Hyderabad, Dec. 24 -- K Jamuna (38) and P Padma (40) are both sisters who migrated to Hyderabad from Munagala several years ago. Both have one thing in common. Their husbands had deserted them long ago, and they are hardworking Dalit single women.

Refusing to be victimised, they have been working odd jobs in Hyderabad to earn a living and feed their children. For several months Jamuna has been running a tea stall and Padma has been selling coconuts on a footpath close to Moosarambagh bus stop.

During the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation's (GHMC) special drive to clear footpaths recently as part of 'Operation Rope', their make-shift stalls (encroachments) were shut down.

They don't have a shelter in their native village in Suryap...