Baba operates out of a modest office located in the labyrinthine lanes of Pune’s Bhavani Peth area and is at present busy with the nitty-gritty of a proposed nation-wide coalition of social organisations to pursue parliamentarians on the Unorganised Sector Workers Social Security Bill, which was introduced in the Rajya Sabha in September 2007. These include porters, headloaders, landless labourers, construction workers, domestic workers, brick kiln workers, quarry workers, cycle rickshaw pullers, waste-pickers, hawkers and vendors. There are a number of other welfare projects and development schemes run successfully under the aegis of the Hamal Panchayat Hamal Nagar, a housing scheme for hamals; Hamal Bhavan, a three-storied community centre which also houses a school and library for 350 children; and a credit facility with nationalised banks through the Hamal Panchayat and Mathadi Board to make loans accessible for hamals. However, what bothers me at this stage is that there have been almost no gains for domestic workers, deserted women, migrant workers, or construction workers,” Baba says. Read More