Child miners: India's crying shame

Thousands face death, alcoholism and rising crime while eking out a dangerous livelihood in eastern state of Jharkhand.

As many as 28 million child labourers work in India every day, according to UNICEF [Ipsita Pati/Al Jazeera]

Jharkhand, India - Every morning at the crack of dawn, 13-year-old Sagar Kujur joins many others of his age and even younger to trudge towards the coal pits of Ramgarh in Jharkhand, a state in eastern India.

Armed with shovels and cane baskets, they tip-toe over the jagged surface, settle down in a corner and start digging a hole through rocks of solid coal. A few back-breaking hours later, their baskets fill up with pieces of coal that had been chipped away, and they hurry to the nearest market to sell their day’s treasure.

However, people venture into these mines to extract coal illegally. At times, they burrow into mines that have been abandoned, or poach into mines that are operational but not properly policed.

With thousands of mines and a large area to cover, it is often impossible for the companies to monitor every mine, allowing an illegal mining industry to flourish.

I used to study, but then who will earn for my family? There is no other option. All my family members have to work together all day so that we don't starve. Rakesh Kumar, 12, miner

Government figures also point to the deep-rooted scourge of illegal mining. According to the ministry of coal, 583 cases of illegal mining were reported in the state between 2006 and 2010. Strangely, however, not a single person was arrested for the trade. In the four years up to September 2009, 21,702 tonnes of illegally mined coal were seized by officials.

According to a report published by the Jamshedpur-based Xavier LabourRelation Institute in 2008, there are some 195 illegal mining sites under CCL's purview, 49 under BCCL and 203 under ECL.

State-owned coal companies blamed the government for failing to curb illegal mining. “Inadequate infrastructure of law enforcement agencies offers scope for illegal extraction of coal from the area. We are working according to the Mines and Minerals Act, but it is not possible on our part to curb illegal mining from the area,” said R R Prasad, the public relations officer of BCCL.

Similarly, R B Sharma, the general manager of CCL in Ramgarh, said that although he is well-aware of the situation, “it’s a vast area and fencing the entire area is not possible. The state government never enforced sufficient force to monitor the area”.