A few kilometres away, at Thakre’s farm, Shakuntala Devi earns Rs 175 per day for work as a farm labourer. In the month of July, she skipped 14 days of work due to health-related issues.
For the month of July, she didn’t get paid for those 14 days — Rs 5,250, to be exact.
“Stomach ache and fever are very common here,” she said, as she sat next to two other women labourers for lunch. Devi can’t afford medical help, especially after losing half of her monthly income due to her absence at work.
Thakre explained that the well that supplies water to their farm is polluted. “My children and I bring water from home for our own consumption but it is not possible to bring water for the labourers. They often end up drinking the contaminated water,” he said.
Interestingly, Patil, Thakre, Kumble, Devi, and thousands of others impacted by the power plants unanimously said that they do not want the plants to shut down. “When the plants were being set up, we were told that they will improve the…