Jharia coalfields: Between a rock and a hard place
Updated On May 06, 2017 01:15 PM IST
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Updated on May 06, 2017 01:15 PM IST
Grinding poverty drives entire families to be involved in coal scavenging as they painfully carry the heavy stones back to their houses for burning. Burning raw coal increases its volume, making it profitable to sell and becoming the only means of livelihood in Jharia and fuelling reluctance to move out, as the government doesn’t promise them an alternative livelihood once they relocate. (Ravi Choudhary/HT PHOTO)
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Rani (Name changed) keeps an eye on a mine checkpost, while collecting coal pieces illegally from an open-cast mine. (Ravi Choudhary/HT PHOTO)
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People run for cover as mine security personnel on patrol approach them. (Ravi Choudhary/HT PHOTO)
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A young boy makes off with a chunk of coal from a mound of ore waiting to be loaded onto a truck. (Ravi Choudhary/HT PHOTO)
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Ignoring their health, most people here wage a daily battle against the raw, dusty elements, sink holes that double up as death traps and local police always on the lookout. The area battles issues that range from loss of mineral resource and revenue to health, pollution and poor living standards. (Ravi Choudhary/HT PHOTO)
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A man washes away dust from his face in a stagnant pool of water near the entrance of a mine. (Ravi Choudhary/HT PHOTO)
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People burn coal to increase its volume in a by-lane inside Joraphatak in Dhanbad District. (Ravi Choudhary/HT PHOTO)
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Children play at dusk in the backdrop of a sprawling open cast mine owned by BCCL, a public sector company that is part of Coal India. (Ravi Choudhary/HT PHOTO)
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Daily wage workers return to a loading point later afternoon after filling up a truck laden with coal. (Ravi Choudhary/HT PHOTO)
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