Across parts of Rajasthan, India, millions of workers face deadly conditions in sandstone quarries that activists describe as a form of mode...
Across parts of Rajasthan, India, millions of workers face deadly conditions in sandstone quarries that activists describe as a form of modern-day slavery. Men, women and sometimes even teenagers dig, cut and shape sandstone—an ancient building material exported globally—often without protective equipment.
Breathing fine dust at these sites leads to silicosis, a terminal lung disease that gradually destroys lung function. To pay for medical care and basic needs, many workers borrow money from quarry supervisors or local lenders. These loans, often with high interest and low wages, leave families unable to ever repay what they owe, trapping them in debt bondage where they must keep working under dangerous conditions to survive.
In some villages near the quarries, widows and their children now continue this cycle of labour simply to cover debts left by relatives who died from silicosis. Lack of government enforcement, weak labour protections, and a long chain of middlemen in the supply chain make it hard to improve conditions or ensure fair treatment for quarry
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