Gujarat tops India with 49 percent use in hazardous asbestos, causing occupational disease, cancer: Report

Asbestos textile cuttings in a Vadodara shop

Counterview Desk
A new report “National Asbestos Profile: India”, prepared by Vadodara-based civil rights organization, People’s Training and Research Centre (PTRC), has found that Gujarat accounts for 49% of all industries of India where asbestos, considered one of the most hazardous commodities, is used, followed by neighbouring Maharashtra (18%).
Prepared for the Occupational and Environmental Health Network India, the report quotes a study conducted in a cement factory in Gujarat to say that 6.5% of examined workers had asbestosis, the fatal occupational health disease caused by asbestos, while another 32% of workers were “suspected” to have asbestosis.
The report further quotes a study, “Asbestos-related Diseases in India”, carried out by Dr Sudhakar Kamat, to say that out of chest radiographs taken from workers of different asbestos-cement plants and asbestos mines, examined by Dr Sudhakar Kamat, 44% were found to have asbestosis in Gujarat.
An all-India study, it also found that 22% of the workers examined in Tamil Nadu, and 77% of those examined in Rajasthan had asbestosis, says the report.
The report quotes a right to information (RTI) plea filed by Raghunath Manwar, a worker who suffered from the disease, to say that “across three thermal power plant stations in Gujarat, 17 out of 19 workers diagnosed with asbestosis worked in the cleaning cell” of power plants, while “the remaining two worked in the coal plant and fly-ash sections.”
“On and average workers with asbestos suffered from 41% to 50% disability”, the report reveals, adding, “Out of the 19 asbestosis patients identified, seven were women, from the Gandhinagar Gujarat Electricity Board power station.”

Giving more details on Gujarat, the report states, “In the ship-breaking yards of Alang, a study by the National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH) found, in a sample of 98 workers, 16% were diagnosed with asbestosis”, though regretting, “activists sought more details on the study but NIOH refused to reveal details.”
Pointing out that mesothelioma, a cancer of the protective tissue lining the lungs and abdominal cavity, is caused because of asbestos exposure, the report says, though the disease “is considered to be rare” and is in existence in 21 cases during 2009-2012 by the Gujarat Cancer Research Institute, Ahmedabad, and in 23 cases in 2013.
The report says, a conference in the US was told that there was “30% prevalence rate of mesothelioma in northern Gujarat and 32.75% prevalence in southern Rajasthan” because of asbestos exposure, though in “other parts of Gujarat, the prevalence rate was much lower, at around 9%.”
“In March 2017”, the report says, “three mesothelioma victims were diagnosed by the state-run Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) Hospital in Ahmedabad.” While one of them had “secondary exposure” in cement factory, the second one was employed by a foundry in the same factory, and the third one “suffer from tongue and larynx cancer.”
Pointing towards how commonly asbestos is used in Gujarat, the report provides the photograph of asbestos textile cuttings in a mezzanine floor constructed in a shop, which "manufactures and sells" asbestos gloves and other safety equipment, right in the heart of the Gujarati city of Vadodara.

Comments

Gujarat Information Commission issues warning against misinterpretation of RTI orders

By A Representative The Gujarat Information Commission (GIC) has issued a press note clarifying that its orders limiting the number of Right to Information (RTI) applications for certain individuals apply only to those specific applicants. The GIC has warned that it will take disciplinary action against any public officials who misinterpret these orders to deny information to other citizens. The press note, signed by GIC Secretary Jaideep Dwivedi, states that the Right to Information Act, 2005, is a powerful tool for promoting transparency and accountability in public administration. However, the commission has observed that some applicants are misusing the act by filing an excessive number of applications, which disproportionately consumes the time and resources of Public Information Officers (PIOs), First Appellate Authorities (FAAs), and the commission itself. This misuse can cause delays for genuine applicants seeking justice. In response to this issue, and in acc...

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

'MGNREGA crisis deepening': NSM demands fair wages and end to digital exclusions

By A Representative The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha (NSM), a coalition of independent unions of MGNREGA workers, has warned that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is facing a “severe crisis” due to persistent neglect and restrictive measures imposed by the Union Government.

Gandhiji quoted as saying his anti-untouchability view has little space for inter-dining with "lower" castes

By A Representative A senior activist close to Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader Medha Patkar has defended top Booker prize winning novelist Arundhati Roy’s controversial utterance on Gandhiji that “his doctrine of nonviolence was based on an acceptance of the most brutal social hierarchy the world has ever known, the caste system.” Surprised at the police seeking video footage and transcript of Roy’s Mahatma Ayyankali memorial lecture at the Kerala University on July 17, Nandini K Oza in a recent blog quotes from available sources to “prove” that Gandhiji indeed believed in “removal of untouchability within the caste system.”

Rally in Patna: Non-farmer bodies to highlight plight of agriculture in Eastern India ahead of march to Parliament

P Sainath By A Representative Ahead of the march to Parliament on November 29-30, 2018, organized by over 210 farmer and agricultural worker organisations of the country demanding a 21-day special session of Parliament to deliberate on remedial measures for safeguarding the interest of farm, farmers and agricultural workers, a mass rally been organized for November 23, Gandhi Sangrahalaya (Gandhi Museum), Gandhi Maidan, Patna. Say the organizers, the Eastern region merits special attention, because, while crisis of farmers and agricultural workers in Western, Southern and Northern India has received some attention in the media and central legislature, the plight of those in the Eastern region of the country (Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Eastern UP) has remained on the margins. To be addressed by P Sainath, founder of People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI), a statement issued ahead of the rally says, the Eastern India was the most prosperous regi...

Uttarakhand tunnel disaster: 'Question mark' on rescue plan, appraisal, construction

By Bhim Singh Rawat* As many as 40 workers were trapped inside Barkot-Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi after a portion of the 4.5 km long, supposedly completed portion of the tunnel, collapsed early morning on Sunday, Nov 12, 2023. The incident has once again raised several questions over negligence in planning, appraisal and construction, absence of emergency rescue plan, violations of labour laws and environmental norms resulting in this avoidable accident.

India's health workers have no legal right for their protection, regrets NGO network

Counterview Desk In a letter to Union labour and employment minister Santosh Gangwar, the civil rights group Occupational and Environmental Health Network of India (OEHNI), writing against the backdrop of strike by Bhabha hospital heath care workers, has insisted that they should be given “clear legal right for their protection”.

Job opportunities decreasing, wages remain low: Delhi construction workers' plight

By Bharat Dogra* It was about 32 years back that a hut colony in posh Prashant Vihar area of Delhi was demolished. It was after a great struggle that the people evicted from here could get alternative plots that were not too far away from their earlier colony. Nirmana, an organization of construction workers, played an important role in helping the evicted people to get this alternative land. At that time it was a big relief to get this alternative land, even though the plots given to them were very small ones of 10X8 feet size. The people worked hard to construct new houses, often constructing two floors so that the family could be accommodated in the small plots. However a recent visit revealed that people are rather disheartened now by a number of adverse factors. They have not been given the proper allotment papers yet. There is still no sewer system here. They have to use public toilets constructed some distance away which can sometimes be quite messy. There is still no...

Targeted eviction of Bengali-speaking Muslims across Assam districts alleged

By A Representative A delegation led by prominent academic and civil rights leader Sandeep Pandey visited three districts in Assam—Goalpara, Dhubri, and Lakhimpur—between 2 and 4 September 2025 to meet families affected by recent demolitions and evictions. The delegation reported widespread displacement of Bengali-speaking Muslim communities, many of whom possess valid citizenship documents including Aadhaar, voter ID, ration cards, PAN cards, and NRC certification.

Counterview

Search This Blog