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  My latest article for Citizen Matters -- www.citizenmatters.in  A good gifting option, fabric diaries made by Araatrika Around five years ago, Suvarna Sane was looking for unique products to gift during a get-together. At one exhibition of women entrepreneurs, Sane came across upcycled products of reCharkha. “I was always an environmentally conscious buyer and the purses and totes from upcycled plastic appealed to me,” says Sane,  a government servant. “My friends and relatives also appreciated them.” Sane later learnt that Amita Deshpande and her team at reCharkha also accepted plastic bags as donation. “I went to her workshop, which was also their tailoring unit, with my plastic bags,” adds Sane. “I was impressed with their work and vision and now I am ensuring that my plastic waste goes to reCharkha. My daughters are also following this. I use a lot of reCharkha stuff: my lunch bag, sling purse, tote bag is all bought from reCharkha. If you compare their products, wi...

 I wrote this article for Citizen Matters -- www.citizenmatters.in The Liquid Medical Oxygen plant set up by Dr Bhausaheb Sardesai Talegaon Rural Hospital. Pic Courtesy: Dr Dhanaji Jadhav Just a few weeks back, Pune’s health authorities were battling a severe shortage of hospital beds for COVID patients. Now, they are faced with an acute shortage of medical oxygen and oxygen-equipped beds. “We require three times more oxygen supply during the pandemic than in the past,” says Prof Dr Dhanaji Jadhav of MIMER Medical College and Dr Bhausaheb Sardesai Talegaon Rural Hospital. “Besides COVID patients, other patients – pregnant women, cancer patients, those who suffered from heart attack, critical infants and those who have to undergo emergency operations – also need oxygen. What we are seeing now is a shortage of oxygen-equipped beds.” “The State Government has also asked smaller hospitals to administer COVID treatment, so there is an increased demand for oxygen from them as well,”...

 I wrote this article for Citizen Matters - www.citizenmatters.in Harish Ghaware (centre), who took to selling vegetables during the lockdown, has now got a job as driver. Ambika Shaligram Harish Ghaware, who drove private tourist cabs plying between Pune and Mumbai, ferried his last passenger on Gudi Padwa (Marathi New Year) in March. “Then came the lockdown and I could no longer drive the tourist cab.”  But Harish had to keep the kitchen fire burning and like many others, realised that at that point only essential goods would sell. “I took to buying vegetables from the villages on the outskirts of Pune and selling them in the city,” he says. “In the middle of the night, I would travel to Manjri, Loni, Narayangaon, Chakan in a tempo to buy vegetables and by 4 am I would be back in the city. I shared on WhatsApp with all my contacts that I had got into vegetable business and that we were doing home deliveries.” Harish got good response during April-June, delivering in neighbou...

This article was written in September 2020 for Citizen Matters - www..citizenmatters.in   “The bulk of our business is being conducted through WhatsApp as we can only allow a limited number of people in the store,” says Ankit Katariya, a wholesale saree dealer whose store, Katariya Tradelink, is located in Bhavani Peth, one of Pune’s COVID-19 hotspots. Currently, Pune has the highest number of positive cases and the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has put in place restrictions in the city’s old, congested neighbourhoods. These neighbourhoods — – Bhavani Peth, Budhwar Peth, Ganesh Peth, Raviwar Peth and Gurwar Peth – are also the hub of the city’s wholesale businesses. Each Peth is known for particular products. Bohari Aali in Raviwar Peth (It is named Bohari because most of the shops are run by Bohra Muslim families) is known for party supplies and decorative items. Around Dusshera and Diwali it’s packed with shoppers in search of flower decorations, sky lanterns, rangoli moulds e...

Haresh Mhatre painting a Shaadu maati Ganesh idol This article was written in August 2020 for Citizen Matters - www.citizenmatters.in Even the remover of all obstacles, Lord Ganesha, has not been able to come to the aid of the makers of his idols this year. As Ganesh Chaturthi approaches, traditional Ganesha idol makers like Sanket Kumbhar, Dheeresh Naik, Haresh Mhatre, can only hope that the Lord will make the coming weeks less harsh. Looks unlikely though, especially as the government has restricted all public gatherings and festivities that the city’s various Ganesh mandals, their main customers, would normally organise. The numbers tell the story. “In the years gone by, all my family members would come together and make about 3,000-3500 idols,” said Sanket Kumbhar, who has his workshop in Navi Peth, near Poona Hospital. “This year we could make only about 1000 idols.” Sanket speaks of how this year has been difficult, right from the beginning, from March-April, which is when they u...