Today, it is hard to imagine a stone crusher in the heart of the national capital but about five decades ago, Delhi’s Lal Kuan area was replete with such units which were a viable source of livelihood for thousands of migrant labourers.
Those stone crushers are long gone but the impact they have had on the health of the workers are clearly visible as they battle pulmonary diseases like silicosis. The disease is caused by the deposition of silica in the lungs and has claimed the lives of dozens of such workers in Delhi.
Chandan Singh is one such worker.
He was 18-years-old when he came to Delhi’s Lal Kuan from his native place in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur in 1980s to support his parents.
His parents also relocated to Lal Kuan in 1971, living in the nearby slum while searching for work. Ultimately, the father, mother and the son all worked in these crushers.
After working in the crushers for about 15 years, in 1986, Chandan’s parents began experiencing difficulties breathing, coughing and fatigue.
Doctors at government hospitals diagnosed them with tuberculosis, and the clinical treatment followed but to no avail.
In 1994, after consulting a private doctor, it was discovered that a large amount of stone dust (silica) had accumulated in their lungs and they were accordingly diagnosed with silicosis.
At that time, nobody in Lal Kuan had any inkling about this disease.
Struggling with their illness, Chandan’s father passed away in 2000 and his mother succumbed to the disease in 2005.
After his mother’s death, Chandan began to show symptoms of the disease as well.
He fell ill for the first time in 2005 and again in 2009. Chandan worked as a clerk in the crushers in Lal Kuan and Faridabad’s Pali area from 1984 to 2010.
When his health deteriorated in 2005, doctors also diagnosed him with tuberculosis, and he underwent treatment for about ten months.
However, upon falling ill again in 2009, he learned that his lungs had also accumulated stone dust, similar to his father. However, at that time, doctors did not confirm silicosis in him.
In 2018-19, doctors at the National Institute of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases in Mehrauli confirmed his condition as silicosis.
With the help of a non-profit organisation working for silicosis victims in Lal Kuan, called The People’s Right and Social Research Center (Prasar), he filed a litigation against the crusher company for compensation.
Finally, after his silicosis was confirmed, he received interim relief of Rs 2.5 lakh from the Delhi government in September 2023.
Geeta, a 62-year-old silicosis victim living in Lal Kuan, told Down To Earth (DTE) that following the shutdown of about 50 crushers in 1991, many people lost their loved ones, including her husband, in-laws and siblings, due to the hazardous working conditions in the crushers.
She mentioned that the dust from the crushers accumulated on clothes, utensils and even food.
Similarly, Chetaram has lost his parents and uncle, Bhajanlal has lost his parents and elder brother, and Mali Devi has lost her husband, brother-in-law, and parents-in-law. Other residents, such as Chhoti Devi, Harpyari, Santosh, and Pushpa, have also lost multiple family members.
Local residents say that it is not just the workers in the crushers who are affected; the dust in the air has made many others sick, even those who do not work in any crusher plant.
Following the activism of Prasar in Lal Kuan in 1998, silicosis patients began to be certified.
SA Azad, the president of Prasar, told DTE that prior to the year 2000, nobody in Lal Kuan was formally certified with silicosis.
However, till date, about 200 silicosis victims have been certified with around 75 per cent receiving financial relief from the government, while the remaining 25 per cent have pending applications.
“Government’s negligence regarding silicosis deaths amounts to mass murder, with direct government involvement,” Azad claimed.
“I have witnessed over 5,000 deaths in Lal Kuan, with countless individuals dying without proper diagnosis, taking tuberculosis medications instead,” he added.
Silicosis can easily be diagnosed through a simple X-ray and a worker’s history, but the failure of doctors to do so raises questions about their qualifications.
Azad has fought a long legal battle for silicosis victims. In 2006, he brought the case to the Supreme Court, arguing that the widespread and unchecked spread of silicosis among workers in various industries violates their fundamental rights under the Constitution of India.
He also argued that the right to health, safety, and a dignified life as outlined in Article 21 of the Constitution is being grossly neglected.
On August 6, 2024, the court issued several directives to the chief secretaries of the states regarding the case, ordering the Director General of Mines Safety (DGMS) and the Director General of Factory Advice Service and Labor Institute (DG-FASLI) to provide state-wise details of silicosis victims. The case was then transferred to the NGT.
Meanwhile, the legal battle continues under the banner of the Silicosis Victims’ Association for those who have lost loved ones to the disease and are suffering from it themselves.
Azad asserted that the law is clear: those responsible for causing the disease can be held accountable, and there is provision for compensation.
“Companies cannot escape responsibility for putting workers in harm’s way,” the activist underlined.
Read this report in Hindi