Interview with Mr. RANDHIR SINGH— a security guard at the paper mill

Q. What is your name? Ans. RANDHIR SINGH

Q. What is the name of this mill?

Ans. M.P. BOARD & PAPER MILL.

Q. What work do you perform in this mill? Ans. I am employed as a security guard.

Q. How old is this mill?

Ans. It may be 50 years old. I don’t know clearly. I have come later.

Q. From how many years you have been working here?

Ans. 10 years.

Q. Who is the owner of this mill?

Ans. Mr. ASHOK KOTFIARI & Mr. JAGMOHAN LAL. Both of them are brothers. Mr. ASHOK KOTHARI lives in the village & Mr. JAGMOHAN LAL in Bhopal. Q. What is the timing of the working of the mill?

Ans. The mill works for 24 hours except when the machinery fails. Work is done in three shifts of 8 hours each. Shift A is from 0600-1400 hrs, Shift B is from 1400-2200 hrs & Shift C is from 2200-0600 hrs. In every shift a different batch of employers works.

Q. How many workers are employed in this mill? Ans. 150-200.

Q. Are all of them from the village (Baisnagar©)?

Ans. No. Some workers come from Vidisha & nearby areas also. But majority of the workers are from the village.

Q. How much are they paid? Ans. Their income is not fixed. Some of them get Rs.60, some Rs.70 & some Rs.100 per day. Income is based on experience. More experienced person gets more. Q. So the minimum pay is Rs.60?

Ans. YES. Q. Are women also employed?

Ans. Yes. But there number is almost negligible. Presently only one woman is employed. Earlier their number high, but now it has fallen down.

Q. Is there any age limit of workers to be employed & to get retired?

Ans. Yes. The retirement age is 55 years. Max. age of employment is 55 years & mm. age is above 20 years.

Q. Do you see any kind of qualification for employment?

Ans. No. We only see their working ability. Some of employers already know about the machinery & therefore they are kept at high posts. Others who don’t have any kind of experience are first explained about every thing & then allowed to practice under the guidance of experienced workers.

Q. From where does the raw material come?

Ans. The raw material is the cardboard &paper waste. It comes from the neighbouring districts & cities like BHOPAL, MANDLDEEP, SAGAR, RAISEN and GANJ VASODA & BINA. But most of the raw material comes from Bhopal & Sagar. Q. In which areas do you supply the product? Ans. There is no particular area of supply. It is supplied all over India.

Q. Where do you expose the waste from production? Ans. The waste is taken by the brick factory- the one in Baisnagar. They use it for solidifying the bricks by burning it.

Q. And what about the waste water?

Ans. It is used for irrigation by the villagers as it is not harmful.

Q. What’s the procedure of recycling? Ans. The raw material i.e. the paper is first softened in large tank & then grinded into a thick paste. The moist paste is then baked in the form of sheets of card-board or paper by the M.G. machine. Finally the sheets are further dried up by steaming. Q. What is the average production?

Ans. 16-18 tons per month. Q. Is the factory closed on Sundays? Ans. No. The factory is closed only on festival days. But the workers can take one day rest in a week.

O.K. Thank You. From the interview we came to the conclusion that the mill is doing a great job of recycling paper waste & providing employment to the villagers, but the income of the workers is very less. Their pay should be at least Rs. 100 per day.