Rourkela: Bearing tall light columns on their frail shoulders, they walk for over two hours in the cold as the wedding procession leisurely makes its way to the marriage venue. The atmosphere around them is boisterous, but that is hardly enough to lift their spirits. For these daily wagers, it is yet another day of back-breaking work just to earn a hundred rupees.
It is wedding season in the Steel City, and hundreds of ‘baraats’ can be seen on the roads daily. For these light-bearers, however, it is a sorry tale of woe as they struggle to make ends meet with the paltry money they are given by their labour contractor. Adding to their suffering is the harsh cold that has already set in. Most of these daily wagers are in no shape to undertake such arduous tasks, but they are starved for choices.
“We’re ubiquitous but inconspicuous. Nobody notices us,” says one of the labourers identified only as Sabita.
Who Sabita is referring to are not just members of the wedding procession – the government is also blind to their fate. Women labourers are mostly brought in unsafe vehicles and are made to work till late night, which is against labour laws. Their working conditions are unsafe too: Sabita recalls an incident where members of a wedding procession, in a drunken fit, assaulted a light-bearer. “We also have to be mindful of traffic,” she adds.
“We’re transported in cargo auto-rickshaws no matter how far we have to travel. We never get to travel in a proper vehicle. Then we have to carry the heavy lights for hours altogether. There have been several cases of our women suffering electric shocks while carrying the lights. Even worse is when we have to stand close to the speakers. We fear we may go deaf if we stick to this profession for too long,” she says.
Trouble ensues when the members of the ‘baraat’ refuse to wind up on time. “They threaten us that they won’t pay if we do not wait till they are done. They keep on dancing for several more hours under the influence of alcohol, and all the while we have to stand there with the lights on our shoulders,” said another light-bearer, refusing to divulge her name.
There are laws in place to regulate the use of volume of music that is played during the processions, but the agencies that engage the women do not obtain permission from authorities. Neither is there a fixed wage nor specific working hours for them. The district labour department is also seemingly oblivious to the plight of hundreds of such women labourers engaged in wedding processions every night in the Steel City during winter.
District labour officer Pranab Patra said he would look into safety measures for the women light-bearers and said he would try to ensure they get proper remuneration. PNN
