Illegal asphalt factories endangers life in Karuali district
About the video: The very air of the village of Asthal in Karuali district, Rajasthan has turned against the inhabitants. Crops wither before harvest and the trees have stopped to bear fruits. One in ten villagers suffers from cancer or falls victim to a serious strain of tuberculosis. All fingers are pointing at the 5 asphalt factories that have been churning out toxic fumes and black dust almost every single day for the last ten years.
The Bharathpur Pollution Board, under whose purview the factory land falls, maintains that no permit has been issued for the setting up of these units. The legality of the factories is further challenged by a neighbouring temple which accuses the factory of forcefully occupying temple land. The factory owners claim that their factories provide much needed employment to the locals but the fact remains that the factories workforce of around 50 workers are all migrant labourers from other parts of the country. The people of the village are tired of breathing the poisoned air and are calling for all units to be shut down permanently.