480 Mining and Health
Treatment for miners with silicosis
Lal Kuan is a village in India dedicated to mining and stone crushing.
Everything in Lal Kuan is covered by a thick layer of dust. The dust is so
bad it is difficult to see. For many people, the dust has also made it difficult
to breathe.
Budh Ram came to Lal Kuan 20 years ago to operate stone-crushing
machines. After 10 years of work, he began to have difficulty breathing. He
was treated for TB by a government clinic. The TB drugs helped him for a
year, but after that he began to get sick again. Budh Ram was not alone in
his illness. Despite getting treated many times for TB, many workers and
villagers died with terrible pain in their chests, unable to breathe.
When S.A. Azad, coordinator of an organization called People’s Rights and
Social Research Centre, came to Lal Kuan, his goal was to teach the villagers
to read and write. But when he saw they were dying in great numbers, he
took on a different task: to help the villagers get treatment and compensation
for their illness.
Azad realized that workers were being treated for TB, but they were dying
of silicosis. Most workers, like Budh Ram, did not even know what silicosis
was. And mine operators did not want to know about silicosis, because under
Indian law they were responsible for illnesses caused in the workplace. For
mine operators, it was best if no one knew the workers were dying of silicosis.
Azad contacted other organizations to build support for the people
affected by silicosis, and to demand compensation and health care. After
several years of organizing, the Chief Minister of Delhi agreed to hold a
meeting to hear of the misery in Lal Kuan. The meeting resulted in a great
victory when the Chief Minister agreed to meet the demands of Azad and the
people of Lal Kuan.
Now, after many years of suffering, the people of Lal Kuan have a
community center for the treatment of work-related diseases. A mobile
medical van visits the area 4 days a week giving free medical care. The
government has promised to do a health survey in Lal Kuan and to give a
pension to all victims of silicosis, as well as training and support to help them
find other ways to earn money and support their families.
This victory has given
the miners and villagers a
new sense of empowerment.
The air in Lal Kuan is still
full of dust. But it is also
full of possibility for a
better future.
A Community Guide to Environmental Health 2012