Building a Wider
Horizon With Labour
Thirty-five-year-old Vimla Devi is mourning for her father-in-law, Basti Ram (60) who died barely three months after she lost her husband Purna Ram (42). Both men worked in the stone mines around Choti Khatu, in Nagaur district, Rajasthan. Both succumbed to silicosis. Vimla Devi has three children to look after. Her sons, 15 and 11, and her five-year-old daughter had not even been able to come to terms with their father’s death when their grandfather passed away. The family is left with no earning member. Ashok, the eldest son, has no choice but to take up a job in the same dreaded mines. The family has still not received any compensation from the government.
