FEATURE-Miners pay heavy price for India's famed marble
28 May 2007 18:03:18 GMT Source: Reuters
By Nita Bhalla MAKRANA, India, May 28 (Reuters) - A Mughal emperor famously used it to entomb his beloved wife, bathrooms around the world are lined with it and business executives brush up against it in hotel lobbies: Makrana's much-admired marble is everywhere. But for all the elegance it brings, the Indian miners who carve it from huge pits pay a hefty price, activists and union leaders say. "The working conditions for the people in these quarries are extremely dangerous," said Rana Sengupta of the Mine Labour Protection Campaign in Rajasthan state, where Makrana is located. Each month an average of three men die, and 30 are injured. Bansi Lal Binjana of the 12,000-strong Rajasthan Mine Workers Union says falling rock crushes miners. Safety laws are followed, mine owners and officials insist. "If there is any mine that is found to be putting its workers at an unnecessary risk, then we close that mine down immediately and the owners are prosecuted," Laxmi Narayan Dave, the state's minister for mines and the environment, told Reuters. Nonsense say campaigners: rules are flouted without fear of prosecution. Miners fix dynamite in rock faces with just minutes to haul themselves out of the mine using a rope. It's all a long way from the serenity of the Taj Mahal, built from Makrana marble 400 years ago in memory of Mumtaz, wife of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. The industry produces nearly 260,000 tonnes of marble a year, according to the latest figures from the federal mines ministry. While Makrana's output is just a fraction of that, industry experts say it represents India's finest quality marble. MINING THE MOON "Welcome to Marble City -- The place for the world's best quality marble" shouts a billboard on an approach road. Centuries of mining marble believed to be more than 90 percent calcium has rendered the landscape here almost lunar. About 800 mines blasted into marble deposits estimated at 56 million tonnes dust a town of 90,000 people with a fine white powder. Rocky debris stretches off into the distance. Factories and tiny workshops are crammed with artisans deftly carving jewellery boxes and statues of Hindu gods. A Hindu temple hangs tenuously to a cliff-top, undermined by the determined but poorly-rewarded efforts of 40,000 workers who toil away for around $2 a day. Labourers roam around with no safety hats, gloves, or shoes. Hanging on to ropes, rather than proper ladders, they descend up to 400 feet (120 metres) into the bowels of a mine. Many are from the eastern state of Bihar or Nepali villages. "We know the work is dangerous but we don't have a choice," said 50-year-old Chotu Ram, a veteran of 28 years in the mines. "We are poor and need the money." While no health studies have been carried out in the town, activists say marble dust is easily absorbed by the body and causes respiratory diseases like silicosis, and skin infections. "The workers as well as the residents complain of chest problems and skin diseases as these tiny particles of marble powder stick to the skin and are easily inhaled," said Chandra Bhushan of the Centre for Science and Environment, a think-tank. Mine owners are reluctant to talk. They admit that accidents occur but insist that generous compensation is awarded to victims and their families, something which workers deny. Small family-run businesses still dominate. They sell massive marble blocks to traders whose factories cut and polish them for domestic and world markets, part of India's fragmented and dangerous mining industry where safety standards are poor. "There are few inspectors to check mines, and even prosecution can take forever," admits A.K.D. Jadhav, a former mining secretary.
