World
Photos of 6th China International Press Photo Contest
(CHIPP Organizing Committee)
Updated: 2010-03-25 23:20
 |
Large Medium Small |
|
 With no other source of income the Locals of Jharia have taken to stealing and looting the Coal from coal trucks which transport the coal from the coal mines to the storage depots. For India, the Jharia coal fields in Dhanbad, Jharkhand is the source of most of the nation's coal. But for the people who live above an inferno, Jharia is a condemned place. For almost a century, fires have burned uncontrolled in the mines beneath Jharia, polluting the air with poisonous fumes and splitting the ground with dangerous fissures. The fires cause land to subside, swallowing buildings and releasing poisonous gases which contaminate air, water and land. For the impoverished local residents of Jharia, stealing coal to sell and picking through collapsed buildings for salvageable material is a dangerous way of life. And now, with the earth literally collapsing beneath their feet, they face an ecological disaster. |
