Jsw Steel Ltd, Bellary

I’m Anil and I stay in Room No.C-3/8 over in V.V. Nagar. It’s part of the housing for the workers at the steel plant in Toranagallu. Living in a single room like this, you learn to keep things simple. Most of my day is spent over at the Jsw site, and when I get back, it’s usually just about cooking a quick meal and getting some sleep before the next shift starts. The Bellary district is known for its heat and its iron, and you feel both of those every single day here. V.V. Nagar is a busy little pocket because so many of us live here. You see the same faces every morning at the tea stall or waiting for the transport. It’s not a place with a lot of frills. We have the basic stuff we need and that’s about it. The noise from the plant is always there in the background, like a constant hum that you eventually stop hearing. Sometimes on my day off, I’ll walk around or head into the local market. It’s a very straightforward existence. We aren’t trying to impress anyone, we’re just here to do the job. The community is mostly men who are here for work, so it feels like a big hostel sometimes. We help each other out if someone needs something, but mostly we just stick to our own routines.