Cement Corporation Of India Ltd.

Out here near the Billai Parbat post office, things move at a different pace. We are part of the Cement Corporation of India Ltd. and this location is pretty much what you’d expect for a cement operation. It’s dusty and there is a lot of heavy machinery moving around throughout the day. The air usually has that dry, stony smell to it. We don't have a lot of neighbors, so it’s mostly just us and the trucks. Our daily routine involves a lot of checking gauges and making sure the loading is going the way it should. It’s a big site, so we do a fair bit of walking between the different sections. The office part is functional, mostly just metal desks and old filing cabinets where we keep track of everything going out. We get mail delivered at the post office nearby, and that’s often the highlight of the morning for some of the guys. Working with cement isn't glamorous. It’s hard on the clothes and you’re usually tired by the end of the shift. We have a small canteen where we eat lunch and talk about the weather or local news. Most of the people here have been doing this for decades, so they know the machines better than they know their own cars. It’s a simple, industrial life out here in the hills. We just keep the production moving and wait for the whistle to blow. There is always something to do, whether it is cleaning up a spill or fixing a belt.