Where fingers move fast but not wages, Bengal's bidi belt votes on May 7

Tardy uniform wage implementation, health hazard plague workers

For 22-year-old Heera Khatun, rolling bidis is like a religion.

The income from the small, thin stick of tobacco wrapped in kendu leaves helped fund her college education — at least, until she was married off and dropped out. Notwithstanding the meagre earnings, she is now looking forward to making a future with her husband on the back of her skill to roll bidis.
 

Heera’s father was a small-time tailor who did not have the talent to make anything from scratch. Mending and repairing were more his forte. But it translated into little income.
 

“The family was always in need; whatever