Mining dust in the Aravallis kills residents

…come to the village, much like it skipped many other mining-affected areas across Kotputli-Behror and Sikar districts, according to activists and residents. Manisha, a homemaker and mother of two young children, says: “ We have spent most of our savings on my husband’s treatment. Yet, no one from the administration has talked to us or come to help. ” The Committee has been conducting an independent review of the Centre’s report on the definition and delineation of the Aravallis, where decades of mining have worsened air pollution. This has caused respiratory…

…Death by breath Sanjay (43), lives a few steps away from Manisha’s house. In July, his brother, Manoj, who also worked at a stone crushing unit, died of silicosis. The disease has claimed six members of his family. “ We do not have the money to move somewhere else. My kids have to live here and breathe the same poisonous air which has killed so many residents ,” he says. A 2023 study, ‘Prevalence of Silicosis in Stone Carving and Sandstone Mining Industry in Rajasthan’, published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, examined the Rajasthan government’s…

…for undercounts is that people face several hurdles in obtaining certification of silicosis, which is given by community health centres or district hospitals based on a medical examination and a chest radiograph. “ The process requires patients and their family members to make multiple visits to hospitals. However, a lot of people cannot afford such frequent trips and fail to complete the process ,” Mr. Meena says. For instance, Prem Devi, a Syalodra resident in her early 50s, has registered herself three times on the portal in the past three years with the help of her son, but each time the registration has…

…has been cancelled. Ms. Devi says that after registration, patients have to go to a hospital for an X-ray of the lungs, which is sent to a doctor for examination, and certification is granted on that basis. “ We never get to know who this doctor is or where his office is. Each time my X-ray has gone for an analysis, my registration has been cancelled ,” she says. For people like Ms. Devi, a widow, certification is a lifeline, as they are bedridden on most days and have no source of income. “Patients receive free medicines for the treatment, ₹5,000 every month, and…

…unit installed next to the mine. According to Mr. Yadav, blasts to shatter rocks are frequent at the site, even at night. Rekha, the mother of a seven-year-old girl, lives not far from the mining site. She says: “ Dust from these mining activities is infecting our kids as well. My daughter now has asthma, and she has to use inhalers to breathe properly. ” An April 2023 survey in the village, conducted by the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) and the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), gives a glimpse of the issue’s severity. Of about 928 people…

…hydrological, socio-economic and stakeholder evidence before arriving at its conclusions on the Aravallis. However, the Court refused the request and asked it to submit the final report by November 30, 2026. “ Let the panel work day and night to submit a report on the Aravalli issue ,” Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant said while hearing the matter. Mr. Yadav does not believe the panel members would visit Jodhpura-Mohanpura before submitting the final report. “When they did not come during…