Bholagonj's Stone Quarry Workers
Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining in Asia- Pacific Case Study Series project led by Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt, edited by Joel Katz, designed by Rachel P Lorenzen Case Study No. 10, written by Manzoor Khoda , 2007 Bholagonj’s Stone Quarry Workers – A Life of Constant Struggle, Sylhet, Bangladesh Overview This case study focuses on the stone quarry workers of Bholagonj, in Summary of Issues Bangladesh’s north-eastern province of Sylhet, and the innumerable • The Bholagonj stone problems they face on a daily basis. Like many other poor Bangladeshis, quarry, situated in the the Bholagonj’s stone quarry workers work in miserable and precarious Sylhet Division in north- eastern Bangladesh, em- conditions, and are routinely exploited and harassed by quarry owners, ploys thousands of stone corrupt local authorities and mafia-type local gangs. Despite these quarry workers, who mine hardships, the local community has been largely ignored by the stones either out of the government, and there has been a striking lack of regional government waterways off boats called barkee or by digging wells. initiatives to help the quarry workers, particularly the most vulnerable groups that need help the most – the women and child workers. • Stone quarry workers en- counter miserable work Geographical Profile conditions and live in squalid slum settlements Bholagonj is the largest stone quarry in Bangla- and villages, where there desh, and is situated in the West Islampur Un- are no waste management systems, hygiene is deplor- ion 1 of Companiganj Upazila in Sylhet Division 2 able, there is limited ac- 48 km northwest of Sylhet city. The Bholagonj cess to clean drinking wa- stone quarry is surrounded by Chhatak Upazila ter, and there are only a in the west, Sylhet Sadar Upazila in the south, handful of primary schools.
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