Our teams are conducting health surveys in Madhya Pradesh’s Panna district. Many workers, mostly belonging to the Adivasi community, are victims of the occupational health hazard called silicosis, a chronic lung disease caused primarily by inhaling silica dust in the mines.
Even with the Covid pandemic and deteriorating health condition of affected workers, they are forced to migrate for work. In Bador village alone, out of 210 families, more than 64 have migrated since June 2022 and in Darera, more than 25 families have already left.
Women and children are forced to take responsibility for daily wage labour in cities like Gurgaon, Delhi, Lucknow, etc. Medical treatment for silicosis victims and education for children are an impossible dream for these mine worker families.