75% of Beedi workers suffer from illnesses

A whopping 75% cent of about 44 lakh 'beedi' workers in the country suffer from multiple illnesses due to continuous exposure to tobacco and other hazardous substances, a study by an NGO has claimed.     

The study conducted by the 'Voluntary Health Association of India (VHAI)' claimed that workers spent atleast 12 hours rolling beedis and faced the risks of contracting TB and developing chronic bronchitis, asthma, skin and  spinal problems among others.     

The study titled 'Caught in a Death Trap' involved a sample of over 1,000 workers of Anand district in Gujarat and Murshidabad in West Bengal.     

The survey also claimed that almost all workers worked under "dehumanising conditions" as the industry openly "flouted" provisions of labour laws.      As many as 76% of beedi workers earn a meagre amount of Rs 33 for rolling 1,000 beedis, which generally take up to 12 hours or more a day, the survey noted.     

"It is shocking that after so many years of freedom, lakhs of people have to work under such dehumanising conditions without any basic rights which are legally entitled to the workforce our country," VHAI Chief Executive Alok Mukhopadhyay said while releasing the survey.     

"It is an industry that kills nearly six lakh people annually and is still allowed to exploit women and children in total impunity of all legal and human rights provisions."     

The NGO claimed that an estimated 2.25 lakh children also worked in the industry without any break or holidays.     

"They work even before going to school and resume work after return and that too without wages," Mukhopadhyay said.