Skip to main content

Occupational hazards took 186 deaths in Gujarat in 2016: Corporate giants blamed for not protecting workers

Jagdish Patel
By Our Representative
A new estimate, arrived at by a Vadodara-based civil rights organization working on occupational health issues in Gujarat, has estimated that as many as 186 persons have died in 2016 alone in the state because of various occupational hazard diseases. Sourced on vernacular media of South Gujarat, the organization, People’s Training and Research Centre (PTRC), believes that the actual numbers should be “much higher”, as the news items published in the dailies are "based on police complaints."
In a profile of the deaths, PTRC has found that big industries and industrial estates in Gujarat’s chemical hubs account for many of them. The incidents profiled include 1 3 deaths which took place in units runs by top industrial houses -- Adani, Nirma and Reliance.
Thus, on April 28, 2016, seven workers died in the Adani-owned power plant in Mundra, Kutch district, died as a result of explosion in the pipeline leading to the flash tank steam because of obstruction caused by an iron part. It led to hot water at 144 degrees falling on workers, all of whom were migrants from Jharkhand.
Then, four workers in Nirma’s plant on December 10, 2016 near Bhavnagar died because of a blast next to the tank, under which they were working. And two workers died on November 25, 2016, at Jamnagar’s Reliance Industries Ltd during maintenance shutdown. Other spots where incidents took place are Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Surat, and Himatnagar.
Bringing this to light on April 28, the International Workers Memorial Day, Jagdish Patel of PTRC, who addressed mediapersons in Ahmedabad, said, “We mourn for the workers who have die during the year in accidents at work as well as occupational diseases, even as pledging to fight for the rights  of those who are have survived.”
Patel said, "The rate of fatal accidents at work in India is 12.35 per 100,000, while rate of fatal accidents at work in India is 15.38 per 100,000 workers, considering 13 lakh workers and average 200 fatally per year."
He added, Considering that in 2013 and 2014, as many as 229 and 259 workers, respectively, died in Gujarat, the rate would still go up. Surat alone reported 35 and 48 fatalities in years 2013 and 2014 respectively. These are highest among all other districts of Gujarat."
Especially referring to the occupational hazard caused by asbestos against the backdrop of the Eighth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention, Geneva, Switzerland from April 24 to May 5, 2017, Patel said, India is opposing ban on the commodity, which it imports.
Patel said, “Asbestos related diseases are on the not just across India butt also in Gujarat. In Ahmedabad during 2009-2012, 21 cases of mesothelioma were reported at Gujarat Cancer Research Institute, Ahmedabad, while in 2013, in a span of one year, 23 cases of mesothelioma were diagnosed.”
He added, “Mesothelioma is one of the rare cancers caused by exposure to asbestos fibre. Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA), an NGO based in Gujarat, has identified four cases of mesothelioma of which two were employed by an asbestos factory.”
Banned in 55 countries, but not in India, Patel said, “Even Nepal banned asbestos in 2014, while Sri Lanka has declared to ban import of asbestos roof sheets from 2018.India does not mine asbestos. It depends on import from Russia, Kazakhstan and Brazil. Canada was the biggest exporter of asbestos to India but Canada too has banned asbestos export.”
“India is one of world’s largest importers of asbestos. In 2011-12, it has imported over 378,122 tons, 396,493 tons in 2014-15 and by 2017 it is expected to rise by 605,000 tons with 9% growth”, he said.
“In a large number of cases”, regretted Patel, “Those die because of occupational diseases never care to register any complaint with the police. More often than not, such deaths are registered as having happened due to accidents”
Quoting from a 2009 Government of India policy on occupational health, Patel said, “It is the responsibility of the employers to ensure safety and health of the workers who work in factory premises. However, this is seldom done.”
He regretted, "National Human Rights Commission and Supreme Court recommendations for safety at work places have also not been implemented", adding, “There is no effort to rehabilitate those who suffer because of occupational hazard.”

Comments

TRENDING

Insider plot to kill Deendayal Upadhyay? What RSS pracharak Balraj Madhok said

By Shamsul Islam*  Balraj Madhok's died on May 2, 2016 ending an era of old guards of Hindutva politics. A senior RSS pracharak till his death was paid handsome tributes by the RSS leaders including PM Modi, himself a senior pracharak, for being a "stalwart leader of Jan Sangh. Balraj Madhok ji's ideological commitment was strong and clarity of thought immense. He was selflessly devoted to the nation and society. I had the good fortune of interacting with Balraj Madhok ji on many occasions". The RSS also issued a formal condolence message signed by the Supremo Mohan Bhagwat on behalf of all swayamsevaks, referring to his contribution of commitment to nation and society. He was a leading RSS pracharak on whom his organization relied for initiating prominent Hindutva projects. But today nobody in the RSS-BJP top hierarchy remembers/talks about Madhok as he was an insider chronicler of the immense degeneration which was spreading as an epidemic in the high echelons of th

Central pollution watchdog sees red in Union ministry labelling waste to energy green

By Chythenyen Devika Kulasekaran*  “Destructors”, “incinerators” and “waste-to-energy (WTE) incineration” all mean the same thing – indiscriminate burning of garbage! Having a history of about one and a half centuries, WTE incinerators have seen several reboots over the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. 

First-of-its-kind? 'Eco-friendly, low cost' sewage treatment system installed in Gujarat

Counterview Desk Following the installation of the Unconventional Decentralized Multi-Stage Reactor (UDMSR) for sewage treatment, a note on what is claimed to be the  first-of-its-kind technology said, the treated sewage from this system “can be directly utilized for agricultural purposes”, even as proving to be a “saviour in the times of water crisis.”

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Indo-Bangla border: Farmers facing 'illegal obstacles' in harvesting, transporting yields

  Counterview Desk  In a representation to the chairperson, National Human Rights Commission, human rights defender Kirity Roy, who is secretary, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), has said that Border Security Force (BSF) personnel are creating "illegal obstacles" for farmers seeking to harvest their ripened yields and transport them to the market in village Jhaukuthi of Cooch Behar district.

'Flawed' argument: Gandhi had minimal role, naval mutinies alone led to Independence

Counterview Desk Reacting to a Counterview  story , "Rewiring history? Bose, not Gandhi, was real Father of Nation: British PM Attlee 'cited'" (January 26, 2016), an avid reader has forwarded  reaction  in the form of a  link , which carries the article "Did Atlee say Gandhi had minimal role in Independence? #FactCheck", published in the site satyagrahis.in. The satyagraha.in article seeks to debunk the view, reported in the Counterview story, taken by retired army officer GD Bakshi in his book, “Bose: An Indian Samurai”, which claims that Gandhiji had a minimal role to play in India's freedom struggle, and that it was Netaji who played the crucial role. We reproduce the satyagraha.in article here. Text: Nowadays it is said by many MK Gandhi critics that Clement Atlee made a statement in which he said Gandhi has ‘minimal’ role in India's independence and gave credit to naval mutinies and with this statement, they concluded the whole freedom struggle.

Wasteland, a colonial legacy, being used to 'give away' vast tracts to Ratnagiri refinery

By Fouziya Tehzeeb* William D’Souza, a 55-year old farmer from Kuthethur, Mangalore, was busy mixing cattle feed when we arrived at his doorsteps. Around 25 km from the bustling city of Mangalore, Kuthethur is a lush green village with thick vegetation. On the way to William’s house the idyllic view gets blocked by the flares and smoke arising from the Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL).

CAA disregards India's inclusive plural ethos, 'betrays' ideals of freedom struggle: PUCL

Counterview Desk    "Outraged" at the move of the Central government to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA 2019) weeks before the election, the top rights group, People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), has demanded that the law be repealed. 

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Invincible, Modi 'taller' than BJP, RSS: An opportunity for Congress beyond 2024?

By NS Venkataraman*  With the announcement of poll schedule for the 2024 parliamentary election, there is palpable excitement and expectation amongst the countrymen  about the shape of things to happen in India after the  results of the election would be announced. There is also speculation abroad about the future course of developments in India.