Reetika Revathy Subramanian is a Mumbai-based journalist and researcher. She works as a senior consultant with Aajeevika Bureau, an NGO working on labour migration in the informal sector in western India.
Around 8 lakh workers from Odisha, after strenuous shifts in Surat’s powerlooms, stay in rotation in crowded rooms, amid power cuts, scarce water, filth and noise. Illnesses are common, as are stress and alcoholism.