The Agariya salt workers in Gujarat have a very hard time with their eyes because of the place where they work. For eight months of the year, these people are out in the dry, salt-covered fields under a desert sun that is just relentless. The wind there is always dry and full of salt, and it blows fine dust right into their eyes. The fact that this dust is always getting in there means it dries out the sensitive parts of the eye and blocks their tear ducts.
Because of this blockage, their tears just pool in their eyes all the time. It is very painful, it feels like a constant burning and makes everything look very blurry. To make things worse, the sun reflects off the thick white salt on the ground, creating a glare that is just blinding. This light is really dangerous because it damages the eye, causes painful growths, and leads to cataracts very early in life.
This happens every single day across 5,000 square kilometers of salt fields. The fact that these workers are losing their sight is a huge problem because if they cannot see, they cannot work. This ends up trapping families in a lot of debt to salt traders that lasts for generations. For instance, there is a worker named Rizwana who is only 38 years old. Her eyes are always watery and badly scarred now. She is really struggling to harvest salt, and it is a very scary situation because her family’s survival depends on her being able to see.