Construction in India

When I  arrived in Delhi I read about the new airport being built here for the Asian games next October. I was surprised to read that 20,000 workers were going to take part. So I decided to take a look at how things are built in India.

After some research, I have no doubt now that the pyramids could be built on the backs of the peasants, and that it doesn't take long to build a big building as long as you have enough workers.

Here's a house in the last stages of being built.  It looks as though it's being held up with cut pieces of wood. And you would be right. This is the scaffolding so much as it is.

Look closely and you'll see the woman piling bricks on her head. I don't know how many bricks you've carried at one time, but that looks like a heavy load to me.  Next to her is a brick layer and she is carrying this load to another brick layer at the top of the house.

There she goes. She intends to take those bricks up the stairs to the top. And if you notice she is wearing a sari, not jeans or a pair of pants, not even a salwar kameez, which is a dress with a pair of balloon pants underneiath. No, she is wearing a sari and sandals, equivalent to our flip flops.

She made it to the top. You would think she would have the body of wonder woman, but she is but a slip of a woman. However, she must have strong muscles in her legs. At my strongest I could not have carried that many bricks anywhere, much less up a flight of steps.

She gets paid about 80 rupees ($1.80) an hour. I know how cheap that sounds. Do not forget!! It wasn't more than ten years ago, this same woman would have been paid $1-$2 a day. Things are improving.

Now her children need to be educated, because when they grow up they will probably no longer be able to carry bricks at a construction site.

Tomorrow I will show you a big construction site.  That is more interesting.