Every year, many people move to Kathmandu in search of better opportunities. Many without education and resources end up working at construction sites as laborers. Sharwan and Sanotosh Patel are two such workers who came to the capital to earn and support their family and started working as daily laborers. However, given the expenses of living in Kathmandu, they haven’t been able to do much and their situation looks bleaker.
The brothers endure hardship and long hours and still aren’t able to sustain themselves properly. They don’t have a roof over their heads and live temporarily at the worksite, shifting to another place when a project is complete. This lack of a place to call home and to come to at the end of a long workday dampens their spirits no end.
Earning just a meager sum of Rs 350 on a daily basis, they have a hand-to-mouth existence. If on a particular day they aren’t able to work, then there’s no money for that day. The Patel brothers, like many other laborers working in the capital, depend on their daily earnings and have precarious existence. The Patels have an ailing father back home but they cannot return to their village, given their poor financial condition.
Worth of stories
Carrying huge loads, and working with cement and sand day after day puts strain on their health. The laborers often fall sick and look years older than they actually are.
Their story mimics the ones of many others like them who have it tough despite working hard. The work takes a physical, mental, and emotional toll on them, yet they have no choice but to continue working to support themselves and their families. And the situation, sadly, seems unlikely to change. The government needs to come up with plans to better the condition of the laborers and implement them, and only then will these workers get some much needed respite.
Without proper government policies and healthcare, laborers are vulnerable and feel insecure. They have no one to look after them should they fall sick and become unable to work.
The laborers are miserable and don’t know how they can better their situation. They work hard and put in long hours, yet they aren’t able to save much.
Without a room of their own, the Patel brothers live in makeshift shelters at the worksite. They have very less possessions to call their own.
This photo story was produced during the Kathmanu Inside Out Masterclass 2014.
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