Dr Lubna Sarwath needs your support. She is challenging the incumbent in the 72nd ward, Hyderabad for the post of corporator, representing the ideals of the Socialist Party (India). Any contribution is important and welcome – monetary donations, taking time to campaign for her or publicising her cause in your social network.
Please send your monetary contributions to the following account:
Name: Dr LUBNA SARWATH
Bank: State Bank of India, Mehdipatnam Branch
Account number: 39818401892
IFSC Code: SBIN0020775
This year the fight is crucial, as it comes in the wake of a brutal pandemic, and on the heels of five years of local government neglect. As Lubna explains, no ward committee meetings have been held for the past 5 years – upturning the entire notion of the decentralisation of power through Urban Local Bodies (ULB) as mandated by the 74th Constitutional amendment.
The success of this fight is important for several reasons – not least because it is an opportunity for progressive challengers such as Lubna to spearhead change by finally bringing to the forefront the real issues of the people, and addressing them through concrete legislative and budgetary change.
Ward 72 is a microcosm of Telangana and indeed India. Lubna should know. She is the founder of a local grassroots organisation determined to make the Right to Education and adult literacy a reality for even the most marginalized residents of the ward. She continuously interacts with authorities to keep students in school and engaged – and this initiative has spread by word of mouth.
The challenges she has faced in her activism are multifarious. The stark inequalities and power imbalances found among the residents of the ward make change difficult. Upper and middle class owned swanky apartments adjoin sprawling slums with little or no sanitation facilities.
The state has completely abdicated its responsibility towards the needs of poorer residents – for example, when public works projects adjoining low-income residences are started, no public notice is ever given and residents are inconvenienced and ignored.
Lubna says that advertised government schemes are also of no help to ward residents. For example, a Rs 1 lakh grant to female girls at the age of 18 seems directed at allowing the payment of their dowry rather than positively effecting social change by helping young women achieve their educational and financial goals. A recent flood-relief financial hand-out from the government was hijacked and corrupted to buy residents’ votes with a fraction of the money actually given, while the rest was siphoned off.
Dr Lubna’s priority is to empower the citizens of these localities. As she points out, with the ULB’s failure to implement grounds-up decision making, budgetary allocations are done in an opaque manner, encouraging nepotism and allowing contractors to enrich themselves. As a result, residents lack even basic facilities, from access to clean water and reliable healthcare to public hygiene including a working drainage system. Lubna is determined to put the voices of the marginalised at the center of her plan for the future of the community.
Why should you support Lubna’s campaign? Her commitment to bringing real change and ensuring complete transparency in her work makes her a unique and highly promising candidate. Her resolve to make a difference comes not just from the fact that she is herself a resident of the ward but also because she already has plenty of dirt under her fingernails. She brings a kind of hands-on knowledge of the issues of the ward that other candidates simply do not have. She also brings an evidence-based, transformative plan – which draws on real social, economic and demographic data rather than merely being a PR exercise.
If she wins, the vision she has to uplift the poorer sections of the ward will impact all residents positively. The standard of living and quality of public services will go up, as will collective safety and well-being.
Support her campaign today.
Please send your monetary contributions to the following account:
Name: Dr LUBNA SARWATH
Bank: State Bank of India, Mehdipatnam Branch
Account number: 39818401892
IFSC Code: SBIN0020775
For more information on Dr Lubna Sarwath please watch the following videos:
Dr Lubna Sarwath shares her message and vision for 72-Asifnagar Hyderabad GHMC 2020 elections
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYPIuAIvgPE
People’s issues are starkly absent from BJP’s agenda in Asif Nagar Hyderabad, says Dr Lubna Sarwath
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jz4Mxi3SWhM&t=6s
Right to food for every person in Asif Nagar Hyderabad, food security is vital,says Dr Lubna Sarwath
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc5K8jqCxZ8
Dr Lubna Sarwath calls for rebuilding a just Asif Nagar Hyderabad after COVID-19 Pandemic onslaught
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=473cJ7PaMVI
हर जन का है जल अधिकार: सुने डॉ लुबना सर्वथ को | Dr Lubna Sarwath calls for Right To Water for All
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqT3O7-feXU
Dr Lubna Sarwath demands stronger people’s participation in local governance in Asif Nagar Hyderabad
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwkHsqjKEaU
