The Corrosive Midas Touch

Open-air urinals stand back to back with jewellery workshops and makeshift kitchens where the labourers eat before going back to melting and soldering the metal into exquisite works of art. Even the muck on the floors and drains is sold to rag pickers who sift it for gold flakes.

But all is not well in Midas' kingdom. The West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB), has issued a stern diktat