Alang shipbreaking industry rep says, every industry has accidents, blames workers' negligence

By A Representative
In an unusual statement, a top ship cycling industry representative has sought to justify large number of deaths due to accidents occurring at the Alang shipbreaking yard, on south Saurashtra coast in Gujarat, saying, “Every industry has accidents”. Talking to a news portal, KB Tayal, vice president of the Ship Recycling Industries Association (India), Alang, said, “Some (industries) might have more (accidents) than others. Even though it happens, it might be due to negligence of workers, or of the machinery. When it happens, no problem. We pay compensation to workers and a penalty to the government.”
The statement, which should sound shocking to environmentalists, has come in the wake of the Government of India (GoI) decision to look after the affairs of ship recycling industry to the Ministry of Shipping. Currently, the Ministry of Steel is the nodal agency. Significantly, Tayal has sought to oppose the GoI move saying, it would have “”no effect on our business.” Tayal’s organization represents all companies in the business of ship recylcing in Alang and Sosiya. “They must compulsorily be members of the association before they can get permission from the Gujarat Maritime Board to begin cutting”, the site said.
The industry representative further said, GoI can make “whatever policies they have to make, but they cannot go against the industries either way… When you look at it in terms of pricing, the Ministry of Steel was better equipped for that.” Expressing apprehensions about GoI move, he added, “but the Ministry of Shipping can look into other aspects.”
Quoting environmental experts, the site commented, the decision to make Shipping Ministry responsible for ship breaking “could save lives”, adding, “This could be a rare chance for the government to reinvent a sector that has little regulation and is notorious for unsafe labour and health practices.” Mridula Chari, the author, insisted, “This could result in the creation of more ship-breaking ports modeled on the lines of the world’s largest ship-breaking centre in Alang, Gujarat.”
The site quotes senior environmentalist Rohit Prajapati to say, “Fires, contamination by such chemicals as asbestos and tributyltin and workers accidents are the biggest problems in Alang today. Pointing out that this was the major reason for the death of five persons cause by explosion due to gas leak on June 28, when the last accident took place, he suggested that the actual figures of death should be much higher than reported.

“Gujarat’s Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health says that 460 people have died since the Alang yard opened in 1983, an average of 15 each year. But activists working in the area estimate that the total number could be 50 times higher, counting the fatalities reported in small local newspapers”, the site says, quoting Prajapati to say, “If you talk to hospitals, officers with the directorate and even doctors off the record, they will admit the reality of the situation.”
But would the new GoI decision to hand over the ship recycling sector to the Ministry of Shipping become an “opportunity for the hazardous ship-breaking sector in India to reinvent itself?” Ravi Agarwal, director of Toxics Link, an NGO that has been working on the issue of toxins in ship recycling since 1992, believes as of today, things are so bad with ti that “there is no clarity on who the owners are, what proper transaction values are, when do clearances come in. It would be much better if all of this is made above board.”
However, Prajapati, who is with the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti, Vadodara, does not believe the move will benefit the workers. “They are building up a structure where only one department can make point in court of law,” said Prajapati. “Multiple departments can confuse the court, where you might have one department that stands against the industry. Modi had assured the industry that he would do this while campaigning.”
With an annual turnover of over Rs 2,500 crore and approximately 40,000 workers, the site says, “Ships to be scrapped are rammed into the beach at high tide. Once the tide recedes, workers begin to dismantle the ship from front to back. As they remove parts of the ship, they haul the remnants further up the beach, eventually drawing the entire ship in. The largest problem with beaching, apart from the high risk to labour, is that dangerous chemicals often leak into the sea.”
Business is certainly booming. According to data from the association, more ships are being broken at Alang today than ever before.

Comments

Academics urge Azim Premji University to drop FIR against Student Reading Circle

By A Representative A group of academics and civil society members has issued an open letter to the leadership of Azim Premji University expressing concern over the filing of a police complaint that led to an FIR against a student-run reading circle following a recent incident of violence on campus. The signatories state that they hold the university in high regard for its commitment to constitutional values, critical inquiry and ethical public engagement, and argue that it is precisely because of this reputation that the present development is troubling.

Nepal votes amid regional rivalry: Why New Delhi is watching closely

By Nava Thakuria* As Nepal holds an early national election on Thursday (5 March 2026), the people of northeast India, along with other regional observers, are watching the proceedings closely. The vote was necessitated after the government of Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli collapsed in September 2025 following widespread anti-government protests. The election will determine the composition of the 275-member House of Representatives, originally scheduled for 2027, under the stewardship of an interim government led by former Supreme Court justice Sushila Karki.

'Policy long overdue': Coalition of 29 experts tells JP Nadda to act on SC warning label order

By A Representative In a significant development for public health, the Supreme Court of India has directed the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to seriously consider implementing mandatory front-of-pack warning labels on pre-packaged food products. The order, passed by a bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan on February 10, 2026, comes as the Court expressed dissatisfaction with the regulatory body's progress on the issue.

Vaccination vs screening: Policy questions raised on cervical cancer strategy

By A Representative A public policy expert has written to Union Health Minister J. P. Nadda raising a series of concerns regarding the national Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination campaign launched on February 28 for 14-year-old girls.

From plagiarism to proxy exams: Galgotias and systemic failure in education

By Sandeep Pandey* Shock is being expressed at Galgotias University being found presenting a Chinese-made robotic dog and a South Korean-made soccer-playing drone as its own creations at the recently held India AI Impact Summit 2026, a global event in New Delhi. Earlier, a UGC-listed journal had published a paper from the university titled “Corona Virus Killed by Sound Vibrations Produced by Thali or Ghanti: A Potential Hypothesis,” which became the subject of widespread ridicule. Following the robotic dog controversy coming to light, the university has withdrawn the paper. These incidents are symptoms of deeper problems afflicting the Indian education system in general. Galgotias merely bit off more than it could chew.

Development vs community: New coal politics and old conflicts in Madhya Pradesh

By Deepmala Patel* The Singrauli region of Madhya Pradesh, often described as “India’s energy capital,” has for decades been a hub of coal mining and thermal power generation. Today, the Dhirouli coal mine project in this district has triggered widespread protests among local communities. In recent years, the project has generated intense controversy, public opposition, and significant legal and social questions. This is not merely a dispute over one mine; it raises a larger question—who pays the price for energy development? Large corporate beneficiaries or the survival of local communities?

The new anti-national certificate: If Arundhati Roy is the benchmark, count me in

By Dr. Mansee Bal Bhargava* Dear MANIT Alumni Network Committee, “Are you anti-national?” I encountered this fascinating—some may say intimidating—question from an elderly woman I barely know, an alumna of Maulana Azad College of Technology (MACT, now Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology - MANIT), Bhopal, and apparently one of the founders of the MACT (now MANIT) Alumni Network. The authority with which she posed the question was striking. “How much anti-national are you? What have you done for the Alumni Network Committee to identify you as anti-national?” When I asked what “anti-national” meant to her and who was busy certifying me as such, the response came in counter-questions.

UAPA action against Telangana activist: Criminalising legitimate democratic activity?

By A Representative The National Investigation Agency's Hyderabad branch has issued notices to more than ten individuals in Telangana in connection with FIR No. RC-04/2025. Those served include activists, former student leaders, civil rights advocates, poets, writers, retired schoolteachers, and local leaders associated with the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Indian National Congress.

Minority concerns mount: RTI reveals govt funded Delhi religious meet in December

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* Indian Muslims have expressed deep concern over what they describe as rising hate speech and hostility against their community under the BJP-led government in India. A recent flashpoint was the event organised by Sanatan Sanstha titled “Sanatan Rashtra Shankhnad Mahotsav” in New Delhi on 13–14 December 2025.

Search This Blog