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Health hazards plague brick kiln workers
Workers at brick kiln units are facing health hazards across the district due to smoke and ash. There is heavy for demand for bricks which are made of black and brown clay and burnt by wood and husk of grain.
Srikakulam: Workers at brick kiln units are facing health hazards across the district due to smoke and ash. There is heavy for demand for bricks which are made of black and brown clay and burnt by wood and husk of grain. Used extensively for construction of walls due to their inherent strength as alternatives made of cement and ash not having any demand in the market.
Number of traditional brick making and kiln units are situated mainly at Batteru, Ponnam, Nanampadu, Bendipeta, Alikam, Thandemvalasa, Kanchubhummayyapeta, Loddaputti, Birlangi, Arakabhadra, Thotavuru, Haripuram, Koligam, Bellupada and Dhanupuram villages in Srikakulam rural, Amudalavalasa, Hiramandal, Itchapuram, Bhamini, Kotturu and Kanchili mandals across the district.
In these areas about 850 brick manufacturing units are being run and more than 2000 families are employed in these units. While burning the clay bricks thick smoke is released and spreads across the locality and after kilning and along with white ash it becomes hazardous for the people.
Thick smoke and ash cause lung diseases and eye problems if workers stay for a long time at the location and lung ailments slowly turn in to asthma warned government RIMS Hospital Resident Medical Officer (RMO) Dr Bammidi ChinnaAppala Naidu. White ash released after burning the bricks leads to eye diseases. Workers should take care to avoid it to possible extent, suggested eye specialist Dr Kuna Lakshunnaidu. In the backdrop of poor financial status, workers are inevitably engaged in it for their livelihood.
Owners of bricks units are paying Rs 200 for women and Rs 300 for men as daily wage and we are unable to engage inother works due to lack of experience and continue in it even though it is causing health problems, said workers Veerarapu Durga Rao, Veerarapu Suridamma, Ummidivarapu Veeranna and Ummidivarapu Gangamma who are employed at Ponnam, Batteru bricks units in Amudalavalasa and Srikakulam rural mandals. We are migrating across the district where bricks units are running, they added.
By Chowdari Lakshmana Rao
