Efforts Towards A
Humane Society
By: Bastu Rege
Santulan Executive Director
Constructive Struggle towards Empowerment of the Marginalised
SANTULAN
Social AnimatioN Towards United Liberative ActioN
Quarry Sector
• Working as a Social Worker in Pune, Maharashtra, India
• Witnessed an accident - Child run over by Truck from
the Quarry.
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Social AnimatioN Towards United Liberative ActioN
People in Quarries ?
• Saw the conditions that the workers were living
in. Can there be worst life conditions than this ?
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Migrants within India ?
• Quarry workers had migrated with their families from their
home village to earn money for their survival.
• The reason for their migration could be due to:
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Indebtedness
Drought
Displaced from their land
Lack of opportunity
SANTULAN
Social AnimatioN Towards United Liberative ActioN
Living conditions:
• Most Quarry families live next to quarry sites
with no access to:
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Clean water
Healthcare
Schools
Fresh food
SANTULAN
Social AnimatioN Towards United Liberative ActioN
Working Conditions
• They are employed through a contractor:
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Paid on piece rate
Easily exploited
No insurance
No social security
No pensions
No Benefits
– No union.
SANTULAN
Social AnimatioN Towards United Liberative ActioN
Health Issues
• Hazardous occupation.
• Workers and their families exposed to dust:
– Causes silicosis and lung disease
– Skin allergies
– Children’s lungs found to be badly
effected in medical study
• Dysentery is common due
to poor water supply.
• High rate of Accidents
and insures.
• Workers vulnerable to
HIV-AIDS.
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Women workers’ condition
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Women and young girls are the easy victims.
Women play abroad earners role in most families.
Most women are married early, early motherhood, …
Most women suffer from gynecological problems.
Over 80% women suffer from anemia.
On an average after the age of 40-45 women are unable to in quarry
SANTULAN
Social AnimatioN Towards United Liberative ActioN
Children in Quarry
Generally stone quarry children are allotted to:
- Taking care of their siblings, fetching water, washing clothes,
guarding doorless homes and preparing food and taking it to their
parents.
- Join parents at work in quarries at the age of 10 to 12 years.
- Girls are forced to get married at an early age.
- All members are expected to work
for family survival.
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Social Issues
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They have no birth record and aren’t registered with the government.
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They are not included in any of the Government census including population.
They are migrant population,
- No residential proof.
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No Ration cards
No access to public food distribution systems
Not listed in Voting
Government welfare schemes and programs
SANTULAN
Social AnimatioN Towards United Liberative ActioN
Legal Issues
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Mines Act 1957 has classified Quarry sector under Minor Mineral.
Quarry is categorized as Labor Intensive & Small Scale Industry.
State Governments frame rules for lease and licensing of Quarries.
No specific Laws to protect Quarry workers.
No labor records with quarry companies .
No labor records with labor departments.
Hardly any monitoring visits to quarries.
SANTULAN
Social AnimatioN Towards United Liberative ActioN
Stone Quarries in Maharashtra
• Maharashtra with over 33 cities is growing in population and construction
activities.
• Over 5 million people living amid stone quarries.
• 1.5 million workers, engaged in the stone quarry and crushing sector.
• Over 1 million children (0 – 18 years) living amid stone quarries.
• Stone quarry workers are from poor sections of the community such as
dalits, tribals and landless labourers.
SANTULAN
Social AnimatioN Towards United Liberative ActioN
Santulan- Interventions
• Vision
SANTULAN established in 1997 to work
towards the rights and empowerment of
socio-economically marginalized
communities in India.
• Mission
Overall goal is to fight poverty and
marginalization through development and
rights through means of Education,
Organization and Development.
SANTULAN
Social AnimatioN Towards United Liberative ActioN
Focused Areas:
Areas Covered By Santulan
SANTULAN
Social AnimatioN Towards United Liberative ActioN
1. Alternative Innovative Education
 Child centered educational program, named
"Pashan Shala” (Quarry School), amongst
quarry worker’s colonies.
 Helps reduce child labour.
 Education amongst children.
SANTULAN
Social AnimatioN Towards United Liberative ActioN
Pashan Shala- Adapted to the needs of quarry
community
 No documents required for entry.
 Timing of schools to suit family so that they can
assist parents.
 Children can bring younger siblings.
 Informal multi-class setup where children are taught
as per their ability and timings.
 Allows illiterate older children to study multiple
grades each year until they reach the grade
appropriate for their age.
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Pashan Shalas
 Annually educate over 3,500 students across
Maharashtra state.
 Reduce child labour
 Reduce child marriages.
 Changing a generation…
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Sunita Nimbalkar – yr 12.
• Migrated to Kolhapur from Karnataka with parents
who work in quarry
• Took care of her 2 brothers and sister
• Took food to parents at mine where she was struck
by stone chip and injured
• Started education at 10 in Pashan Shala Passed
10th std. aged 15
Prepared by Students f T.A.Pai
Management Institute, Manipal
Prepared by Students f T.A.Pai
Management Institute, Manipal
SANTULAN
Social AnimatioN Towards United Liberative ActioN
2. Residential Schools
SANTULAN initiates pilot Residential schools for
migrant quarry & street begging children in two
places i.e. Pune & Kolhapur in temporary shelters
SANTULAN
Social AnimatioN Towards United Liberative ActioN
Residential Schools - success
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Reduced migration of children .
Provided continuity and consistency in education.
Protected orphans and children with special needs
Reduced child labourers & girls Child marriages
Create a safe, positive environment for children to live, learn and
personally develop
• Improve children’s health by having them live in a safe, dust free place
with clean water and good food.
• Provided children with the opportunity to break free of the poverty cycle
by receiving an education.
• Provide access to a wider range of disciplines, including
mechanical, technical trades, agriculture and self-employment
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3. Supplementary Nutrition
• Many children found to be undernourished.
Reasons: Insufficient food and an unbalanced diet.
• Santulan launched a mid-day meal program in 2001.
• Food provided at all quarry schools from Monday to Saturday.
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Social AnimatioN Towards United Liberative ActioN
4. Health and Safety
• First-aid boxes provided at each quarry school for the
community.
• Monthly health check-up for
children.
• Health check-up camps for
workers.
• Health and Safety awareness
meetings with workers.
• Organise access to public health
services.
Prepared by Students of T.A.Pai
Management Institute, Manipal
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5. Youth Development
• Youth are mostly illiterate and unskilled.
• Youth Skill training programs.
• Youth leadership and awareness training camps.
• Youth Quarry Workers cooperative for self employment.
SANTULAN
Social AnimatioN Towards United Liberative ActioN
6. Women’s Empowerment
• Women’s literacy programs
• Self Help Groups
• Micro Credit for self
employments.
• leadership & skill straining.
• Access to welfare programmers.
• Protection at work place
• Awareness on no to girl child
marriages
• Equal opportunities
• Gender equality.
SANTULAN
Social AnimatioN Towards United Liberative ActioN
7. Community Co-operatives
• Quarry Cooperative
– Access to mining leases
• Housing Cooperative
– Right to housing
• Micro Credit Cooperative
– Women’s Self-Help Groups
• Women's Industrial Cooperative
- Alternate self employment
SANTULAN
Social AnimatioN Towards United Liberative ActioN
8. Quarry Workers Union
• Workplace union
• Worker’s insurance and compensation
SANTULAN
Social AnimatioN Towards United Liberative ActioN
9. Legal Aid and Counseling
• Free and fast family dispute resolution
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Legal support for women and workers in distress
Amicable settlements with no costs
Supporting families harassed by police
Releasing victims from Jails.
Legal awareness.
Reconciliation in caste-cultural conflicts.
Promote Confidence and dignity of life
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Social AnimatioN Towards United Liberative ActioN
10. Advocacy for Policy Change
• Achieving worker’s basic rights through
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People’s mobilisation
Media mobilisation
Judicial mobilisation
Legislator’s mobilisation
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Social AnimatioN Towards United Liberative ActioN
Quarry workers to get Ration Cards
• Every migrant Quarry family has Ration card
• Every family has access to subsidized Public Food
Distribution system.
• Independent PFD shop for Quarry workers
women’s collective in Pune
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Social AnimatioN Towards United Liberative ActioN
Quarry workers in Voting list
• Quarry Workers enrolled in voting list.
SANTULAN
Social AnimatioN Towards United Liberative ActioN
Quarry Workers get electricity
• Quarry Workers encroached on Government
owned land get legal electricity connections
SANTULAN
Social AnimatioN Towards United Liberative ActioN
Quarry workers Water Tank
• On Behalf of quarry workers a Public Interest
Litigation field in High Court Mumbai by Santulan in
2005
• Final Judgment came in favor in quarry workers to
providing drinking water scheme for over 5000
quarry workers families.
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Social AnimatioN Towards United Liberative ActioN
Suresh Pawar – Santulan Staff
• From original stone breaking
family – Solapur
• Came to Pune aged 3
• Father died of Silicosis when he
was 6
• Mother couldn’t feed all 5
children so 4 were put in a hostel,
including Suresh
• Finished 10th Std.
• Applied to Defence Force
• Went to work in quarry where he
had a serious accident.
• Since then has dedicated his life
to Santulan’s work.
SANTULAN
Some of the Achievements So Far
Social AnimatioN Towards United Liberative ActioN
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19 stone quarry families received 8,15,000/- rupees as claims on insurance.
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171 children received an educational scholarship of Rs. 1,92, 600/-
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650 quarry families received electricity.
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267 child labourers and street children rehabilitated.
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660 youth formed youth cooperatives.
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472 family and labour disputes have been amicably settled.
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2,690 stone quarry families received Ration cards and access to Public Food Supply.
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3000 women are in self help activities
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25,000 stone quarry workers protected under Janashri Bima Yojana insurance
scheme.
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29,036 stone quarry children provided Education, Nutrition and Healthcare.
Over 500,000 people have directly or indirectly benefited from Santulan’s
various programs. Much more is to be achieved…
SANTULAN
Social AnimatioN Towards United Liberative ActioN
Issues of Development – pending projects
1. Residential School
Santulan puts forward the residential school model that fits
within the RTI category of specified category of children.
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Covered migrant children
Reduces child labourers
Protects the orphans & children with special needs
Whose parents can’t support them.
SANTULAN
Social AnimatioN Towards United Liberative ActioN
Residential School Sites for construction
 Santulan has land in 3 Pune, Satara and Kolhapur districts of
Maharashtra.
 We are planning to build the first residential schools for
Quarry community children in these places with all
amenities.
SANTULAN
Social AnimatioN Towards United Liberative ActioN
Issues of Development – pending projects
2. Women’s Training Centre
• Illiterate, low educated and unskilled stone quarry, rural and urban slums
women and young girls training in various skills.
• Higher educational courses for low educated women and school drop our.
• Short stay home for women and girls in distress.
• Hostels for working women & studying girls
SANTULAN
Social AnimatioN Towards United Liberative ActioN
Issues of Development – pending projects
3. Quarry Safety Training Centre
 To help overcome these challenges Santulan is planning to
establish an Vocational Skills Training Centre.
 Intended especially for:
• Unemployed youth
• Exploited youth
• Unskilled youth
SANTULAN
Social AnimatioN Towards United Liberative ActioN
Issues of Development – pending projects
4. People’s Initiatives & Entitlement
• Quarry Business Cooperatives
• Housing Rights Cooperatives
• Women Self Employment coop
Thank you
Your support is much valuable to us
Contact us on info@santulan.org
For more information: www.santulan.org