On a pavement in the Indian capital, Abida lost two children and watches over her other three night and day.
![Soni, 2, rests in her mother Abida’s arms as fever keeps her weak and restless.Abida, originally from Assam, has lived on Delhi’s streets since childhood.Two of her children were killed last year when a speeding car ran over them while the family was asleep near the Hazrat Nizamuddin roadside. [Suhail Bhat/Al Jazeera]](/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/3-1773832328.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)

Mubashir Naik is a practicing advocate and legal researcher based in Indian-administered Kashmir. He reports on political instability, conflict, refug... ee issues, human rights, culture, health, and sports. He tweets @sule_khaak.
On a pavement in the Indian capital, Abida lost two children and watches over her other three night and day.
![Soni, 2, rests in her mother Abida’s arms as fever keeps her weak and restless.Abida, originally from Assam, has lived on Delhi’s streets since childhood.Two of her children were killed last year when a speeding car ran over them while the family was asleep near the Hazrat Nizamuddin roadside. [Suhail Bhat/Al Jazeera]](/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/3-1773832328.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
Informal waste pickers face temperatures as high as 70C (158F) in landfill sites and ‘breathe poison’, activists say.
