This article was first published 15 years ago

A day in the life of an Indian worker

Last updated on: November 16, 2010 15:38 IST

Image: A labourer works at a glass bottle recycling factory.
Photographs: Parivartan Sharma/Reuters.

India has a large pool of over 80 crore (800 million) unorganised workers. From child labourers to old aged, all work for a pittance. Here's a look at their daily struggle to live...

The labourers at at recycling factory at Khaddar, in Uttar Pradesh earn about Rs 75 ($1.59) a day.

...

Image: Krishnendu Halder/Reuters.

A worker sprays paint on a three-wheeler car in the shape of a ladies handbag made with steel plates in Hyderabad.

The handbag and shoe is part of a ladies series of creations by Indian car designer Sudhakar Yadav and the cars can run at a maximum speed of 45 kph (28 mph).

Sudhakar Yadav converts automobile waste into fancy vehicles.

Image: Labourers.
Photographs: Reuters.

It's a tough life for labourers who work at a construction site of a gas pipeline in Noida.

Image: Parivartan Sharma/Reuters.

A man herds his cattle on a road in the desert state of Rajasthan.

Image: Laundrymen work at the Dhobi Ghat open air laundry in Mumbai.
Photographs: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters.

Termed as the world's largest outdoor laundry, Dhobi Ghat is where Mumbai's traditional laundrymen work in the open to wash clothes from different parts of the city.

The open air laundry has about 700 washing platforms made of stones where about 200 washermen families have been washing clothes as their family business for decades.

Image: A worker makes an artificial limb at a workshop in New Delhi.
Photographs: Adnan Abidi/Reuters.

From the time a patient walks in and is examined by professionals, it takes less than a day to manufacture a Jaipur Foot.

Made from locally available and cheap materials, the rapid-fit, prosthetic limb is handed over for free to victims of road and rail accidents or landmine blasts, giving them, and thousands of others who can ill-afford a major injury or the costs of rehabilitation, a new lease on life.

Image: Jayanta Dey/Reuters.

A fisherman casts his net in the waters of the Howrah river on the outskirts of Agartala.

Image: A worker.
Photographs: Amit Dave/Reuters.

A worker spreads red chilli peppers to dry in Sertha village on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.

...

Image: Ajay Verma/Reuters.

A farmer rests on the sacks of wheat at a grain market in Kharar town in Punjab.

...

Image: A labourer collects water chestnuts from a pond in Motte Majra village in Punjab.
Photographs: Ajay Verma/Reuters

Water chestnut are locally known as Singada and are eaten raw, boiled or are grounded into flour after they are dried.

...

Image: Labourers.
Photographs: Parivartan Sharma/Reuters

Labourers with their clothes splattered with silver paint travel on a tricycle from one position of the race track to another. The track was used for the road cycling race event during the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.

Image: Krishnendu Halder/Reuters.

Workers clean windows on a building under construction in Hyderabad.

India's economy is seen growing by 8.5-9.7 percent in the 2010/11 fiscal year and monetary tightening should ensure the pace of recovery in Asia's third-largest economy is not hit, the finance ministry said in a report.

...

Image: Parivartan Sharma/Reuters.

Workers from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) capture a stray dog near the Indira Gandhi Stadium, which was one of the venues for the Commonwealth Games held in New Delhi.

The local government started capturing stray dogs near venues of the Commonwealth Games and took them to dog shelters.

Image: A worker makes gear parts for cranes at a workshop in Mumbai.
Photographs: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters.

India's manufacturing sector continued to expand although at a considerably slower pace than in preceding months, predominantly weighed down by a fall in new orders and output.

...