Interventions to Reduce Drudgery of Workers in the Traditional Method of Harvesting Makhana ( Euryale ferox Salisb.) Seeds from Ponds

Makhana (Euryale ferox salisb.) is a seed produced from an aquatic crop, which normally grows in water bodies like ponds. In the traditional way of harvesting, a worker goes deep into the pond, lies down, holds his breath and drags the mud with both hands towards a bamboo pole called 'kaara', which is later sieved using a bamboo screen called 'ganjaa'. During this operation mud enters into the ears, eyes, nose and mouth of the worker. Also, the workers are affected by skinrelated diseases due to unhygienic working environment. Therefore, an intervention was made and an improved system was developed which consists of a floating platform providing support to a 10 l cylinder having compressed air, 10 m hose pipe with regulator and a mini diving kit having suit with cap, mask and content guage. A comparative study was conducted.