Silicosis and asbestosis continue to haunt Rajasthan’s former mining villages

By Bharat Dogra*

In Ambavi village of Jhadol block in Udaipur district, many homes still have former miners suffering from serious, long-lasting health hazards caused by asbestos mining, even years after the mines have closed down.

A similar situation exists in several other villages of Rajasthan that I visited recently. In some mining belts of Karauli district, for example, mining activity has ceased, yet in remote villages one still finds many workers who left mining long ago but continue to suffer from serious mining-related ailments.

What is more, in some cases even villagers living close to the mines have suffered greatly, despite never having been employed in mining operations.

Compared to some other states, Rajasthan has a relatively better programme for providing compensation and other benefits, such as pensions, to affected workers. Those who are able to access these benefits receive significant relief. However, the budget is limited, and only a relatively small proportion of workers are able to obtain these benefits after being officially diagnosed with silicosis or other equally serious occupational diseases such as asbestosis.

Returning to Ambavi village, social workers like Arjun and Amritlal, who have been assisting these workers, told me that although asbestos mining stopped several years ago in nearby areas, many workers in this and neighbouring villages are still suffering from asbestosis, silicosis, or related occupational diseases. Those who received benefits are in a somewhat better condition, but several others have received no relief at all, leaving them and their families in a precarious situation.

Naru Lal, who worked as a mate in the mines, is one such worker who did not receive any benefits, although his health has been severely affected. He said that after explosives were detonated, large amounts of dust filled the area. The mineral was carried to waiting trucks amid constant exposure to harmful dust. “We would leave our home in the village early in the morning to go to the mining area and return late in the evening,” Narulal said. “Most of the time, we were working in dusty conditions.”

I also spoke to a group of villagers in Shyampur village in Mandralya block of Karauli district. Although the village has made considerable progress in recent times, earlier many people here were dependent on mining. Several have died after suffering from serious ailments, while others continue to live with mining-related diseases. Only some received the compensation due to them. At one time, the number of villagers suffering from mining-related diseases was very high, the villagers recalled.

In Garhi village, while speaking to a group of women on other development-related issues, concerns about the health hazards of mining suddenly emerged. Several women said that someone in their family or extended family had suffered due to mining-related illnesses, and they linked the decline in family livelihoods and income to this. This also means that a greater burden of providing for the family falls on women.

Kenti Bai is one such courageous woman from this village. Her family owns very little farmland and had therefore depended largely on her husband’s earnings from mining work. Some time ago, however, he developed serious breathing problems. Although he understands that his illness is linked to mining, he has continued working in the mines due to a lack of alternatives. Kenti Bai is deeply distressed, as she has to watch her husband’s health deteriorate further. Recently, she took a bold decision to bring under cultivation a rocky piece of land that had earlier been considered uncultivable. Thanks to her hard work, vegetables and wheat are now growing there, along with a few fruit trees.

Many such families are struggling hard to emerge from extremely difficult and precarious circumstances. The government can provide substantial help by conducting more surveys in these villages so that those who were earlier left out of government benefits can now be included. The budget for assisting them should be increased. Voluntary organisations and trade unions should also pay greater attention to the welfare of these workers.

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The writer is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Man over Machine, When the Two Streams Met, Navjeevan, and Earth without Borders

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