State, employers turn blind eye to disease-afflicted labourers

The Maharashtra government seems to care little about the lives of the poor industrial labourers even as it gloats about the statersquos economic clout Neither the government nor their employers have bothered to give compensation or medical help to the first 13 confirmed cases of deadly occupational diseases like silicosis asbestosis and toxic nephritis reported across the stateYogesh Sawant who was diagnosed with asbestosis was approached by his employer and DISH officials after the July 21 midday report He says he has been taken around to various hospitals but not given any compensation File picThese labourers who worked at factories in Kalyan Raigad and Ratnagiri are struggling to carry on with their lives amidst deteriorating health and hope even as the National Human Rights Commission NHRC has taken note of a midday investigation highlighting their plightThe midday investigation had revealed that hundreds of factories located across the city deal with tonnes of hazardous metals and chemicals on a daily basis with little or no government oversight and hardly any safety measures in placeThe latest health audits of the workers obtained by midday under RTI show that four of them in Raigadrsquos Dhatav village are suffering from lsquoendstagersquo renal disease four others have been diagnosed with toxic nephritis and five are suffering from asbestosisAll of them are undergoing dialysis and other medical treatments without any help from their employers or the government Activists and experts fear the worst for these workers if they are not given help at the earliestldquoThere are hundreds of cases in which workers are suspected of having asbestosis but the certifying surgeons never confirm these The contract workers then languish for years awaiting compensation from the government or factory ownersOur organisation fought for one such woman worker for ten years in the 90s but she succumbed to her disease without getting any compensationrdquo said S Shekhar a Mumbaibased activist fighting for the rights of factory workers suffering from asbestosisA midday investigation lsquoDanger factory aheadrsquo lsquoThey lied to me for 15 years of my life says asbestosisafflicted labourerrsquo which appeared on July 21 had revealed how 13 cases of industrial diseases had been reported in Mumbai and the surrounding regions This was the first time that industrial diseases had been reported in Maharashtra and they had come to light after an inspection was carried out by a Gujaratbased Central agencymidday had also reported how Yogesh Sawant a worker who was being exposed to asbestos on a daily basis and was repeatedly assured by factory owners and doctors that everything was fine had been diagnosed with asbestosis by the National Institute of Occupational Health NIOH Sawant and Manoj Saroj from the same unit in Kalyan turned out to be the first confirmed cases of asbestosis in MaharashtraSawant continues to live in neglect at his Kalyan home and is forced to pay his own medical bills Following the midday story he was approached by the factory owner for treatment and taken to various hospitals for checkups but he hasnrsquot been paid any monetary compensation Officials from the statersquos Directorate of Industrial Safety amp Health DISH also approached him promising help but to no availldquoI have been taken to one hospital after another in Mumbai but they are not giving me a clear picture of how my health is or whether I will get my compensation This only looks like an attempt to hushup my case so that no compensation has to be paidrdquo Sawant told middaySerious matterThe four workers diagnosed with toxic nephritis have to undergo dialysis twice a week Certifying surgeons reported that 32yearold Mangesh Malusare was a patient of endstage renal disease ldquoHe was working as a contract worker at a chemical plant in Ratnagiri for more than eight yearsHe complained of loss of appetite and uneasiness and was diagnosed with grade 3 renal parenchymal disease He has been on dialysis since and being a contract worker no treatment facility or compensation was provided to himrdquo said Dr Parag Gaiki in his reportGaiki told midday that the seriousness of this particular ldquomatterrdquo cannot be ignored ldquoWe need to conduct fresh inspections and see if there is any improvement in the condition of these four workers at allrdquo he saidGaiki had inspected a unit at Dhatav in Raigad district last year and diagnosed Dhanaji Khandekar 39 Bharat Lad 38 Suresh Chavan 57 and Malusare with acute toxic nephritisldquoMost of them were exposed to hazardous chemicals regularly for 78 years When we conducted a checkup they were found with high blood urea and creatinine as high as 20 mgdlrdquo said Gaiki in his reportFour others detected with silicosis are all contract workers at a unit in MIDC Ratnagiri They are 45yearold Pravin Shinde Pandurang Juwle 45 Uday Pawar 39 and Amarjeet Rajbhar 39ldquoThese cases were found during my inspection at the scouring department of the factory where there was clear presence of crystalline silica dustrdquo said Dr Vaishali Jadhav who had conducted the inspection in March 2014