstrations, cultural
programmes, press conferences and other activities often started early
in the morning and continued until late at night.
In this area as elsewhere, the Yatra is going through districts
covered by the National Food For Work Programme (NFFWP). Testimonies
from NFFWP labourers have been heard at many public meetings, and the
Yatra has also made occasional stopovers at NFFWP worksites. A grim
picture is emerging from these testimonies and investigations. The
Programme guidelines are simply not being enforced: muster rolls are
nowhere to be seen, minimum wages are never paid, contractors are
routinely used to implement the work, and use of labour-displacing
machines is also quite common.
In Surguja, a team of researchers associated with the Yatra carried
out a public verification of muster rolls and found evidence of
blatant fraud: some labourers had worked for three days only but the
muster rolls showed that they had worked for sixty days. In Palamau,
the Yatra made an unannounced visit to a NFWWP worksite and found that
labourers had beend "displaced" by tractors ? photographs are
available. In Puruliya, labourers were found to be working for as
little as Rs 20 per day. A detailed affidavit was taken from a poor
woman who had worked for three days with her son and daughter and
earned as little as 13 kg of rice for these nine person-days of work.
The Yatra will be resuming its journey on 19 June, after the Ranchi
convention, and will be reaching Delhi on 2 July via Sonebhadra (21-22
June), Mirzapur (24 June), Allahabad (26 June), Rae Bareli (27 June),
Lucknow (28 June), Hardoi (29 June), Lakhimpur Kheri (30 June) and
Moradabad (1 July). A detailed itinerary, and district-wise contact
numbers, are available at www.righttofoodindia.org (in the "Rozgar
Adhikar Yatra" section). For further info please contact the Yatra's
support team in Delhi (09868800329 [Kamal] or 09891050213 [Neha]).
The Yatra can also be contacted directly at 09868888127 or 09350530150
(however the Yatra is often outside the coverage of mobile networks),
or by e-mail at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
So far, 120 individuals representing 35 organisations (listed below)
have travelled with the Yatra at various places, and more than 100
organisations have participated in various events on the way. It is
not too late for you and/or your organisation to join the Yatra, if
you are not part of it already. We hope to see you somewhere on the
way.
(List of organisations that have already travelled with the Yatra: All
India Agricultural Workers Union, All India Students Association, All
India Students Federation, Aman Samuday., Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti,
Communist Party of India, CPI-ML Liberation, Democratic Youth
Federation of India, Gram Swaraj Abhiyan, Human Rights Law Network,
Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan, Jan Chetna Manch, Jan Sangharsh
Morcha, Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, Janata Bijli Mazdoor Union, Khoj, Kruti,
Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, Nadi Ghati Morcha, Narmada Bachao
Andolan, National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights, National Conference
of Dalit Organisations, National Coordination Committee for
Unorganised Sector Workers, National Federation of Indian Women,
Nirmana, Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samity, People's Union for Civil
Liberties, Progressive Students Union, Right to Food Campaign,
Rupantar, Sevabrata, SNPF, Social Work Research Centre, Vagad Kisan
Mazdoor Sangathan, Vikas Sahyog Kendra.)
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