India's salt workers brave brutal heat on Gujarat's desert plains

"Up to 50,000 seasonal workers migrate to the remote Little Rann of Kutch region for about eight months, living on the salt flats without electricity, healthcare or permanent shelter. A tanker delivers water for drinking and washing only once every 25 days. Summer temperatures there routinely exceed 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) and can climb to 47-48C (117-118F)."

"Salt is produced by pumping saline water from bore wells into shallow pans, where it is left to evaporate in the sun and wind. Workers rake the surface daily to ensure even crystallisation, then break and pile the thick crust into mounds. We work in staggered timing, doing our work in early mornings and after sunset, 42-year-old salt worker Babulal Narayan said. During the hottest hours, it is too hot to stand."

"With no trees or natural shade, workers build their own shelters: frames of sticks covered with coarse homespun cloth and plastered with wild donkey dung. We sit here every two to three hours so that we do not feel weak or dizzy, 17-year-old Bhavna Rathore said. The dung blocks the sun and lets heat escape while the rough fabric allows some air to pass through, she explained."

"Others rely on improvised cooling techniques. Kanchan Narayan, 44, hangs a bottle wrapped in a damp cloth from a string, using evaporation to cool the drinking water. Another worker, Poornima, drinks black tea during the day, saying the hot drink triggers sweating that cools the body in the dry air."

Gujarat accounts for about three-quarters of India’s salt output, produced in harsh conditions in the Little Rann of Kutch. Up to 50,000 seasonal workers migrate for roughly eight months and live on salt flats without electricity, healthcare, or permanent shelter. Water for drinking and washing arrives only once every 25 days. Temperatures routinely exceed 45°C and can reach 47–48°C. Salt production involves pumping saline water from bore wells into shallow pans to evaporate, then raking daily for even crystallisation and breaking and piling the crust. Workers stagger their schedules, build improvised shelters using cloth and donkey dung, and use cooling methods such as evaporative cooling and hot drinks to manage heat stress.

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