SALTPANS--MILES, AND YET MORE ENDLESS MILES

by Shriya Patil

MILES, AND YET MORE ENDLESS MILES, OF FRACTURED EARTH. NO TREES, NOT A BLADE OF GRASS. NO BIRDS. NO STONES, NO MILE-STONES. ONLY EMPTINESS EXTENDED. IT'S HARD TO MISS THE HUGE SALTPANS ADJACENT TO THE CREEKS OF MUMBAI, INDIA. ACCORDING TO THE SALT COMMISSION, THERE ARE A TOTAL OF 5,400 ACRES OF SALTPANS IN THE MUMBAI CITY, RANGING FROM MULUND TO NAHUR, KANJUR VILLAGE, GHATKOPAR, WADALA, MAHUL, MALVANI AND DAHISAR.
LANDLESS PEOPLE BELONGING TO SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY BACKWARD CASTES AND COMMUNITIES ARE COMPELLED TO WORK ON SALT PANS AS SEASONAL LABORERS. SALT PAN WORKERS WORK UNDER THE SCORCHING SUN FOR UP TO EIGHT-TEN HOURS EVERY DAY MAKING SALT FROM SEA WATER. THE POOR SALTPAN WORKERS DAY RUNS AROUND WITH THE RAISING SUN AS HIS CLOCK.EVEN AS THE SUMMER SUN BEATS DOWN RELENTLESSLY, WORK IS BRISK AT THE SALT PANS. THE WORKERS ARE PAID RS 2,000 (47$ APPROXIMATELY) PER MONTH, WORK FOR EIGHT MONTHS IN A YEAR AND ARE LAID OFF DURING THE MONSOON. PEOPLE MOSTLY RETURN TO WORK AT THE SAME SALT PANS, SO WE CAN LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING SOME OF THE SAME FACES EVERY YEAR.