The service is reliable and cheap. Haveli owners spend most of their time in large cities. Although many haveli are found in Fatehpur and vicinity, the lives of most of the people living in Fatehpur and other towns around here are far removed from such luxury. This photo shows the area in front of the temple's main gate filled with pilgrims wearing heavy sheepskin coats. Besides the long beach, ideal for shipbreakers, this area also has a rich supply of cheap labor.
Demand is strong for scrap iron and for various fittings taken from the ships.
The workers walk barefooted through dirt slippery from oil and grease. In addition, the government provides almost no flood assistance. The bicycle hanging in the tree here gave me the impression that bicycles are among a household's most prized possessions. Partly because priority was placed on protecting large urban areas such as Wuhan, Jiujiang, and Yueyang, the agricultural areas along the Chang Jiang suffered tremendous damage. The Paizhouwuan area was no exception.