Behind India's construction boom: 'We risk our lives to build your homes'.

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Ankit Srinivas
▼ It was an early morning in November when Mir Hasan arrived at a construction site in Noida - a suburb of India's capital Delhi - to start his daily shift.
He drank a bottle of water and began work right away - this was his routine every day.
But a few hours later, he fell from the high-rise building and died.
He should have had a harness, a good protective helmet, boots with a firm grip and an insurance policy against accidents. But he did not have any of these things, which construction firms are legally required to give workers.
However, many firms do not follow the rules in order to save money, and end up neglecting the wellbeing of the very people who form the backbone of their business.
Mir Hasan's death wasn't an isolated incident - more than five workers died in 2018 in Noida in a similar manner, and many more suffered injuries.

Ankit Srinivas
Ram Bhavan, who has worked at many construction sites in Noida, says most contractors and builders do not take the safety of workers seriously.
"Sometimes, we get helmets but they are mostly old and ill-fitting, and boots are not of good quality," he says. "Each worker is aware of the risks and we get scared when we hear about other workers' deaths. But we don't have an option - we have to keep working without safety equipment."
Ram left Delhi last year to work at construction sites in Allahabad city in northern India.
"The deaths of my colleagues scared me" he says. "I now work at smaller construction sites where working conditions are still risky but manageable."
The invisible workforce - stories about the unorganised workers at the heart of India's economy
The construction sector, which mostly relies on unorganised labour, is one of India's biggest job providers. India has seen a construction boom in recent years as incomes rise and cities expand.
But the industry mostly attracts migrant workers from villages who move to towns and cities due to a lack of jobs in their own areas.
For any labourer refusing to work without proper safety equipment,  (▪ ▪ ▪)

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