The death ships

Have you heard of Alang?

It is a small, gloomy seaside town, with a black beach, situated 50 km south of Bhavnagar, on the Gujarat coast of the Arabian Sea. It is also the location of the world's biggest ship-breaking yard.

Alang took to ship-breaking back in 1983. Today apparently 50 per cent of the world's ship recycling is done in Alang by a work force of some 35,000.

But that isn't a statistic India needs to be proud of...

Text: rediff News Bureau and agencies | Photograph: (c) Greenpeace/Shailendra Yashwant

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