RISKING LIVES FOR LIVELIHOODS

Stone crushing mills are a common sight in Banglabandha in Panchagarh due to its positioning along the India-Bangladesh border. Stones from neighbouring India and Bhutan arrive here, while those collected from the riverbeds of the dried-up Mahananda river are brought in, too. The lowly-paid day labourers working at the mills suffer from silicosis, a type of lung disease caused by inhalation of crystalline silica dust that can go on to cause deaths. Were they provided with respiratory masks by the mill owners, such ailments could have been avoided.