Under the shade of a thin film of green jute cloth, in a large pit about 10 feet below the road, Sanjay Pandit, a slender 24-year-old, and his equally lean comrade Pahupulal Pandit, chip off cement from a pillar being built for the foundation of a new metro line connecting Mayur Vihar in east Delhi to Lajpat Nagar in the city’s south.

It is noon and the scorching sun shows no sign of mercy. The young men have been at work since 6 am. While the morning was slightly cooler, the mercury has risen several notches with every passing hour. The pollution spewed by the passing vehicles only makes it worse. Yet, they have to work till 1pm before they can take a break.

About 20,000 workers are currently employed in the construction of Delhi Metro's third phase. “The construction work is allotted to contractors, who in turn hire labourers for the work,” said a spokesperson for the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, who did not wish to be named. "We monitor labour welfare though, part of which is to give special instructions on what precautions to take, how to take care of their health in summer and how to keep the body medically fit. We also advised the contractors to give the labourers a break between 12pm and 3pm, as well as reduce the shift timings in summer.”

Additionally, the DMRC has asked contractors to set up canteens and drinking water facilities at the worksites. “We don’t enforce this, but we monitor it nonetheless,” the spokesperson added.

At Sanjay's worksite in Mayur Vihar, the company provides water through a borewell. “The water is cool because it is pumped up by the borewell,” Pahupulal remarked. However, there is only one earthen pot for over 50 construction workers.

Does the contractor provide them safety gear? Yes, says Sanjay, the contractor gave all of them uniforms, shoes and safety helmets. “Par kya karein, itni garmi hai ke hum pehente nahi hai. The heat makes it unbearable to wear them,” he said. Both Sanjay and Pahupulal only put on the safety gear when they were asked to pose for a photograph.


There is only one earthen pot to store drinking water for over 50 construction workers. 


Both Sanjay and Pahupulal belong to the same village in Madhepura in Bihar. Back in their village, Sanjay said, the summer was easier to deal with. “The wind blew through the open fields throughout the day, making it less hot than Delhi.” As the heat peaks in the afternoon, Sanjay and his colleagues take a break to eat lunch and rest in the welcome shade of the trees near the site. They are back at work at the site at 4pm and labour another six hours until 10pm.

His weekly off is Sunday, but it is not every Sunday that he is allowed a break – just the other Sunday, he says he had to work. Sanjay gets paid Rs 300 for a day of nearly eleven hours of work. He has been working with the Delhi Metro for about 15 days, but the work isn’t entirely new for him. Before coming to Delhi, he worked with the Jaipur Metro for six months – the last in a string of jobs he has held since he turned 16 and was forced to forgo his education in his village.


Sanjay Pandit and his colleagues rest in the afternoon before they head back to work.


“I looked for the same job in my village, but found nothing,” Sanjay said. “Finding work there is difficult, and the pay is not enough to support a family. Nobody wants to move away from their families or their land, but we are forced to. We are labourers, we can’t be picky."

He has worked in Chennai and Kolkata, among other cities, and knows Delhi too is a temporary stop. Sanjay has been married for five years and has a one-year-old daughter who lives with his wife back in his village. He last visited home four months ago, but regularly saves up to send most of his salary to his family. “I spend about Rs 1,500 on groceries and Rs 500 on the telephone bill. The remaining salary, Rs 6,000, I manage to send back home,” he said. "I miss my family, but poverty has kept me away from them."

Pahupulal is 25. He too is married, and has a son. He says he had spent almost no time with his family since his son was born a year ago. “If I go to my village, I will lose my job. This is how things work here.”

Things don’t get easier when the metro workers reach their accommodation in Trilokpuri to rest for the night. Sanjay shares a one-room tenement along with nine other workers. It is a scantily equipped room with a tin roof. A ceiling fan barely cools the room.

The next morning, less than eight hours after he has gone to bed, Sanjay is back at the worksite again.