to improve and the bagdogra airport needs to become an international airport darjeeling produces some 9 million kilograms of tea annually darjeeling produces some 9 million kilograms of tea annuallymoradabad brass strokethe cottage brassware industry is gasping for breath it awaits a budget boosterby prerna katiyarmoradabad uttar pradesh population 887871 2011 censusmajor industry brasswarebudget expectations lower gst brass manufacturing hub on the citys outskirtsit is 65 degree celsius inside the room and arshad ali covered in soot is finishing up a brass pot meant for export he doesnt have a face mask or gloves to shield him from the heat of the hissing furnaceali makes rs 300 a day and in may ahead of eid brass workers like him slogged for 20 hours a day to earn a little extra we cant even afford to fall sick he sayshere in the brassware sweatshops of moradabad most houses double up as oneroom factories families are busy melting copper zinc and lead in coalfired furnaces to produce the shiny alloy used to make utensils and other productsthe side effects of running such mini brass factories that emit carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide are all too apparent tuberculosis asthma cancer cough and allergies are common among workers and their families children are forced to inhale the toxic fumes says st hasan the new mp from moradabad who is also a doctor he says the only solution to check these ailments is to shift the brass factories outside the citythe uttar pradesh government did propose to shift all such hazardous homebased factories to the citys outskirts but as of now a new arrangement is not yet ready although existing units are being hastily shut down we are not opposing the shift but where is the new facility do they want us to die of hunger asks ashok who runs a brassmaking unit over 75 of moradabads population depends on making brasswork on setting up a special economic zone in moradabad started many year ago and it was supposed to become a platform for all brassmaking units but today the hub is struggling to bring in companiesmeanwhile the brassware industry the economic lifeline of the city continues to decline what has stayed constant is the health hazardmoradabad is one of the 14 cities in india with the worst air quality according to the central pollution control board we need a good melting system on the outskirts of the city to reduce pollutionsays hasan in the peerzada locality artisans are waiting outside their homefactories for electricity to return there are no fixed hours for power cutselectricity rates are also high we have to use generators to keep the work goingsays fahim who runs one such brass unit the government should give some power subsidy for our ailing industry mohammed fakir a daily wager sitting next door nods in agreement the missing middle finger on his left hand narrates another story i lost the finger on a polishing machine dont we have the right to