A hazardous job
Photo: Shubasish Barua / Driknews
The ship breaking industry of the largest breaking zone of this country has turned out to be a death trap for the helpless workers who work there for a mere pittance. On an average a labourer dies almost every day as the job entails risk--an accidental fire here, an explosion there and so on. Even if they survive they suffer from deadly diseases as a result of their contact with the toxic elements. Sometimes they sustain ugly injuries that force them to retire and join the ranks of the disabled. In other words, the country has become a kind of dumping ground of ships carrying harmful chemicals. Another point: no other country is as dependent on scarp for steel as this land. It is time we found other options which may provide a source of raw material of steel. As there has been a construction -boom in recent years, the demand of steel is on the rise. We have already done a great damage to the pristine nature, as the landscape of this part of the world seems to be an image that belongs to surreal nightmare. The tragedy of the ship breakers is just another episode of this bleak saga.
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