As
we traveled very slowly along the road between Chittorgarh and Kota we
became aware that this area was a significant source of stone products. Huge
storage areas of slate were all along the road.
At a number of places we saw women picking up stones by hand....... .
often placing them on their heads and carrying them to nearby trucks
At one point we asked our driver to move to the side of the highway so that we could get a better view.
We saw this truck near the water ......
and a small crane lifting large cut blocks ......
onto the truck.
Some power tools were used as well as dynamite blasting
We were fascinated with this man measuring and cutting large slabs of slate
The cut pieces were stacked nearby. Later in our trip that day we saw wooden crates of the slate on their way down the mountain.
I have split many logs before.
The process with the large blocks of stone is similar - just more wedges.
It took only a few more minutes to pound away at the row........
Soon these still very large pieces would be trucked out.
A nice side benefit of living and working in this area is the ready availability of stones for houses. Many buildings in the area are built up from the stones.