Life around Mumbai’s salt pans

The labourers are paid around Rs 125 a day and many of them are not paid for weeks on endPhotograph by Chinky Shukla

Spread over 2,200 hectares of land in Mumbai’s suburbs, salt pans (flat expanses of grounds covered with salt and other minerals),  surrounded by thick mangrove trees are the city’s last defence against ocean flooding  as they act as natural buffers against ocean flooding and absorb the rush of water from the seaPhotograph by Chinky Shukla

Vitthal, seen in this picture, hails from a poor village in Maharashtra. Lack of employment opportunities in his hometown forced him to migrate to MumbaiPhotograph by Chinky Shukla

Each salt pan produces more than 500 tonnes of salt every year. But with land becoming dearer in Mumbai, the place occupied by these salt pans is being eyed by Mumbai’s real estate agentsPhotograph by Chinky Shukla

Dhaniya, another young migrant worker from Bihar, is seen preparing lunch for his kinsmenPhotograph by Chinky Shukla

Due to high reflectivity of the salt piles, the labourers mostly work during early morning and late evening hours Photograph by Chinky Shukla

The salt workers live in temporary dwellings, primarily made of bamboo and hay. There is shortage of drinking water, shelter, power supply and facilities like gumboots, sunglasses, tools and healthcarePhotograph by Chinky Shukla

The salt pans are a source of livelihood for more than 2,000 migrant labourers who come from different parts of the countryPhotograph by Chinky Shukla

Vasiya, 57, is popular among his fellowmen for playing melodious tunes on his flute. He has been working in the pans for the past eleven yearsPhotograph by Chinky Shukla