Girls Fill And Empty Heavy Baskets Of Rock

Gravel quarries are a common sight in Orissa and other states in India. The children that work here are exploited 12-16 hours a day, 7 days a week. Most child laborers do not have access to school. At night many sleep in the open or in makeshift shelters where sanitary conditions are nonexistent. Exposure to the rock dust from the grinder causes silicosis of the lungs and inevitably leads to respiratory illness, and carrying heavy loads on their heads can cause permanent skeletal injury. Many child laborers die before they reach 30.