Climate experts seek 'right to cool', heat protection for informal sector workers during summer
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New Delhi (PTI): Climate experts have proposed urgent measures, including paid heat leave, free water ATMs at labour hubs and legal recognition for the 'right to cool', to protect India's informal workforce during the extreme summer months.
More than 80 per cent of Delhi's workers, including street vendors, construction labourers and ragpickers, face severe health risks and income loss due to extreme heat. The women among them are disproportionately affected, the experts said.
Amruta, a campaigner at Greenpeace India, highlighted that heat waves were no longer just weather events but disasters for those without shelter, water or rest spaces.
A Greenpeace India report last year found that 61 per cent of street vendors lost more than 40 per cent of their daily income during extreme heat while 75 per cent lacked access to cooling infrastructure near workplaces.
Hisham Mundol, chief advisor at Environmental Defense Fund - India, said informal workers bore the brunt of heat waves and rising cases of dehydration, heatstroke and chronic illnesses such as kidney damage underscored the urgent need for intervention.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted above-normal maximum temperatures for large parts of northwest, central, and eastern India between April and June.
In its seasonal outlook, the IMD warned that the number of heatwave days this summer might be significantly higher than usual, especially over Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and western Madhya Pradesh.
Delhi had recorded seven heatwave days in April 2024 alone, compared to a normal average of two to three.
With 82 per cent of working women in India engaged in informal labour, gender-responsive urban planning is critical.
Amruta of Greenpeace India said women faced compounding risks -- lack of shaded vending zones, unsafe toilets and caregiving burdens.
"Gender-responsive urban planning could include measures such as (free) public toilets with water and hygiene facilities that are accessible and safe rest zones near transport hubs and marketplaces. A feminist approach to urban planning recognises the importance of end-to-end connectivity in public transport -- ensuring not just access to buses and metros but safe, affordable and dignified commutes from home to the workplace and back," she told PTI.
Mundol said urban planning needed to be improved universally but it was also true that the circumstances of women impacted them uniquely.
"Better facilities for all such as shelters, drinking water and other public facilities are needed and sensitive thought has to be applied to make sure they are equally accessible and welcoming for women," he said.
Pradeep Shah, co-founder of the social project initiative Grow-Trees.com, emphasised planning with gender-disaggregated data could create shaded, child-friendly workspaces, enhancing safety and resilience.
While the India Cooling Action Plan (2019) acknowledged cooling as a developmental need, the experts said it fell short in ensuring equitable access.
"Cooling disparities must be addressed as a basic right. A 'right to cool' under Article 21 would mandate shaded bus stops, cooling shelters, and thermal comfort for all," Amruta said.
Mundol laid stress on the need for city-level heat action plans with enforceable measures -- non-negotiable paid time off, water stations and cooling shelters on red-alert days.
The experts proposed several immediate solutions to mitigate the impact of extreme heat on vulnerable populations.
These include installing shaded canopies made of heat-reflective materials in high-traffic areas, setting up free water ATMs near labour hubs to ensure hydration, and deploying mobile cooling stations equipped with fans and basic first-aid facilities.
Additionally, Amruta recommended keeping public parks accessible 24x7 to serve as natural cooling zones for those without shelter.
She called for heat waves to be officially declared a national disaster that would unlock emergency funds and compensation mechanisms for affected workers.
"Legal frameworks must integrate climate justice to ensure informal workers aren't left behind," she said.
Echoing her sentiment, Mundol said, "Climate justice means supporting those least responsible yet most impacted by rising temperatures."
Integrating climate justice into urban planning is going to be a key determinant for making the city an attractive place to live and invest in, he said.
"Green zones, shade, water and health services are needed and they need to be particularly organised where there are concentrations of informal workers," he added.
The experts also stressed on the need for hyperlocal climate-risk mapping and participatory planning to tailor solutions to community needs.
"Green spaces, shade, and water access aren't luxuries -- they're necessities," Shah of Grow-Trees.com said.
Amruta added that ward-level climate plans, developed with direct community input, could foster more inclusive and resilient urban environments.
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People must do politics; elected representatives must work, says Actor Prakash Raj
Kalaburagi: Actor and activist Prakash Raj has said that in a democracy, politics must be done by the people, while elected representatives are meant to work and serve after winning elections.
Speaking at the launch of Vartha Bharati's Kalyana Karnataka edition in Kalaburagi on Saturday, Prakash Raj said that once representatives are elected, their only responsibility is service. “This is our tax, our country. Service is the only job of people’s representatives. They come to seek votes every five years; the people do not,” he said.
Releasing the newspaper’s special issue at the event, he asserted that the distinction between people and politicians must never be reversed. “This is our country. Citizens must continuously engage in politics, and politicians must continuously work. Never change this order. Politics belongs to the people,” he said.
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Quoting writer P. Lankesh, Prakash Raj said newspapers, media, artists, and citizens must act as a permanent opposition. “They must be the voice of the people without seeking the patronage of the ruling party. Only then can they work fearlessly,” he said. He stressed the need to clearly tell today’s society who must engage in politics.
Referring to regional imbalance, he said Karnataka has become Bengaluru-centric and confined largely to southern Karnataka. With Vartha Bharati entering the Kalyana Karnataka region, he said the newspaper must contribute to the region’s development by consistently reporting its issues with a strong voice.
Prakash Raj also spoke about the role of independent media, saying that anyone can be swept away in a flood, including dead fish, but to swim against the current requires life. “Independent media have that life. Ravish Kumar, The Wire, and Vartha Bharati have the courage to swim against the flood,” he said.
He warned that fear strengthens authoritarianism. “If we are not afraid, they will be afraid,” he said, alleging that institutions such as the police, Election Commission, courts, and media are being pressured, silenced, and manipulated for political benefit. Expressing concern over the denial of bail to Umar Khalid, he said there is a visible lack of conscience in institutions meant to deliver justice to the people.
Recalling the early years after Independence, Prakash Raj said there was once fear of the police but also faith in the judiciary. “There was confidence that injustice would be addressed in court. Today, that faith no longer exists,” he said. He alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party are responsible for the present situation.
Using a metaphor, he said India is like a pond disturbed by a demon within it. “A lotus blooms on the surface, that is the BJP. We are fighting the lotus, but the real fight should be against the RSS, the root power beneath,” he said.
Drawing parallels with past global authoritarian regimes, he said leaders like Hitler and Mussolini headed political parties and could be defeated electorally. “The RSS is not a political party. Defeating the BJP alone is not enough. The roots must be uprooted,” he said, adding that despite changes in appearance, the ideological growth remains unchanged.
Prakash Raj also raised concerns over Hindi imposition, delimitation, and what he described as political oppression of southern states such as Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh in the name of elections. He said people must recognise who is responsible for this oppression and understand the role of newspapers like Vartha Bharati in identifying and exposing it.
The event also marked the formal launch of Vartha Bharati's Kalyana Karnataka edition in Kalaburagi.
