Why we need to realise value of trained masons to ensure safe sanitation

Training programmes are needed to equip masons with technical information

G Ramesh* was 12 when he first accompanied his father to a construction site in Tamil Nadu in 1994. He spent the day carrying stone and bricks, fetching equipment and cleaning cement containers--tasks of a helper, the lowest grade in construction work. At the end of the day, he was paid Rs 35.

“Though I was doing well in school, I ended up spending all my summer holidays working on construction sites with my father,” said the 32-year-old from Ganuvar village in Periyanaicken-palayam town panchayat in Coimbatore district.

Ramesh went on to become a maistri, the chief mason who oversees