From the third of September onwards, the rising flood situation in Patna has become a cause for concern, especially for those who are homeless and live in makeshift shelters in what is usually low-lying areas of the city. Waters are rising , as the Ganges swells In Adalatganj, as well as in other areas, water from the Ganges has crept in, inundating the low-lying areas. One of our tailoring centres have also been affected. Families had to abandon their homes and are now hudd

St. Xavier’s College of Education, Patna, in collaboration with Aashray Abhiyan held a special three-day social awareness exercise for their first year students. As part of the three-day workshop, the students received valuable inputs on rights and ground reality, with special reference to unorganized and migrant workers, street vendors, and slum inhabitants of Patna. It concluded on July 11th, 2026. The students, who are on their way to a vocation as educators in the near f

Twenty two years of campaigning for “inclusive cities” – has helped us as an organization to get very near to the people in Patna who live in mostly subhuman conditions. With a new government in place and new bureaucrats, the entire process begins anew. To my utter surprise, I was quite taken aback when I went to meet the newly appointed Principal Secretary of the urban and housing department of the government of Bihar. He simply didn’t want to acknowledge the previous s

Field Report 1: Nature’s Wrath and the Struggle for Rights Date: 12/05/2026 | Location: Gardanibagh & Sipara, Patna | Reporter: Ranjit Kumar 1. Gardanibagh: Despair Under the Fallen Tree The urban poor in Gardanibagh (near Drain No. 21) have been hit by a double tragedy. A massive tree fell onto Lalti Devi’s hut, completely destroying her toilet. Simultaneously, a flying tarpaulin sheet dislodged a brick that struck Usha Devi, causing a severe head injury. The Voice of the Pe

International Labour Day is also celebrated as the Feast of Saint Joseph The Worker, and this day is of the utmost importance to the unorganised workers and their families whom we serve. The build-up and community awareness to May Day was going on in our settlements as well, where our women team members raised awareness with the focus women on the new labour codes and how they affect their lives and livelihood. Awareness meeting at Kajipur Slum on 30th April Team member Ranji

On March 18, the community members of Aashray Abhiyan, led by Sister Dorothy Fernandes, the Director, and supported by the full strength of the Aashray Abhiyan team held a candlelight march for Peace at the famous Kargil War Memorial. The unjust and unwarranted war unleashed upon Iran and on the rest of the world by the Presidents of the United States and Israel has brought untold misery and destruction. The fallout of this war has begun to affect the fuel supplies as well as

Pages from a Work Diary: On March 6, 2026, at Patna Junction, Aashray Abhiyan team members witnessed the street vendors running here and there in chaos and panic. The Municipal Corporation's encroachment removal team had arrived, and which two of the street vendors were caught, and their carts were seized and the contents confiscated. Dilip Patel and the other team members intervene, talked to the officials and got their carts released after paying a fine of 5000 rupee

Accompanying the urban poor in their struggle to survive with dignity is no cakewalk. Aashray Abhiyan has over the past decade, consistently engaged with the government of Bihar on the issue of alternative housing for the poor who are being evicted from lands that they have occupied for generations, under the existing housing policy for the urban poor. The Government of Bihar has time and again trumpeted that the slum dwellers would be accommodated under the Pradhan Mantri Aw

Aashray Abhiyan has always taken a stand in favour of the Human Rights, Dignity, and legal protection of our focus communities in Patna: the unorganized construction workers and daily wage earners. Join Aashray Abhiyan and likeminded friends at 3PM at Kargil Chowk in Gandhi Maidan on Thursday 12 February for a peaceful event in solidarity with the workers defending their rights and protections. Yes, there's a big nationwide strike (often called Bharat Bandh) planned for tomo

Awareness Drive in the Settlements Aashray Abhiyan organized an awareness drive in the urban settlements to ensure that our focus communities know about the available social security schemes, and how to access them, and to determine how many of these programs remain accessible and effective today. Challenges in Accessing Social Security Schemes Previously, most social security schemes were accessed through Urban Local Bodies and ward councilors. However, due to prevalent co

Today, 23 rd January, two shopkeepers at the Anta Ghat Hariyali Vegetable Market, Vijendra Kumar and Manish Kumar, got into a fight over placing their vegetables on a narrow strip alongside the road. The argument turned into a physical altercation. Both men brought their supporters to beat up one another. Aashray Abhiyan team member Sudarshan happened to be near the spot, and alerted the senior HR member, Dilip Patel. Vegetable market at Anta Ghat in the foreground are Sud

The Bihar government, following the formation of the new NDA administration after the November 2025 assembly elections, launched statewide anti-encroachment drives targeting illegal structures, including those occupied by street vendors. These operations, often involving bulldozers, aimed to clear public spaces such as roads, footpaths, and markets to improve traffic flow and comply with court directives. The drives began immediately post-election and intensified through Dec

It has been very cold for the past three days. Days of fog and no sunshine. Temperatures hover around 10 degrees, very cold indeed for the poor and homeless. Today, on December 19, 2025, during a conversation with labourer brothers at Munna Chowk, I learned that one labourer had died due to the cold. His name was Masood Alam, and he was from Bakhtiyarpur. So, I spoke with people living in the nearby village about helping the family obtain the unorganized death benefit, inclu

Amidst the ongoing, so-called 'encroachment drives' that are being unleashed on the poor slum dwellers and street vendors of Patna by the newly elected State Government, where the norms and 'due process' appear to be grossly ignored and flouted, Aashray Abhiyan, held a community outreach program for our focus populations. On the 10th of December, Wednesday, a program to mark Human Rights Day was held among the community at Stand Road in Patna. It was organised by Saraswati De

November 11: Today, an awareness meeting was organized in the slums of Shastri Nagar under the leadership of Saraswati Devi Ji. In this, Dharmendra Kumar, Dilip Patel, and Ranjit Kumar Ji served as trainers. Some 30 women participated in this meeting. The topics of the meeting were: (1) Poverty and why poverty? (2) Ways to rise above poverty? (3) Etc. While introducing the topic in the meeting, Dilip Patel Ji said that in the slum, the poor and landless families who have been

Saturday, November 8 was a new marker for the Aashray Abhiyan Journey. At the Loyola hall on St. Xavier's High School campus, our 'Seamstress' graduates came together to mark the beginning of the AA Talent Collective, comprised of willing women who have completed their skill-building courses, and who are willing to band together to start an enterprise of their own. To start the conversation, and encourage our young women, the Chief Guest of the day, Ms. Usha Jha, the chairper

The whopping 65 lakh people deleted from the electoral roll in Bihar has caused a great turmoil. It seems that this has been a...

Modern-day slavery poses an immense challenge to our society. As a highly lucrative industry dominated by powerful criminals, it pits...

The street vendors around the historic Gandhi Maidan and Kargil Chowk have been hunted as if they are terrorists. What shocked us is...

The oldest vegetable market in Patna, known as the “Haryali Market” is always under the scanner as the District Magistrate’s office, the...