HARIPUR, Nov 8: Due to lack of implementation of labour laws, proper wages and medical care, the artisans of ancient Buddhist city of Julian and surrounding areas are exposed to hardships of different kinds and nature, Dawn observed during a visit to these areas on Saturday.

The villages of Julian, Pind Gakhra, Jandial, and adjoining areas of Hazara Division are famous for ancient Buddhist sites.

These areas have a good number of skilled artisans who inherited this art from their ancestors and have been earning their livings by carving locally collected hard stone into beautiful shapes and replicas of artifacts.

Besides others, mortar locally known as Langri or stone vessel for grinding spices, gravestones, flowerpots and other decoration pieces are the most popular artifacts which they have been marketing in different parts of the country.

According to Kamran, an employee of Taxila Museum, the art of stone carving developed during the 2nd century in the Bhir Mound area, about 100 years before Greek warrior Alexander the Great conquered the area.

He said that artisans of Panj Katha area of Khanpur and neighbouring ancient city of Taxila had inherited this art from their forefathers and were transferring it into their next generations which helped them a lot keeping the art alive.

It was observed that these stone carvers were fully dependent on this art which was apparently their only source of livelihood for the last several years but now they find it difficult to keep their soul and body together due to poor wages and violation of their rights they are entitled to under the labour laws.

“My family has been in the business of making mortars for the last over 50 years and I earn only Rs30 to 40 for chiseling hard stone into a piece of Langri”, said Sherdad, a local stone carver, adding, he hardly makes four to five langries a day and what he earns from this job is not enough to even buy a bag of flour at the end of the month.

Sabir Shah, another stone carver said that he had been making langries on the lathe machine for the last 23 years and when he started the job he used to receive Rs10 for a piece of langri of 10 inches size.

He lamented that the market rate of a langri had risen to Rs150 to Rs170 but piece rate he had been receiving for decades was unchanged due to which he was forced to take loans to run his kitchen.

It was also observed that these stone carvers were not provided with any safety measures to protect their eyes and faces from the flying splinters that often cause injuries to the artisans. Besides this those working on finishing work of langries or other handicrafts were exposed to lung diseases owing to heavy dust they inhale during the process.

These artisans were not covered under social security or registered with labour department due to which the contractors exploit them without any check or hindrance. Dawn

Syed Usman Shah Sheerazi, a local labour leader, when approached for comments told that since stone carving and shaping them into artifacts was an industry in Pakistan these stone carvers were entitled to all the benefits including minimum wages of Rs7,000 a month, social security services and other facilities of leave and compensation under the labour laws. He said that lack of union facilities to these artisans was the chief reason behind their exploitation at the hands of employers.

He expressed the resolve to protect the rights of stone carvers taking up the issue with the local labour officials.