Indulekha Aravind
@Indulekha_A
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Independent journalist | Politics, livelihoods, gender, ecology | Ex @economictimes @bsindia | @CheveningFCDO & @ICFJ alum | |
Bengaluru, India
Joined June 2013
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🆕 🚨'FedEx' scams. Fake jobs in SE Asia. Thousands of Indians today are victims of both-which are linked.
Last week, I travelled to Vizag to meet the victim of a fake job, who managed to escape.
This is his story. But it's also a story of India today:
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The most telling part of
@jon_selvaraj
s truly excellent piece on how India's wrestling fed let Vinesh down, yet again:
"She wanted to compete in the still manageable 53kg category... Vinesh desperately asked for trials..The federation didn’t budge"
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In 2019, IAS officer SasikanthSenthil resigns, writing in his letter “it is unethical for me to continue as a civil servant in the govt when the fundamental building blocks of our diverse democracy are being compromised in an unprecedented manner."
Today, he won by 5 lakh+ votes
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If you're in Bangalore, you might have heard about Pizza 4P's, the Vietnamese chain that's just opened here. Everyone raves abt the food & justifiably-it's outstanding (best in town, country, best ever- take your pick) But I want to talk about their outstanding service (🧵)
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BR Shetty arrived in Abu Dhabi with the equivalent of $8 and went on to build an empire worth billions. Now all of that looks like it's coming crashing down, amid grave charges of fraud - and it all started with an innocuous tweet.
Our story:
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CEO of an MNC on minister Goyal's remarks: "If this is the response companies are going to get from the current dispensation, they will think twice before making or announcing investments here.”
@ratnabhushanET
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For 15 years, Christians in Belagavi were apparently holding prayers in rented halls without problems - after attacks by Hindu vigilantes, the police have now told the Christians not to conduct worship in these halls
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You know what this constant refrain of "no vaccine shortage" is reminding me of?
"There's no community transmission" from last year
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From report in today's
@the_hindu
-- why should an 80-yr-old have to weep and beg for a shot, after being unable to register on CoWin? What is this cruelty we are foisting on the weakest?
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Thrilled to have won the PoleStar Award for my
@EconomicTimes
article on the transformation
@RSPraveenSwaero
brought about in Telangana s residential schools for the marginalised - it was my privilege to tell that story :) 1/2
We are delighted to announce that the winner of the 23rd Annual PoleStar Awards Best Good News Feature is
@Indulekha_A
, for her article,‘How an IPS officer is changing the fortunes of students from marginalised communities in Telangana’, which appeared in The Economic Times.
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Pretty thoughtful of
@CMOKerala
to specifically mention that all school text books would be replaced, for free. 3.6 million textbooks are already ready
#KeralaFloodRelief
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In the last few yrs, Telangana's residential schools for the most marginalised are seeing remarkable results, with students acing exams to climbing Everest (!) This is the story of how an IPS officer,
@RSPraveenSwaero
led that incredible transformation :
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You see the dipping numbers, think that in some time this will finally be over. Then you stumble across the post of an acquaintance who lost a parent. Or a birthday reminder for someone no longer around. And you realise that for too many, it will never be "over".
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Ravi took her to a nearby park, where he tried to rape her. The woman started screaming, following which 2 men approached them, started beating up Ravi, who ran away. After Ravi fled, Guddu& Shamu raped the woman and called Brijkishore, Pitambar& Umesh who took turns to rape her
Man tries to rape woman in Noida park, strangers intervene, then they rape her
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The family of the murdered Dalit girl in
#Hathras
say they've had their phones confiscated and that the DM kicked a family member in the chest!
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"This latest round of travel bans is akin to punishing South Africa for its advanced genomic sequencing and the ability to detect new variants quicker"
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Manorama reports that the sale of antibiotics in Kerala has dipped by 1000 cr- attributed to state govt s policy and reduction in prescription by docs. Earlier this year, I'd travelled to Kerala to report on the novel initiative :
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This is 68-year-old Elsie, who struggles with asthma and had her house ruined by the floods. She wants to come to Kalpetta again tomorrow to see
#RahulGandhi
(she came to see the doctor today), but says she can't afford the auto fare
@INCKerala
@divyaspandana
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A pandemic, a health emergency, three years (and visas!) - but so thrilled to finally be in London at
@UniWestminster
as part of
#Chevening2023
! Looking forward to the next 2 months here with fellow journalists from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka & Bangladesh
#CheveningSAJP
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NZ's got a lot of attention for its
#COVID19
win but there's another country that's done a great job- Vietnam. With a long border with China & 96 mn popn, they had bigger risks, too. I spoke to a senior epidemiologist there to understand how they did it:
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It was a year ago that I got to write the incredible story of
@RSPraveenSwaero
and how he transformed Telegana s schools for the most marginalised, impacting lakhs of students & families, giving wings to their dreams. The most inspiring story I've done 👇🏾
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And that, as my friend said, is not customer service- it's customer delight. In these days when we're awash in stories of awful customer service, this was such a welcome change. Thank you, Pizza 4P's India. And you can bet we'll be back- after reserving a table of course :) FIN
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The
#Mammootty
movie I've watched the most number of times is not one I've seen in all the lists today -Manu Uncle! Used to rent the cassette every holiday at my grandparents, since they had a VCP, and watch it over & over & over (With
@vinayaravind
) Happy 70th,
#Mammukka
🎂
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"Believing in religion is one thing but humanity is a bigger thing altogether" said Alam
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There's no justification for a 500-people gathering, in the middle of a pandemic, when the rest of Kerala is under lockdown
Pinarayi Vijayan and cabinet to swear in on May 20, with a guest list of 500 people, including 140 MLAs and 20 MPs, at Central Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram.
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Not just tempos, SUVs and trucks, everyone's doing their bit - this auto sign says income from today's trips will go to flood relief fund
#KeralaFloodRelief
#KeralaFloods
.
@CarDroidusMax
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It took tremendous effort and courage for the nuns to come out in public against powerful, rape-accused bishop Franco Mulackal. This letter is to salute their spirit. If you wish to do the same, write a note & send it to solidarity2sisters
@gmail
.com
#withthenuns
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Striking a poignant note on the
#COVID19
fight, Kerala s health minister
@shailajateacher
says: "The situation is so dire that (Malayali) nurses in the US are calling and asking me if we could send them some gloves and masks." Here's the full interview:
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KK Shailaja
@shailajateacher
, who led Kerala's fight against the pandemic (which is still raging), dropped from new Pinarayi Vijayan cabinet
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"Realise, at least now, that your root is caste. Cut off that root so that we can stand together and fight. Until you do so, any talk of unity is merely an illusion" Powerful piece by
@beemji
on
#SmashBrahmanicalPatriarchy
Will
@jack
,
@vijaya
read?
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Important remarks from Azim Premji-that too at an RSS event on "positivity": The scale, spread and depth of the crisis brought on by the pandemic must be confronted truthfully,.. our actions must be based on good science
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So glad so many more people are watching
#greatindiankitchen
now that it's on Prime, and emerging similarly enraged... Watching it back in Jan, had thought it must be dubbed in as many Indian languages and made compulsory viewing !
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#AmitShah
might publicly say
@BJP4India
has nothing to do with illegal mining accused Janardhan Reddy, but in Ballari, it's very much a Reddy Redux - 2 of the 3 Reddy brothers are contesting on
#BJP
tickets
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Absolutely shameful that misinformation is being actively peddled about migrant workers being attacked in Tamil Nadu - do read
@zoo_bear
s excellent thread, busting the fake news
There were two deaths of Bihar migrant workers in Tamil Nadu.
Pawan Yadav from Jamui, Bihar on 19th Feb 2023 in Tiruppur District and Monu Das from Sikandra, Bihar on 25th Feb 2023 in Krishnagiri District. BUT were they killed by Locals as claims by National media?
Thread 👇
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"Backroom hero" of the illegal demolition of a centuries-old mosque. The evidence of conspiracy in Babri demolition, which the court said it could not find.
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Every single day, for the last 16 + months, a bunch of anonymous volunteers have been updating
@covid19indiaorg
-an incredible effort of selflessness in
#COVID19
. In an interview, they told me they're hopeful others may take up the baton after Oct 31 :1/n
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One of those days when the (Covid) news is so overwhelming you desperately want to switch off but can't because, job. And kudos to all the health, city reporters + editors out there covering this insane pandemic India... all over again!
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"I don't believe I've done anything wrong!" says Sister Lucy Kalapura, who's in the Kerala Catholic Church's black books for "sins" like backing the 6 nuns against
#BishopFranco
, learning to drive, publishing poetry and articulating her views on FB!
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New episode!
@RahulGandhi
s been making fiery speeches, (literally) doing push-ups- but how much will that help the Congress? What's exactly at stake for
@INCIndia
in the upcoming polls? I asked
@SupriyaShrinate
from INC &
@CLManojET
in 👇🏾
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🚨 My teammate, Prerna Katiyar, an intrepid journalist who took on the toughest assignment , a kind soul and the mother of 2 young kids, is today a battling a rare cancer. The biggest hope is a drug available ONLY in the US- pl help? Donate + RT +share
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This time last year, India breached 4 lakh+ Covid cases. A time of desperate pleas for oxygen, ICU beds, medicines. Many of us have since "moved on".But for those at the frontlines who bore witness to & fought the 2nd wave, the memories remain. My story:
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“Sometimes I feel like I have been public property. But from now on,
#IromSharmila
will decide her own fate"
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I wished my mother "Happy Easter" and she reminded me that feasting is only for those who've been fasting 😑
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Reading about police quickly nabbing someone who made derogatory comments online about Gen Rawat and wondering what's happening with the guy who chased a priest with an actual machete in Belgaum
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In the despicable, targeted hounding of Muslim women online, I hope the police move as quickly as they did to track down those allegedly defaming Gen Rawat. Because now we know they can - when they want to
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Companies & many staff too are eager to return to office- but without day care, pre-school and classes for younger kids reopening, parents are in a bind. And women employees may well have to pay the price. Companies must be empathetic - my story today:
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An Update: After 9 years at The Economic Times, I’ve decided to move on. Today is my last day in an eventful stint where I travelled, reported, interviewed all kinds of folks and, essentially, brought stories to life for the paper’s Sunday edition, ET Magazine, every week 1/6
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Just saw that a single day pass to India Art Fair, on in Delhi, is Rs 1,000 ! 😲
Can't help but contrast it with Kochi Biennale, which is spread over multiple venues and a pass is just Rs 150
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Absolutely. No one will be held accountable for this murder
The Mumbai hoarding collapse is a stark reminder of how little we value human life in India. You could be going about your day one moment, your entire future ahead of you, and dead seconds later for no fault of yours
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Random man: "Madam, ethu channelilaa?"
Me: "Njaan channelil alla, pathrathilla"
Man loses interest and walks away
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One is a struggling widow, the other headmistress of an Urdu primary school. It is hard to wrap your head around the fact that these 2 women are in jail, on the charges of sedition, for a school play!! I travelled to
#Bidar
to meet them & others involved
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Yet to wrap my head around how
@shailajateacher
, a health minister who's led the fight against an epidemic (Nipah), a pandemic AND just won her seat with a record margin could be dropped from Pinarayi Vijayan s new Cabinet!
KK Shailaja
@shailajateacher
, who led Kerala's fight against the pandemic (which is still raging), dropped from new Pinarayi Vijayan cabinet
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What will enable more women to go out to work in India? I started reporting this story because of the Budget proposals on setting up hostels & creches for women, recognising the need for safety, mobility + childcare 1/n (link in next tweet)
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Save this copy of ET Magazine 👇🏾! From next week, it returns to the broadsheet format.
We’ll be working just as hard to bring you a great Sunday read, as we’ve been doing. Working on the Magazine has been quite the ride –privileged to have been part of this AMAZING team! 🍻
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Being commented upon while walking anywhere in
#Kerala
is nothing new. But yesterday had the novel experience of being called "feminist" by a guy passing by (cause... I wore pants?)
@dhanyarajendran
@parvatweets
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A 21-year-old fighting to make our country a better place by speaking out against climate change has been thrown in jail by Delhi Police. What a travesty!
#DishaRavi
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Kudos to journalist Ri Kynti Marwein for exposing the Meghalaya governor s sexual harassment
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When a powerful man is accused of sexual harrasment, there will always be people who support him, including women. That doesn't mean the harassment never happened. We've seen this script play out so many times
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In the US, a movement is under way to cast out caste from campuses & provide protection-
@calstate
with close to half a million students being the latest. I spoke to people like Prem Pariyar and
@dalitdiva
to understand what's driving this huge shift:
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At multi-billion $
#Patanjali
, work is dubbed "Seva" so if you ask for raise, you're reminded you're replaceable
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Eight-hour shifts in PPE which means 8 hours without even a drink of water; anxiety & fear for & of family members; vicious slurs & physical assaults -- that's what our healthcare workers, on the
#Covid19
frontlines, have to endure. Their stories:
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I'm mad too but tagging/ retweeting / quote tweeting / replying to Vivek Agnihotri & using terms he popularised is just making him feel important - we should burst that bubble
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“Sheer stupidity” -that's how virologist Dr Shahid Jameel describes recent praise for anti-vaxxers in light of AstraZeneca s admission that
#Covishield
in v rares cases can cause blood clots. In a detailed interview, he explains why we shouldn't worry:
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That night's drinks (lime sodas), they said, were on the house because I had to wait for a table. I could use my drinks coupons the next time I came. WE WERE FLOORED.
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India s national human rights watchdog is conducting a debate on whether human rights are a "stumbling block" in combating Naxalism
Topic: "Are human rights a stumbling block in fighting evils like terrorism & naxalism".
@ANI
@PTI_News
@PIB_India
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His son painted the lovely peacock, the teddy bear is to conceal tears in uniform
#autotales
#nammabengaluru
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Since Covaxin was developed with govt bodies ICMR & NIV, IP rights should be with govt. Indian firms have the tech. Our laws allow the govt to direct cos to make Covaxin, no reason govt shouldn't, explain lawyers
@grumpeoldman
& Ansh Luthra
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The anti-Muslim, hate-fuelled drive in India continues:
-Muslim eatery owner in UP jailed for packing meat in newspaper that had pics of Hindu deities
-Staging of Jayant Kaikini's play stopped by Bajrang Dal cause it "featured Muslim characters"
Can't make this up.. 1/n
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"I have no clue why my name was dropped at the last moment. I am not disappointed that the party has not considered me for the seat; I am hurt because no one bothered to inform me"
@Tej_AnanthKumar
tells
@BalooET
in this interview
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It's not about the cost of the drinks but the gesture- I'd already had a complimentary sangria, remember. And the food was sooo good, we'd definitely come back anyway AND tell all our friends about it. Yet, they insisted
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Worrying news for India, as Kuwait's National Assembly approves draft expat quota bill, according to which Indians should not exceed 15% of the population -could mean 8 lakh Indians forced to leave. Kuwait also a top source of remittances for India
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@RSPraveenSwaero
Thank you! And to you, for bringing about the incredible transformation and inspiring thousands!
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Since "are we millennials" invariably comes up! "Anyone born between 1981 and 1996 (ages 23 to 38 in 2019) is considered a Millennial, and anyone born from 1997 onward is part of a new generation" according to the very authoritative
@pewresearch
(Issued in public interest!)
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Enjoyed working on this - a bunch of passionate folk & their initiatives to take science to various Indian languages: Tamil, Bengali, Kannada, Hindi & others. Do read:
@PrinSciAdvGoI
@IndSciComm
@kollegala
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"About 90% of my batchmates went abroad. But I felt I should use my education to give it back to society by the work I do" And then her country repays her by arresting her.
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Is it actually possible to reverse (Type 2) diabetes? Seeing a spate of ads claiming this, I took a closer look at startups offering these plans & spoke to doctors, nutritionists, clients and the cos for today's story in ET. Some of the marketing claims didn't add up 👇🏾
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Being stonewalled when you seek comment is generally annoying but this response to a request for comment I found entertaining :) : "As we all are extremely busy, your deadline does not apply to us."
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Very thrilled that the indomitable Cmmdr
@abhilashtomy
agreed to write about his incredible solo voyage in the Golden Globe Race & fortuitous rescue in
@Magazine_ET
today! Do read
@indiannavy
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Hilarious meme from
@kaul_vivek
s excellent newsletter that anyone on the desk (incl ex desk hands like me) will guffaw over!
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Mayi Gowda &
#Blossom
's journey from selling on the the footpath to opening a second 8000 sq ft used books store
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This, by
@newslaundry
, is a superb piece that will help you make sense of the Sushant - Rhea cacophony. This caption of one of those leading the charge might be my favourite line:
"For success in life...you need two things...Ignorance and confidence...❤️"
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Couldn't be prouder of the sibling 🥳🎉🎉
@vinayaravind
Amazing, amazing
#RedInk
Congratulations 𝗩𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘆 𝗔𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗱 on winning the
#RedInkAwards2022
for the category 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒 (𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁).
@vinayaravind
@FiftyTwoDotIn
Story:
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K'taka s
#Shakti
scheme enabling free bus travel for women has got both attention & riders - nearly a month in, 12 cr+ women used it. But what are the real benefits of these schemes? Will it improve female labour participation? What do women think?
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Who's making the Netflix series (and what should it be called)
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The death of
#StanSwamy
is unpardonable. You have blood on your hands - the blood of an 84-year-old activist who fought for the downtrodden.
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Though it was my fault for landing up without a booking, the staff were very apologetic for my (self-inflicted) predicament and very sweetly gave 3 drinks coupons to use next time. Now I was determined to return. This time, I booked FIVE days in advance. And got a table.
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After writing a 2,000-word story, the kind of reader comment that warms the cockles of your heart: "In stead to writing such long text, you could show few self-explanatory charts showing the facts - much smarter"
...
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Terrible to hear Union minister Menaka Gandhi say Kerala s forest officers are the worst - I hope there's an official response to this. The wildlife scientists and researchers I've spoken to for stories have said the exact opposite.
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I was on time but our table was not ready ( guests were lingering). I didn't mind as my friends were also late but staff were again very apologetic. And insisted on a drink on the house while I waited (they have juices, wines-I got a sangria). After 15 min, table was ready
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I'm used to people in the north assuming one knows Hindi and switching to it midway -today, maybe for the first time, the person I was interviewing (in NCR) paused after the first line and said "Please let me know if you don't understand Hindi". Pleasantly surprised..
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"We worked till 3-4 am and sleep for two hours, then got up again at 5:30 am" - Read Harikishore IAS s first-person account from ground zero at Pathanamthitta during the
#KeralaFloods
h/t .
@mir19in
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After
@javashree
told me it's opened, I went one Tuesday night - only to land up and find out it's closed on Tuesdays! Yes, excellent idea to give the staff a well-deserved break but I was too hungry (hangry?) to appreciate that then. Still, decided to return another night
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Excellent move for public in general but especially for hawkers, bbmp workers, street vendors, others who had no way to seek respite from the blazing heat in summer
Welcome move. Parks in Bengaluru will be kept open for longer hours from 5 am to 10 pm.
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Sharing a verified appeal for donations to the excellent Christian Medical College, Vellore, sent by a doctor who works there. Urgent needs: funds for oxygen cylinders, concentrators, patient care. I've made a small contribution, do help. Details 👇🏾
Link:
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