Temple's Hidden Cost: Workers' Blood & Breath

0:00On April 2nd, in the heart of Robbinsville, New Jersey, stands the biggest modern Hindu temple outside India, a stunning 185 acre. Sight car from Rajasthan stone. But behind its viral beauty, workers allege brutal abuse during construction from 2015 to 2023. They claim grueling 90-hour weeks for as little as $1.20 an hour, passport confiscation, and deadly silica dust exposure causing. Silicosis that killed at least two men, including one waiting for a lung transplant. These were mostly Dalit laborers from India, the lowest-cast facing historic exploitation brought over on R1 religious visas meant for. Volunteers, not paid work. Workers say they got useless cloth masks instead of proper N95s. No days off, even in snow, and were shipped back home if they got sick, with little medical help or family contact. Families and survivors share heartbreaking stories, like one worker missing seven years with his kids, or a roommate suicide tied to depression from.

1:02Conditions in mild silicosis. Others battle tuberculosis or bronchitis, praying for relief from agonizing symptoms like endless coughing and breathlessness. The temple organization, Bob Swamin or Ryan Akshardham, denies it all. Calling the labor self-lessava, volunteering with provided housing, meals, and safety gear. Federal agents raided in 2021, pulling 90 workers, but the Justice Department closed its criminal probe last September without charges. Now the civil lawsuit resumes, with workers chasing back pay and compensation for the real price of that marble masterpiece. The blood and breath they poured into it.