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

Asbestos textile cuttings in a Vadodara shop

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

Dalit rights and political tensions: Why is Mevani at odds with Congress leadership?

While I have known Jignesh Mevani, one of the dozen-odd Congress MLAs from Gujarat, ever since my Gandhinagar days—when he was a young activist aligned with well-known human rights lawyer Mukul Sinha’s organisation, Jan Sangharsh Manch—he became famous following the July 2016 Una Dalit atrocity, in which seven members of a family were brutally assaulted by self-proclaimed cow vigilantes while skinning a dead cow, a traditional occupation among Dalits.

Powering pollution, heating homes: Why are Delhi residents opposing incineration-based waste management

While going through the 50-odd-page report Burning Waste, Warming Cities? Waste-to-Energy (WTE) Incineration and Urban Heat in Delhi , authored by Chythenyen Devika Kulasekaran of the well-known advocacy group Centre for Financial Accountability, I came across a reference to Sukhdev Vihar — a place where I lived for almost a decade before moving to Moscow in 1986 as the foreign correspondent of the daily Patriot and weekly Link .

Boeing 787 under scrutiny again after Ahmedabad crash: Whistleblower warnings resurface

A heart-wrenching tragedy has taken place in Ahmedabad. As widely reported, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane crashed shortly after taking off from the city’s airport, currently operated by India’s top tycoon, Gautam Adani. The aircraft was carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew members. As expected, the crash has led to an outpouring of grief across the country. At the same time, there have been demands for the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and the Civil Aviation Minister.

Ahmedabad's civic chaos: Drainage woes, waterlogging, and the illusion of Olympic dreams

In response to my blog on overflowing gutter lines at several spots in Ahmedabad's Vejalpur, a heavily populated area, a close acquaintance informed me that it's not just the middle-class housing societies that are affected by the nuisance. Preeti Das, who lives in a posh locality in what is fashionably called the SoBo area, tells me, "Things are worse in our society, Applewood."

Global NGO slams India for media clampdown during conflict, downplays Pakistan

A global civil rights group, Civicus has taken strong exception to how critical commentaries during the “recent conflict” with Pakistan were censored in India, with journalists getting “targeted”. I have no quarrel with the Civicus view, as the facts mentioned in it are all true.

Whither SCOPE? Twelve years on, Gujarat’s official English remains frozen in time

While writing my previous blog on how and why Narendra Modi went out of his way to promote English when he was Gujarat chief minister — despite opposition from people in the Sangh Parivar — I came across an interesting write-up by Aakar Patel, a well-known name among journalists and civil society circles.

Remembering Vijay Rupani: A quiet BJP leader who listened beyond party lines

Late evening on June 12, a senior sociologist of Indian origin, who lives in Vienna, asked me a pointed question: Of the 241 persons who died as a result of the devastating plane crash in Ahmedabad the other day, did I know anyone? I had no hesitation in telling her: former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, whom I described to her as "one of the more sensible persons in the BJP leadership."

Why India’s renewable energy sector struggles under 2,735 compliance hurdles

Recently, during a conversation with an industry representative, I was told how easy it is to set up a startup in Singapore compared to India. This gentleman, who had recently visited Singapore, explained that one of the key reasons Indians living in the Southeast Asian nation prefer establishing startups there is because the government is “extremely supportive” when it comes to obtaining clearances. “They don’t want to shift operations to India due to the large number of bureaucratic hurdles,” he remarked.

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Search This Blog