Reimagining Cities: Assuring the Right to Food for the Migrant Poor in Pune City

Abstract

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is seeking to end hunger,
achieve food security, improve nutrition and promote sustainable
agriculture. It guarantees every citizen with access to adequate food
throughout the year through sustainable food systems. Although India has
made considerable progress in tackling hunger and poor nutrition in the
past two decades, the Global Hunger Index indicates that India suffers
from a level of hunger that is ‘serious’. During lockdown, the poor food
security structure and its functioning have been observed. The urban
informal migrant labourers are the most vulnerable to hunger and
experienced acute food scarcity. By addressing food security and rights
interventions, our cities would be inclusive. The paper discusses the issue
of rights to food with regard to the urban informal sector, migrant labourers
and experiences during COVID-19 response work in Pune city