Shortage of special educators, equipment for differently-abled kids ails block resource centres in Jharkhand

Two teachers manage 200 differently-abled children at the BRC in Jharia, while the teacher-student ratio should have been 1:10  Jharia, Jharkhand: Life came to a standstill for Raju Ram, a private electrician in Jharkhand’s Jharia, when he learnt that his daughter Pammi Kumari had cerebral palsy, a developmental disorder that affected movement and muscle tone or posture. Now 17, Kumari’s condition has improved due to the training she received for over a decade at the state government-owned Block Resource Centre (BRC).Catering to the needs of physically and mentally challenged children, the BRC imparts training thrice a week. However, in Pammi’s case, constant care has improved her condition to such an extent that just one session in a month or two is enough for her now.Despite being of help to dozens of children, the facility suffers from severe manpower and equipment shortages. "When my daughter joined the centre in 2013, four special educators were managing over 100 children. The situation has only worsened since then as two teachers have been transferred to other centres due to staff crunch there,” said Raju.Echoing his sentiments, Hasina Khatoon, the grandmother of cerebral palsy-affected Md Sajjad Ansari (15), said, "My grandson could not stand or walk. He had the issue of drooling too. Before enrolling him at the BRC about seven years ago, we were not sure if he would ever lead a normal life."Things improved gradually for Sajjad once he was put on training that included exercises like joint rotation and stretching “Now, he often plays cricket with his friends. Had the BRC not been there, his condition would have been different,” said Khatoon, adding that they could not afford private training due to the meagre income of Sajjad's father Imtiyaz Ansari, a daily wage labourer whose six-member family includes two other sons and wife. To supplement the family income, Khatoon works as a housemaid in the neighbourhood.“The BRC does not have physiotherapy equipment and cerebral palsy chair. But the special educators make up for all these shortcomings through their personal efforts. I cannot forget how physiotherapist Dr Manoj Singh and speech therapist Akhlaque Ahmad never let the training be interrupted, even during the COVID-19 period, by making house visits," said Khatoon.Akhlaque Ahmad, a speech therapist, trains visually challenged students with the help of braille equipment (Photo - Shabbir Hussain, 101Reporters)The training at BRC is supplementary, with the children receiving formal education in nearby schools. Also, the number of sessions required and the frequency of visits of a child to the BRC depend on the severity of the case. Children are divided into groups as per their common needs to make training easier. Additionally, the BRC staff address the training needs of bedridden students by visiting their houses."As per the norms, each school should have at least one special educator to address the training and care requirements of special children. But the irony is that even the resource centres meant for children with special needs are deprived of the required number of teachers,” Dr Singh told 101Reporters.Crippled to the coreThe BRCs function under the Inclusive Education Programme of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), now subsumed under Samagra Shiksha. Most of them were operational even before they came into the SSA fold. Forget better or new facilities, the only thing that changed with the SSA inclusion was the increase in workload for teachers as more students were enrolled, starting from screening in anganwadis to the start of training from Class III.According to Dr Singh, the ambit of training of the BRC was Class VI to Class X students. Later, it became from Class III to XII. “This increased pressure on us. But at the same time, the manpower continued to decline," said Dr Singh, adding that they had held protests across the state to bring to the fore the pitiable condition of resource teachers who get meagre honorariums, but without much success. “Acute manpower shortage is the biggest handicap of the BRCs. Every centre should have at least one physiotherapist, speech therapist, occupational therapist and clinical psychologist. Unfortunately, many of the 200 BRCs in the state (which has a total of 260 blocks) operate only with one teacher. Our centre has two teachers,” Ahmad told 101Reporters.The BRC employees are contract staff who get an honorarium of Rs 15,460 per month. In contrast, the private/health sector pays for the same work. “As a result, even the existing teachers are compelled to leave the job for private ones,” said Ahmad.Established in 2005, the BRC in Jharia offers training to 200 children with conditions such as cerebral palsy and autism, those with hearing difficulties and the visually challenged. The resource staff were hired for a period of one year in 2005, but their contracts were not renewed in the following years. However, they continue to get their salaries to date.  Dr Manoj Singh, the physiotherapist at Jharia's block resource centre, carries out an examination  (Photo - Shabbir Hussain, 101Reporters)All the BRCs are housed in existing schools, block offices or anganwadis. Meetu Sinha, Assistant Programme Officer of the Inclusive Education Programme, said, “There are no separate funds at the district level for these facilities, but the state education department meets the salary expenses of teachers. Equipment is also provided by the state department… We have recently sent a proposal to the education department for the construction of ramps at Jharia and Purbi BRCs.”   All the BRCs were recently provided with some equipment. “But considering the load of students at each of these centres, the entire infrastructure seems insufficient… The rooms are too small to accommodate all the students at one go. So, they have to attend in shifts on alternate days," said Ahmad. Non-compliance with norms"As per the norms of the Ministry of Education, the teacher-student ratio at the BRC should be 1:10, but here it is 1:100,” said Ahmad. In larger blocks in the district, where the geographical terrain is too complex, the job of teachers becomes difficult as they are also required to carry out surveys of all schools in their respective blocks to ensure early detection, identification and medical assessment of children with special needs. For this, teachers need to be in touch with the primary health centre of that particular area.The BRCs should keep a record of children with special needs in the block and provide them with training in one form or the other. They are also required to monitor that all schools in the block are barrier-free and disabled-friendly.  Acknowledging the poor condition of BRCs in Jharkhand, Pramod Kumar, the State Nodal Officer of the National Trust, told 101Reporters, “Instead of one BRC, at least two to three such centres should be functioning in each block. Moreover, the existing BRCs do not have the necessary equipment. They are also deprived of teachers.”A statutory body of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, the National Trust is set up under the National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act, 1999. Compared to Jharkhand, the situation is far better in Rajasthan, Delhi and Andhra Pradesh. “In Rajasthan, every centre has at least two special educators. Recently, the state government also initiated the process of recruiting 4,000 more special educators so that each school at least has one such teacher at the school level itself. This can bring down the workload of BRCs,” Kumar said.Students from Jharia's BRC carry out an awareness drive (Photo - Shabbir Hussain, 101Reporters)“Jharkhand’s schools also need to have a resource room and special educators. The private schools affiliated to the CBSE and ICSE should not hesitate in admitting special children," Kumar, also the Director (Academic & Projects) of Deepshikha Institute for Child Development and Mental Health, said.  Not just training, special students also face difficulties in accessing their disability pension. The other two financial help they can avail of are transportation aid from home to school and back, and assistance from the welfare department for their study, ranging from Rs 50 to Rs 100 per class, depending on their seniority.Jharia-based Nikhat Parveen, whose 17-year-old daughter faces difficulties in hearing, said, "My husband works at a tailoring shop in Jharia and earns less than Rs 5,000 per month. Irregular receipt of disability pension is a big issue for people like us who are not financially well-off."Cover photo: The Block Resource Centre in Jharia, Dhanbad (Photo - Shabbir Hussain, 101Reporters)Edited by Rekha Pulinnoli

Income dries up for locals as Dhanbad’s Topchanchi yet to get back its lost glory

As a tourist attraction, the lake promoted allied employment and helped people earn enough in the past. However, reduced water levels and lack of upkeep hurt its prospects  Dhanbad, Jharkhand: Life was not so tough until two decades ago for Dilip Mahto (35), a chai pakora seller in Dhanbad district’s Topchanchi. That was a time when tourists flocked to the picturesque Topchanchi Lake in hordes, helping his father Naresh Prasad Mahto earn decently from his lakeside eatery.Fast forward to 2023, Dilip is struggling hard due to dwindling footfalls to the historic lake built under the British Raj in 1924. “Monthly income has dropped to Rs 3,000 in the off-season. How can I manage household expenses and educate my three children with such meagre earnings? That is why I also work as a daily wage labourer these days.”  According to Dwarika Mahto (70), another tea stall owner who joins Dilip at work, the lake’s heyday was from the 1960s to the 80s. The situation started deteriorating in the early 90s due to non-maintenance.The latest peak-season (December 15 to January 31) tourist arrivals were around 500 per day against almost 1,000 up until the 90s. Nowadays, during the off-season, and particularly in summer, the count drops to less than 100. Compare this with the days when people used to drive in for picnics and New Year revelries from other parts of the country, especially West Bengal! “For me, the more the number of vehicles, the better the chances of earning well. Therefore, it was not difficult to manage the food and educational expenses of my six children. Two of them are graduates and one is an intermediate (Plus Two) pass. The rest have studied up to Class 10. In contrast, my married sons now find it difficult to make ends meet," says Md Shamshuddin (55), a puncture repair mechanic who had to shift his shop close to the National Highway 2 in need of more customers. Vikash Mahto, a young mukhiya from Dumdumi panchayat in Topchanchi block, says migration for work was also on the rise due to the lake’s poor condition.Dilip Mahto at his lakeside eatery (Photo: Shabbir Hussain)  Rejuvenate & restoreA man-made reservoir, Topchanchi Lake was constructed by tapping 10 water streams flowing down the adjoining Parasnath, the highest mountain peak in Jharkhand at 1,365 m, located in Giridih district. While most of the streams dried up over the years, two of them — Dholkatta and Nalki — continued to be the lake’s major water sources. However, diversions made by farmers for irrigation and silt deposition have greatly affected their flows.  Simultaneously, silt deposition in Topchanchi Lake also hit its holding capacity. The lake’s normal water level is 50 ft, but it recedes to 30 ft in summers. Taking note of the need to bring back both supply channels and the lake to good health, besides diverting other water streams in Giridih district into Topchanchi Lake, Chandrashekhar Agarwal initiated a drive in 2016 in his capacity as the then Dhanbad mayor. “We restored the lake’s major supply channels to their full glory and made plans to ensure supply from Maheshduba canal in Giridih. However, that did not materialise as an expert team from the urban development department informed us after a survey that it was not technically feasible as the canal was located at a lower altitude. For it to be integrated with Nalki, water should be diverted to a much higher altitude,” Agarwal tells 101Reporters.Further, the silt removal from the lake in 2018-19 by utilising Rs 13.50 crore provided by the minor irrigation department replenished the lake, which touched above 60 ft. Over 100 labourers were employed for the clean-up and six tipper trucks arranged by Dhanbad Municipal Corporation were used to transport the collected mud. As a result, the water level increased to 78 ft in November 2020 and led to a breach for the first time after 2011. However, a plan to build a tourism circuit connecting Topchanchi and Maithon Dam on River Barakar did not materialise due to lack of funds with the JMADA and the involvement of several departments in the proposed plan. (Clockwise from left) A dense 8.7 sq ft forest surrounds Topchanchi Lake; Migratory birds fly over the lake; A new library near the lake, created by youth organisation Topchanchi Helping Hands Foundation (Photos: Shabbir Hussain)Tourism push neededDespite its improved health, Topchanchi Lake has not been able to draw as many tourists as it did before. “You know, it is not just about the scenic beauty of the lake spread over 21 acres. Several hillocks surround it. Due to the serene atmosphere, more Siberian birds arrive here when compared with Maithon Dam, located 48 km from Dhanbad,” informs Gokul Mukherjee (36), a private tutor.The 8.7-sq km Topchanchi Wildlife Sanctuary is a dense forest with leopard, jungle cat, chital, barking deer, wild boar, mongoose, langur, jackal and fox roaming it. Apart from locally found bronze-winged jacana, pond heron, egret and swamp partridge, migratory birds such as black cormorant, black-winged stilt, common teal, gadwall, brown-headed gull, spoonbill, red-crested pochard and common coot flock to the lake in winters.By organising youth in the locality, Mukherjee founded Topchanchi Helping Hands Foundation, which has been calling for concretisation of the lake embankment, renovation of guest houses, tree plantation in nearby areas, repair of a connected bridge and better security as the nearby Giridih has Maoist presence. Also, robbery and street harassment have been reported by tourists recently.“On our part, we organise cleanliness drives in the lake and nearby spots. As part of our social work, we have established Swami Vivekanand Nishulk Pustakalay, a no-cost library to raise awareness among local children and youth,” Mukherjee adds.Meanwhile, foundation member Advocate Panchanchan Singh draws attention towards the guest houses of the Jharkhand Mineral Area Development Authority (JMADA) in Topchanchi. “Four decades ago, both guest houses offered a comfortable stay for visitors. They are in ruins now.”Official positionIn its position as the custodian of Topchanchi Lake, the JMADA claims that decreasing revenue since the 1980s is the primary reason for the non-maintenance of existing infrastructure. Right now, the water supply tax is the only source of revenue left with it as the Jharkhand government has handed over collections under tonnage cess, royalty cess and stamp duty to other departments. Pankaj Kumar Jha, the executive engineer (in-charge) of JMADA, tells 101Reporters that they were working simultaneously on two plans. “For the repair of bridges and culverts in bad shape, a cost estimate is under preparation. The JMADA itself will carry out the repairs. A comprehensive beautification plan for the lake and surroundings is also in the works. This will include the revival of guest houses and building of park benches around the lake.” Jha says they have written to the technical team of the state’s urban development department to launch a survey to prepare a detailed plan and estimate before April. “We now have sufficient funds to carry out a comprehensive beautification,” he adds.Cover Photo by Shabbir HussainEdited by Rekha Pulinnoli

For Jharia’s leprosy patients, every breath taken is a recipe for disaster

With coal dust lying suspended in the air 24x7, these socially marginalised people become easy victims of tuberculosis and other breathing disordersDhanbad, Jharkhand: Her sunken eyes, frail body and wrinkled face irrefutably etch the toll that leprosy has taken on her health. However, Sulochana Devi (50) is more worried about her two children.“Five years ago, my husband died of tuberculosis. But I am compelled to remain here amid loads of air-suspended coal dust,” frets Sulochana, who lives at Durgapur Kusth Colony in Jharia, in India’s coal capital Dhanbad. The colony residents live a near-ostracised life due to the social stigma associated with leprosy, an infection caused by Mycobacterium leprae that severely weakens one’s immune system. This, together with unhygienic living conditions and 24x7 exposure to air pollution from open-cast mines in the vicinity, has led to the increased prevalence of tuberculosis in the colony. “I want to shift to some other colony in Dhanbad town, away from this pollution. But I am not sure if we will be accepted as my parents once had leprosy,” says Sukhdeo Mahto (29), who works in a showroom dealing with earthmovers in Dhanbad. He is very worried about the health of his family, especially his seven-year-old daughter, ever since a girl in the neighbourhood contracted tuberculosis almost two years ago. Though Kavita Kumari (16) recovered fully, the incident left her mother Manju Devi (49) anxious about the health of her two other younger children and husband.Teenager Kavita, a resident of Durgapur Kusth Colony, has recovered from TB but her two younger siblings remain vulnerable (Photo - Praduman Choubey) “We do not have the option to shift to another place due to my husband’s limited income,” says Manju. On the other hand, Sulochana does not even have a fixed source of income. “There is no earning member in the family now. I somehow manage to meet basic expenses by begging alms,” says the woman in a worn-out sweater.Another leprosy patient, Geeta Devi (50) was deserted by her husband more than a decade ago. “I have been suffering from severe lung pain for the last three to four months. I know it is due to some breathing disorder. But I do not have the money to diagnose and treat it.”Mahto claims that the majority of the residents feel a burning sensation during the night, which he believes is the result of reckless mining by private contractors working on behalf of Bharat Coking Coal Limited. He confirms that skin diseases are also very common in the colony.According to a study, authored by Bhawna Dubey, Asim Kumar Pal and Gurdeep Singh, suspended particulate matter, i.e. coal dust of up to 100 microns size, and respirable particulate matter, i.e. coal dust of up to 10 microns, are the major sources of air pollution from mining.The study was conducted in affiliation with the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering of the Indian Institute of Technology (formerly Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad.  Life in isolationThere are seven leper colonies in Jharia, where more than 200 families reside. Among them, Durgarpur Kusth Colony is located closest to opencast mines. Far away from the main human settlements, 12 leprosy patients first settled here in the 1950s by building mud houses. Later, organisations such as the Lions Club and Damien Social Welfare Centre funded the construction of 44 houses here. All seven leper colonies now fall under the Dhanbad Municipal Corporation limits, but the residents are not happy with this inclusion made in 2004 as they have to shell out more money for water and electricity in an urban area. Jharia’s community health centre functions at Chasnala and Tata Steel runs a hospital for leprosy patients at Jamadoba. The Damian centre operates a similar facility at Govindpur. However, patients in leper colonies mostly do not have the money to travel to these facilities. Some are physically handicapped, and cannot reach them on their own. (Above) Sulochana Devi does not have a fixed source of income after she lost her husband to TB five years ago. She supports her two children by begging alms; (Below) Geeta Devi who was deserted by her husband more than a decade ago has been suffering from severe lung pain for the last three to four months but doesn't have the means to diagnose and treat it (Photos - Praduman Choubey)"Notwithstanding our frequent illnesses, healthcare workers seldom visit us. Even those engaged in immunisation drives are hesitant to enter our colony," claims Bhado Devi (45) of Durgapur colony.A physiotherapist and founder of the NGO Green Life, which is actively involved in philanthropic activities in leper colonies of Jharia, Manoj Singh confirms that rising awareness about the disease has not helped matters much. As per Dhanbad's District Leprosy Eradication Department, the district presently has 300 leprosy patients. However, no official data about lepers with tuberculosis is available.Prevention better than cureThe Air Quality Index in Jharia is poor. As per a Greenpeace report, the PM 10 level in Jharia was 295 micrograms per cubic meter in 2017, and in Dhanbad 238 micrograms. Both figured in the list of India’s worst polluted towns/cities for several years, including in 2017 and 2018. As a consequence, Dhanbad Municipal Corporation area was included in the National Clean Air Programme of the Union Government launched in 2019. As per the programme, the air quality of 102 worst polluted cities/towns/areas was to be improved by 30% by 2024, which was recently revised to 40% by 2026. This includes a host of measures such as intensive plantation, installation of Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS), sprinkling of water on muddy coal transport roads of collieries and green walling of residential areas.  The municipal body claims to have initiated several measures, including holding plantation drives in Dhanbad town, using road sweeper machines and vehicle-mounted water sprinklers, and installing CAAQMS in half a dozen places.Residents of Durgapur Kusth Colony in Jharia live a near-ostracised life due to the social stigma associated with leprosy and have no means or access to healthcare (Photo - Praduman Choubey)Singh thinks mitigation of air pollution through government intervention is the best solution as Jharia’s leprosy patients do not have the money for treatment. Singh carries out sapling plantation drives in the district using innovative measures such as gifting a tree sapling to the newlyweds, during anniversaries or on birthdays.Baniahir-based social activist and rickshaw pullers’ association president Prem Bachchan Das echoes similar sentiments. “Over 80 families reside in Baniahir Kusth Colony. Many suffer from breathing issues. It is important that the government concentrate on measures to free Jharia from air pollution and not just limit its responsibility to making facilities for treatment,” he says.Noting that leprosy patients have lesser immunity compared with normal people, Jharia-based general physician Dr Nasir Haque says they have greater chances of contracting illnesses due to air pollution. “Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, bronchial asthma and tuberculosis are caused by continuous exposure to air pollution. It is important to avoid exposure of leprosy patients to pollutants, including coal dust.” Akhlaque Ahmad, a speech therapist and founder of NGO Youth Concept, which creates awareness on environmental issues, says COVID-19 period was of great concern for leprosy patients. “We had to repeatedly underscore the need to take preventive measures during our awareness drives in these colonies.” Anup Sao, a former councillor of ward number 37 under which Durgapur Kusth Colony falls, says the 37 families in the colony were educated about various breathing exercises and the need to use masks and maintain cleanliness during the pandemic. The colony residents also organised a yoga session on this year’s International Yoga Day (June 21) as a symbolic protest against the government's inaction in adopting pollution mitigation measures.Cover photo by Praduman Choubey clicked at the Durgapur Kusth Colony in JhariaEdited by Rekha Pulinnoli

Water supply remains a pipe dream for women of Jharkhand’s Jharia

Women take multiple trips to get water from pond as leaky pipelines, defunct hand pumps and inordinate delays in installing new supply infrastructure hit them hardJharia, Jharkhand: “I was very happy when my marriage was fixed to a person living in Jharia town of urban Dhanbad. I thought I would lead a comfortable life. But now, I can say we are far better off in our village in Bihar in terms of basic amenities,” says Anju Devi (25), who shifted to Baniahir Colony after her marriage four years ago.Anju and other women wake up at 4 am for the first of their many trips to the pond, their only source of water located one km away. As men in the household leave for work in the morning, both breakfast and lunch need to be prepared early. Without water, everything comes to a standstill.“As a newly-wed, my in-laws arranged water for me in the first few months. But pretty soon, it became clear that I will have to step out. In less than a year of marriage, I joined the other women of the family in bringing water,” Anju tells 101Reporters. Anju Devi, a resident of Baniahir locality of Jharia at public water standpost alon with her three-year old(Photo: Shabbir Hussain)Though not a pleasant experience with passersby eyeing them, many women take bath at the pond and wash their clothes there to avoid the tiresome work of taking water home. “There is no other option. This is the only practical solution,” says Anju, who carries her three-year-old daughter in her arms all along.“The days I am unwell, my husband has to fetch water. It means he will miss a day of work, which translates into loss of a day’s income,” says Anju, whose husband Vikash Ravidas (32) works as a daily wage labourer and earns around Rs 350 per day. Mala Devi (45), a vegetable vendor and sole breadwinner of her family of three schoolgoing children, says, “If I do not have to spend three to four hours daily just getting water, I would have been able to earn more by making more rounds of colonies or by spending more time on farming.”“Many women in the locality supplement their income by working as domestic help or in shops. However, their primary tasks are household chores and fetching of water. We spend a lot of time and energy on getting water, which affects our ability to earn a living,” says Manju Devi (43) of Baniahir. She cultivates vegetables and sells the surplus in local markets.Buckets and pots at the site of the water standpost in Baniahir colony, Jharia, Jharkhand (Photo: Shabbir Hussain)“When hard-pressed for time, I sometimes take my children’s help, which eats into their study time,” adds Manju, who came here after her marriage 22 years ago. “The situation remains the same since then. The only solace now is that there is a pond in the locality. It was dug around a decade ago. Before that, we used to walk around 3 km to get water,” she recalls.“The area is known for its water crisis now. Nobody in nearby towns wants to marry their daughters to the boys in the locality,” sighs Manju.Unkept promisesBaniahir colony is a backward area, where 110 of the total 150 households have Dalit residents, and the rest have Muslims. Its location near a mine contributes immensely to the abysmal groundwater level. Even the pond in the area is not replenished with groundwater. It is fed by water spillage from the main supply pipeline laid by the civic body, Jharkhand Mineral Area Development Authority (JMADA). Since most of the residents are labourers at construction sites or wholesale markets, they cannot afford water connections from the JMADA directly to their homes. “There are no wells here. Of the three hand pumps, two do not work. The functional one dispenses dirty mine pit water unsuitable for drinking. Yet, residents use it for household chores,” Prem Bachchan Das (53), the president of Jharkhand Rickshaw Mazdoor Sangh, tells 101Reporters.The supply from JMADA water standpost is so erratic that at times people have to queue up in the middle of the night. Most often, it ends up in verbal and physical fights with people jostling for their share.Asmania Devi, a resident of Deepu Dhaura locality of Jharia (Photo: Shabbir Hussain)“A few families who have taken JMADA tap water connections are also not better off. Due to leakages in the pipeline laid over 50 years ago, the pressure is very low. Water comes for less than half an hour every alternate day or so,” he adds, while alleging that some individuals have taken advantage of the situation by funnelling out water from the main JMADA pipeline. “This water is filled up in tankers and sold in areas with crisis for Rs 10 per gallon,” he says.Claiming that politicians come to the colony only during elections, Das says they raised the issue before all those who came to seek votes during the last Assembly elections. It has been three years now, and their promises to fix the problem remain unfulfilled. Meanwhile, Jai Kumar, the councillor of Jharia’s ward number 38 under which Baniahir falls, admits that the water crisis is prevalent in most parts of Jharia, though Jal Jeevan Mission has been implemented in different wards of the coal town as per government records.Also Read: To-be mothers wilt as water crisis worsens in Madhya Pradesh’s Ratlam“There are areas where water supply could be easily ensured by the new L&T infrastructure under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, but it has been delayed as old water supply pipelines have not been replaced. Our repeated requests to the authorities concerned have fallen on deaf ears,” says Kumar.The Dhanbad Municipal Corporation is executing the Rs 317-crore project, utilising the District Mineral Foundation Trust fund, to lay a new water treatment plant as well as intake wells, water tanks and pipelines. “Due to delays, it is unlikely to be completed by the year-end or even next year," informs Kumar.Ironically, the project has been lagging behind by about 16 months. Its foundation stone was laid in October 2019, with the completion deadline set for May last year. Baniahir no exceptionIn Deepu Dhaura, located 3 km from Baniahir, the water crisis is so intense that some people get the opportunity to take a bath only once a week. “We have to walk more than 1.5 km to Kujama to get water from a public tap. The rush is such that we hardly get water in a bucket or two. Sometimes, we end up purchasing drinking water. So, you can imagine how hard it is to find water to cleanse oneself or for household chores. Many people end up using water from ditches,” says Kiran Devi (22), a homemaker.Asmania Devi (47) says she sometimes goes near the mine site to take a bath in pit water. For drinking purposes, there is no other option but to buy from water vendors. The daily expenses of her family is around Rs 200, out of which Rs 10 is spent per day for procuring water.Kiran Devi, a resident of Deepu Dhaura locality of Jharia (Photo: Shabbir Hussain)Ward number 37 former councillor Anup Sao says the basic problem affecting around five lakh residents of Jharia lies with the old water supply infrastructure of JMADA. "We have raised the issue with all relevant authorities, including the JMADA officers, district administration and people's representatives. But the problem is yet to be addressed for reasons best known to them.”In colliery areas, the only source of drinking water is the JMADA supply from the Damodar. Pankaj Kumar Jha, Sub Divisional Officer of Water Supply Division, JMADA, says, “Leakages in the pipeline or motor burnouts disrupt water supply. We try to respond to such complaints as quickly as possible."He expresses hope that the water crisis would be largely resolved within a year of the new infrastructure coming into existence. More water connections may be allotted in existing as well as new areas once the new facilities are up and running.Edited by Tanya ShrivastavaThis story is part of our series — Women & Water, which aims to cover the impact of water unavailability and contaminated water on women.The cover image captured by Shabbir Hussain is of a small ditch like waterbody situated in the vicinity of a coal dump in Deepu Dhaura locality of Jharia; the dirty water is used by local residents for household chores.

Displacement, lack of state support leave street vendors in Jharkhand at peril

In the coal town of Dhanbad, around 6,000 of them are under the perennial threat of displacement or relocation to suburban, unfavourable areas, along with harassment by locals and civic body officials alike.Dhanbad, Jharkhand: Over 6,000 street vendors in Dhanbad, the infamous coal town of Jharkhand, battle regular threats of displacement from their places of operation. Since January 7 this year, the state’s Urban Development Department has issued QR code-based smart identity cards and certificates of vending to 1,110 such workers, recognising their identity as street vendors as well as aiming to provide them protection against harassment by law enforcement agencies or other individuals. Yet, the ongoing phase-wise drive of enabling vendors to sell their wares at allocated vending zones appears to be hitting regular roadblocks.Mahesh Baranwal, a roadside bookseller near SSLNT Women’s College on Luby Circular Road in the heart of the town, told 101Reporters, “When the Dhanbad Municipal Corporation [DMC] recently carried out an anti-encroachment drive near the college, we presented our smart ID cards and certificates of vending to them, which the DMC itself had issued us. These mentioned the place of trade as near SSLNT Women's College, but the officials leading the drive claimed that the certificates and ID cards had no value.”“We were told that we were being driven out because of the unnecessary gathering of unwelcome individuals at our shops, many of whom harass students of the women's college,” added Baranwal, the treasurer of the SSLNT Market Committee who believes that it's the responsibility of the police to deal with such issues, if these allegations were true.Harassment from various quartersJanardan Thakur, another street vendor near SSLNT Women’s College, who deals in cosmetic items, sheds further light on the grim circumstances. “Due to the lack of a designated place of trade for us, not only are we compelled to face the batons of the police, civic body, railway and public works department, we also have to face extortion from local goons claiming that the space belongs to them. Many of us are being compelled by the local residents to pay rents amounting from Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per month, as they claim that the land belongs to them, although we are sure that the land on which we carry out trade belongs to the DMC,” said Thakur. On being asked to corroborate this claim, DMC City Manager Chandra Shekhar, said, “We have received a complaint in this regard from the street vendors and will take action after verifying the facts.”Meanwhile, Sneham Sinha, district coordinator of the National Association of Street Vendors of India, confirmed, “Though no street vendor was beaten up, their makeshift structures were uprooted and dismantled during the drive.”Vending zones identified, but no NOCsIn 2018, the DMC selected the following 12 sites for the development of vending zones including a vacant land near the labour department office at Bartand, government land near the water tower in Purana Bazar area of Bank More and ganesh Puja ground near Digwadih Number. However, No-Object Certificates (NOCs) from the respective departments were not granted to carry out their plans of setting up designated vending zones.One of the 12 vending zones identified by Dhanbad Municipal Corporation in Baniahir (Photo Credits - Vishal Singh)The DMC then constructed a vending zone of 232 shopping pedestals in Dhanbad's Baniahir area in September 2021. Situated around 4km from the existing main market of Jharia, this vending zone is on the outskirts of the town.However, even after intensive awareness programmes carried out by the DMC, none of the street vendors turned up to receive shop allotments for the first four months — primarily due to apprehensions about customer footfall. During the drive conducted in the first week of  March this year, the DMC distributed pamphlets among the street vendors of Jharia market, listing out the facilities at the newly-constructed vending zones as well as the benefits of relocating. While 70 street vendors have so far turned up for the shop allotments, over 160 shops are lying unoccupied.Sudama Ravidas, the street vendor allotted shop no. 63 in the Baniahir vending zone, said, “Earlier, I used to sell vegetables by visiting different localities with my cart. Now, I have around 25 to 30 customers visiting on a daily basis, but this is still not enough. So in the afternoon, I go to the adjoining localities to sell vegetables at the doorsteps of people’s homes... The facilities at this vending zone are undoubtedly very good, be it the lighting arrangement, water availability, toilets, etc., but the footfall is low.”According to Shekar, who is also in charge of the National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM) project, “Initially, there was some resistance among the street vendors, but after our awareness drives, they are now willing to move. We are also in the process of constructing another vending zone at the Kohinoor Grounds, near the district headquarters, which will be better equipped in terms of facilities and will have bigger spaces for individual shops.”Possible solutions According to Sinha, “The problem lies in the theoretical approach adopted by the civic body to relocate the street vendors to vending zones situated far from the heart of the town. Instead, the DMC should construct small shops at the places of operation of the vendors by augmenting the facilities with lighting arrangements, drinking water, parking lots, toilets, etc. This was done in the nearby Giridih district, where the administration converted the existing places of operation into vending zones, instead of wasting time looking for new spaces. It’s also difficult to find dispute-free land to construct these vending zones.”  A street vendor in Dhanbad's Baniahir vending zone (Photo Credits - Vishal Singh)Non-disbursement of bank loansBesides displacement, street vendors also face the challenges of the civic body's nonchalance and banks unwilling to provide them loans under the Pradhan Mantri Street Vendor Atmanibhar Nidhi Yojana (PM SVANidhi Yojana), which is being implemented locally by the DMC. This scheme, launched by the central government in June 2020, is aimed at providing collateral-free working capital loans of Rs 10,000 for a one-year tenure to approximately 50 lakh street vendors across the country.“Instead of providing loans to needy street vendors under this scheme, DMC authorities seem more concerned with documentation to take credit for getting application forms filled, without pursuing them with the bank for the disbursement of the loans,” Sinha told 101Reporters.Shyamal Mazumdar, street vendor and general secretary of a local street vendors’ organisation, Footpath Dukandar Roji Roti Uparjan Sangh, added: “The DMC has engaged Self-Help Group members or Cluster Resource Persons to carry out surveys to issue loans to street vendors under the PM SVANidhi Yojana. But instead of the names of genuine street vendors, the names of SHG members are being listed as loan beneficiaries.” According to DMC City Manager Chandra Shekhar, a total of 3,966 vendors were disbursed the loan amount of Rs 10,000 each in the first phase; 218 were disbursed a loan amount of Rs 20,000 each in the second phase, bringing the cumulative figure of beneficiaries to 4,184. According to the scheme's dashboard, 7,715 applications have been received so far in Dhanbad. Meanwhile, 28,249 beneficiaries are supposed to have received Rs 30.59 crores up until March 24, 2002, according to this response in the Lok Sabha.  “Such is the state of affairs that sometimes, we feel our condition was much better when there was no law in place for the rights of street vendors. Ever since the enactment of the NULM, the situation has worsened,” claimed Mazumdar, referring to the intensive anti-encroachment drives launched by different government departments in recent years, which are carried out without providing rehabilitation to street vendors as per the provisions of NULM. Edited by Gia Claudette Fernandes 

Ancestral profession of snake charming losing shine in Jharkhand village

From left to right: Jitendra Nath Bedia, Srikant Bedia and Sapan Bedia display a snake in their village, Bedia Tola (Photo Credits- Vishal Singh)Residents of Dhanbad’s Bedia Tola village, who turned to daily wage jobs, attribute lack of education for the destitute conditions they are forced to live in.Dhanbad: Srikant Bedia started playing with snakes when he was just 13, not knowing that these reptiles would one day become the only means to feed his family. The 54-year-old resident of Bedia Tola village in Dhanbad, Jharkhand, took up snake charming as a profession at the age of 20, after his father’s death, earning in rice or other foodgrains from villagers. However, technological and other advances have had a detrimental effect on snake charming in Bedia Tola. Here, a majority of the 55 families were once snake charmers by profession, but the number has dwindled down to just 12 to 15 at present. All others have turned to daily-wage work.“In urban areas, nobody — not even children — are interested in snakes nowadays. They prefer clinging to their mobile phones. Such apathy has left us with no choice but to visit rural pockets, where most of the time, we get rice and foodgrains instead of money,” says Srikant, a father of four sons, who works at construction sites as daily-wage earner to support the family.“We are forced to eat nothing but maad bhaat [gruel rice] and chokha [mashed potatoes] as we can’t afford vegetables that cost Rs 50 per kg or more,” he adds. “Also, after working as a snake charmer to feed my family for so many years, the forest department is pressuring us to leave the snakes in the woods.”A view of Bedia Tola village, Dhanbad, Jharkhand (Photo Credits- Vishal Singh)Stressing his distress further, Srikant points out the lack of government alternatives to his current profession, questioning what he’d do if the forest department forced him to give up snake charming. He adds that they don’t have the money to refill the LPG cylinders he procured under the Ujjawala scheme. Instead, the women of the family, cook using the dry wood they collect from the forest. “Lack of education and sources of livelihood are the biggest challenges for residents of Bedia Tola,” he emphasises.Jitendra Nath Bedia, another resident of the village, relies on his daily wages, earning Rs 5,000 to Rs 12,000 per month. But even so, he says they are no better off than snake charmers due to lack of education. In fact, he attributes the dearth of government jobs in Bedia Tola to this illiteracy. “Even Sanjay and Manik Kumar Bedia, two bright young men of the village, had to drop out after Class 11 due to the pressure to start earning for their family,” Jitendra says, adding that they were also deprived of basic amenities like a source of safe drinking water. “The lone hand pump here often fails to meet the water needs of the 55 families, compelling many of us to lug water from adjoining villages. We requested authorities to dig a pond in the village to help us meet our drinking water needs.”A lone hand pump in Bedia Tola has to meet the water needs of 55 families (Photo Credits- Vishal Singh)Sapan Bedia is another daily wager of Bedia Tola who gave up snake charming two decades ago because of the paltry sum it earned him. He, too, stresses the destitute conditions all residents of Bedia Tola live in because no one could complete their studies, further accusing authorities of never having visited the village, leaving them to fend for themselves.“Some NGOs and social workers visit us during occasions like Diwali to hand out clothes and sweets to children, but it’s all an appearance,” claims Raju Bedia, another resident of the village. “Unless some training in useful skills is imparted to the youth and women, we’ll have no choice but to continue to work as unskilled labourers, earning far lower than skilled labourers.”A language-right activist from the adjoining Sindurpur village, Bengu Thakur, echoes Raju’s views, highlighting that skill training would also help families earn more and ultimately enable them to fund their children’s education.“This, in turn, will improve their socio-economic status as it will help them secure jobs,” explains Thakur, who founded the Bangla Bhasa Unnayan Samiti.Moreover, families in Bedia Tola are often landless because they face eviction at the hands of forest or railway department authorities, Thakur claims. “Due to their landless status, they earlier faced difficulty in getting caste certificates. But after we raised the issue on various platforms, they got their certificates, which can help them seek reservation benefits because they fall under Scheduled Castes.”

Modern tech in coal mining, experienced players need of the hour, say industry experts

To boost supply, stakeholders in Jharkhand hit by the recent shortage urge the government to allocate blocks only to firms with expertise in scientific methods of safe and efficient miningDhanbad: “The future of India’s coal sector depends on raising the level of mechanisation, digitisation and automation in its operations. For this, promoting privatisation of mines and limiting coal block allotment only to expert groups are necessary. Currently, there's no provision to ensure that PSUs are held accountable for the mines they operate, and the red-tape typical of government organisations is preventing innovation,” said BN Singh, president of the Industries and Commerce Association (ICA), an umbrella group of over 150 hard coke factories operating in Jharkhand's Dhanbad, Giridih and Ramgarh districts. Here, Singh was referring to the coal crisis the energy sector and other coal-dependent industries faced a couple of months ago. He also highlighted the urgent need to raise coal production and limit consumption to a sustainable rate, till the country developed alternative sources of energy.The ICA chief further attributed the predicament to two main factors — a shortfall in domestic coal production due to heavy rains during the monsoon and the recent hike in the price of the coal imported from Australia. These forced several coal-based industries, including hard coke, soft coke, pig iron and TMT bar production plants, to depend on domestic sources.A view of Victory Colliery controlled by Bharat Coking Coal Limited, a subsidiary of Coal India Limited, Jharia, Dhanbad (Photo Credits- Vishal Singh)“Even though the government allotted some coal blocks recently, it may take another one or two years for these companies to begin production due to delays in environmental clearances, as well as protests and resistance from local people backed by politicians with vested interests,” Singh told 101Reporters.Rajiv Sharma, general secretary of the Jharkhand Industries and Trade Association (JITA), cited similar concerns. He also pointed out the worrying attitude of contractors, who he claimed were hand in glove with corrupt PSU officials and manipulated their production records.“More than 30 private firms are mining coal on behalf of the Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) as contractors," he added. "But a majority of them lack expertise in the field or have a track record of not adhering to mining norms. These firms are headed by local politicians or musclemen, whose main aim is to plunder the resources with utter disregard to the environment. They cause hazards by not using advanced machinery or employing manpower with technical knowhow.”Amitesh Sahay, the owner of Dhanbad-based Maa Jagdhatri Hard Coke Industry, said: “We [hard coke factories] are the largest employers of manpower in Dhanbad after the BCCL. More than 50,000 workers are directly or indirectly employed by us. However, because of low coal availability and discriminatory policies adopted by Coal India Limited and the Central government against local industrial units, over 60 factories had to shut shop here in the past decade. It's adversely affected the livelihoods of these workers and their families.”“Besides hard coke factories, a large number pig iron and sponge iron plants in the adjoining Giridih district are also facing crises, due to the low availability of domestic coal and the increased price of the imported coal, which had been compensating for the dip in domestic production over the past two years,” Sahay explained, suggesting solutions such as allotting coal blocks through global tenders and roping in organisations with good credentials, proven expertise and experience in using the latest technology.A view of Dhasar Colliery operated by Bharat Coking Coal Limited, a subsidiary of Coal India Limited, Jharia, Dhanbad (Photo Credits- Vishal Singh)The premise that proven expertise in such a delicate field be a prerequisite has logical backing, given the far-reaching effects short-sightedness in coal mining can have on the environment. So much so that Manoj Singh, a Jharia-based environmentalist and the founder of Green Life, told 101Repoters that he supported awarding mining contracts only to private operators with proven track records. He cited the example of Tata Steel operating several mines in Jharia and West Bokaro, all while adhering to environmental and safety norms and using the latest technology and machinery.“When automation and mechanisation are the need of the hour, why can’t organisations of international repute—such Tata Steel, which can operate more efficiently with the least pollution risk—be allotted mines?” Singh asked, also demanding the inclusion of a community development clause in mining contracts. “The government’s initiative to start coal bed methane or coal mine methane production as a supplement to coal is commendable, but their potential as green energy sources is limited."Anup Sao, a former ward councillor in Jharia's Bastacola area, said, “Unscientific mining methods that BCCL's local contractors use to increase production have put the lives of local people in danger. Many houses in the adjoining areas of the collieries have developed cracks due to the blasts carried out inside the mines.”A retired BCCL officer, who wished to be unnamed, reiterated the ICA president's initial comments, saying that the "panacea for the problems plaguing the mining industry lies in mechanisation, automation and digitisation"."Considering the rapid depletion of India's the coal reserves, roping in global players with expertise in modern technology in this field is key to increase the depth of mines to boost production and meet the current demand," said the officer, who once served the PSU as a technical director. "As we go deeper inside the mines, the temperature and chances of accidents increase. Only operators with access to advanced technology would be able to carry out safe mining in such circumstances.”

Jharkhand’s coal workers stare at darkness as ‘musclemen’ takeover mines

Representational Image (Picture credit - Flickr/International Accountability Project)Government apathy forces lakhs to live on low wages, work under unsafe conditions and fall victim to exploitation by private players and local strongmen.Dhanbad: Bachchan Nonia (45) died by suicide in November last year in Kusunda, Dhanbad. An employee at Godhar Colliery, managed by Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL), he was duped by a local moneylender, according to his son Vikas Nonia. “Earlier this year, my father had taken a loan of Rs 2 lakh from Mahesh Chauhan, a local moneylender. But Chauhan tricked him into signing a receipt for Rs 10 lakh and was forcing him to repay this amount. Unable to take the pressure, he killed himself.” "In the post-nationalisation era, the oppression of miners continues as exploiters have now taken on the garb of money lenders in their colonies and trade union leaders at the workplace,” said RC Paswan, an employee of Bastacola Colliery. Jharkhand, with more than 200 coal mines, holds 27 per cent of the country’s coking coal reserves estimated at 19.4 billion tonnes and fuels India’s thermal power. However, the families of more than five lakh workers, particularly those in unorganised jobs in the Jharia coalfields region, continue to be victims of exploitation. Government apathy in addition to profiteering private operators with scant regard for worker welfare and safety have forced local coal workers into extreme penury, battling a myriad of health hazards and facing threats of subsidence (sinking of the ground because of underground material movement).Rinku Rawani (32) lives in Mohribandh locality in Jharia, where an underground coal fire has been raging for decades. One August, four years ago, her neighbour’s home sank into the ground and not even the kitchen utensils were spared. Rawani, a loading worker at Golakdih Colliery, continues to live here with this fear hanging over her even as her family are forced to inhale the poisonous gases coming out of cracks in the ground. She has nowhere else to go and the promised government rehabilitation hasn’t reached her yet. She can’t help by rue over the lost home from her childhood, once a lush green land, now utterly uninhabitable. “In the past 20 years, because of unscientific and unsystematic mining, especially by private operators, pollution has drastically increased and the threat of subsidence has aggravated."Seasons change but exploitation is constantThe British monopoly on coal mining in Jharia was challenged by Gujarati traders at the turn of the 20th Century and soon other private players followed, making Jharia one of the richest princely estates in the Calcutta Presidency thanks to the huge royalties on mining leases. But local workers got the raw end of the deal, working in harsh conditions for a pittance. The nationalisation of coal mines by Indira Gandhi in the 70s improved working conditions at the PSUs but in the early 2000s, private entities (owned by local business houses, politicians and even local musclemen) once again entered the field as contractors employed for coal extraction, transportation and removal of mines overburden (sand, dust and rock covering the coal). And with that came the return of the unscientific and unethical mining practices pioneered by profit-minded private players. Consequently, state-owned subsidiaries like BCCL operating in Dhanbad, Central Coalfields Limited (ECL) operating in Bokaro, Ramgarh, Chatra and Ranchi and Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) operating in Dhanbad and Godda posted fewer and fewer vacancies, opting to outsource the work to contractual employees until the number of permanent employees are now outnumbered by cheap and disposable contact workers. AK Jha, the national general secretary of Congress-affiliated trade union Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), said, “The employees of these private companies are not provided benefits such as health insurance, gratuity, provident fund and medical reimbursements. Many companies do not provide them even identity cards and safety gears such as helmets, forcing them to work in unsafe conditions.”Nasir Iqbal, a Jharia-based general physician said, "Continuous exposure to coal dust in the air causes diseases such as allergic rhinitis, asthma, bronchitis and tuberculosis to people living and working in these mining areas.” Greater govt regulation is the need of the hour, not rampant privatisationApart from these contractual workers, musclemen who double as union leaders also engage many labourers from the surrounding areas, mostly women, for Rs 200 per day for loading raw coal and Rs 300 per day for loading prime coal on trucks. Violent clashes between groups engaged by different musclemen over the allotment of work are common at mining sites. Police had to apply brute force to neutralise the situation in Godhar colliery area of BCCL on July 9 this year when two groups started pelting stones at each other. One of these groups was supported by Janta Mazdoor Sangh, a trade union affiliated to the Hind Mazdoor Sabha.Aasha Devi, who participated in a protest by the residents of Gondudih area of Katras in Dhanbad on December 7 demanding more work allotment, said, “We are allotted work only for 15 to 20 days in a month, that too, for Rs 200 to Rs 300 per day. It is difficult to afford a living with this income and we can’t even shift to agriculture because we don’t own any land. ”A resident of Jharia’s Mohribandh locality and the central secretary of Bihar Colliery Kamgar Union, Rajendra Paswan, said, “The private operators are responsible for the recent shortage in the supply of coal to powerhouses. They collude with PSUs to falsify paperwork on meeting coal extraction targets. Before their entry into this sector, the PSUs were under pressure to meet their coal excavation targets, and hence, such crisis did not occur.”  Paswan said the government should ensure that contractual workers got fair wages, medical facilities, safety gear and uniforms. “We also want the government to force mining companies to increase their allocation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds to improve infrastructure in mining areas by constructing roads, opening schools, ensuring drinking water provisions and taking more steps to control pollution," he said.“The privatisation in coal mining and amendments in labour laws in favour of private companies by restricting the rights of labourers to protest have aggravated the problems faced by workers,” said the area secretary of Central Industrial Trade Union (CITU).Another threat around the corner for these workers is the green push to combat climate change. Pramod Pathak, a Dhanbad-based management consultant and former faculty at IIT-Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad said, "The focus on green energy technology in the coming days will lead to job losses as unlike the labour-intensive coal mining operations, green energy is technology-centric."

Women SHGs in Jharkhand’s coal villages learn the art of the pivot

Two women self-help groups in the villages of Patia and Sirguja Basti in Dhanbad are paving the way towards financial independence with community-based business ventures that are continually adapting to changing markets.Dhanbad: For almost two years now, Chaya Kumari's husband Jitendra has relied on daily wage work which is scarce in their village, Patia, situated in the Jamadoba area in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district. He returned at the beginning of the lockdown last year, after completing his apprenticeship with a private company, but is now mostly idle at home. Kumari, however, continues to support her family. Considered one of the most educated women in her village, she is currently pursuing an M.A in English. The 24-year-old is also quite entrepreneurial, much like the other 11 members of the Maa Durga Mahila Samiti (Mother Durga Women’s Committee), a women's Self Help Group (SHG) in Patia. Together, in December 2020, they forayed into mushroom cultivation to generate income and tackle post-pandemic financial challenges."We constituted our group about 15 years ago and got into black-soap making in 2015. (Black soap is a raw detergent cake made with caustic soda that is used to wash clothes and is much cheaper when compared to other detergent soaps in the market.) A unit was established in the village's community centre by Tata Steel Foundation," said Pyasi Devi (45), the group leader of Maa Durga Mahila Samiti. While the Samiti's soap-making venture carried on successfully for about five years, it was discontinued due to decreased demand and the lack of a proper marketing strategy. With the onslaught of the pandemic, the group turned towards something more lucrative. "Mushroom cultivation is much more profitable when compared to soap making. Moreover, the product can easily be sold in the local market at Jamadoba itself through vegetable retailers," Kumari told 101Reporters. There have been some taboos surrounding 'working women' in the region, but Kumari feels there is no harm in helping out the family. "In fact, it was the women of our mother-in-laws' generation who had started the initiative to support the family. They later allowed us to be part of their group and help them work," she added. Maa Durga Mahila Samiti is currently in its second round of cultivation. For the current season, the SHG has invested Rs 1,500 for 3 kg raw material, which will yield 120 kg of mushroom. This will be sold for Rs 400 per kg. Thus, the total anticipated sale of Rs 48,000 is 32 times the initial investment. "This year, the monthly income through the project is around Rs 2,000. We invested cautiously because during our first attempt, the crop was ruined due to lack of proper care and experience," said Sarla Devi. Her 28-year-old daughter-in-law Kavita Devi told 101Reporters that "the plant grows in darkness and also requires controlled slightly-moderate temperatures.  The only requirement in mushroom cultivation is patience." Kavita's husband, Anand Kumar, owns a grocery shop in the village but couldn't earn enough to provide good education to his two children. The women in the family are hoping to change that. "We are also engaged in making special diyas (small oil lamps) made using multani mitti (a type of clay soil), straw and cow dung. These diyas are more durable, eco-friendly and less fragile as compared to earthen diyas," said Sarla Devi.Adapting to changeMaa Durga Mahila Samiti is not the only thriving SHG in the region. The women of Sirguja Basti, a village less than two kilometres from Patia are also organised under the Pragya Mahila Swayam Sahaya Samuh (Pragya Women’s Self Help Group). The 13-member SHG is involved in fish farming and has had similar success as their counterparts in the neighbouring village. This SHG too has managed to adapt their strategies to a changing market. Led by 50-year-old Savitri Devi, the SHG was earlier in the craft of making candles. However, the demand for the candles decreased with the complete electrification of the village and the popularisation of inverters during power cuts. So Pragya Mahila Swayam Sahaya Samuh experimented with several products like making snacks and paper bags before finally settling on fish farming about two years ago. The most significant benefit of the fish farming project is that it is easy to market and sell. "Local agents come to the village to buy fish from us at Rs 120/kg," SHG member Lalita Devi told 101Reporters. She added that "As a traditional practice, the villagers engaged in fish farming in a small village pond; but in 2017 Tata Steel Foundation expanded the pond size and constructed ghats around it, helping and training us to carry out fish farming in an organised manner."In both these instances, the involvement of a civil society organisation (in this case a CSR wing) has helped them innovate and pivot into lucrative ventures where many other SHGs have floundered, without support, in the face of changing market dynamics. A women SHG established with the support of Dhanbad Municipal Corporation three years ago at Bapu Nagar area of Dhanbad, which was engaged in the manufacture of lac bangles, has been lying defunct for close to 18 months due to the lack of marketing support for their product.(Above) The base of operations of the women SHG, Maa Durga Mahila Samiti, in Patia, Jamadoba which was earlier engaged in the making of black soap; (Below) They have since pivoted to mushroom cultivation. Here they are seen with mushroom crops hanging to grow in a dark room in their community hall (Picture credit - Vishal Singh)The presence of Tata Steel in the region precedes Indian independence and they are heavily involved in community development activities. Tata Steel's mining operations in Jharia began in 1910 with Bhelatand colliery and subsequently other collieries like Malkera, Sijua, Jamadoba etc. Currently, Tata Steel has around 2,000 employees in its Jharia division and has approximately 40 leasehold villages. The foundation has been supporting the activities of several SHGs, including the Maa Durga Mahila Samiti. Aside from providing them with the necessary training, they have also provided the SHG with a dark room to grow mushrooms alongside raw material such as dry substrate—a mixture of plant wastes. Strengthening financial literacy and independenceThese self-help groups have inculcated financial independence alongside necessary business literacy amongst women in these villages. Kavita's Devi's children are enrolled in a private school and she was finding it difficult to manage their fees with the limited income from her husband's grocery shop. But now there is less strain on their finances due to the money she earns through the SHG. "The formation of a self-help group in the village has enabled better coordination among women. They can visit any place together to learn about the advantages of various government welfare schemes meant for them," said Chandana Devi, a member of Pragya Mahila Swayam Sahayata Samuh. She also feels that the SHG initiatives have not only financially strengthened them but also improved their standing in the family. Instead of being ignored, their views are now considered with due weightage.Savitri Devi echoed her sentiments. She said, "Earlier objections were raised when we stepped out of the house or talked to a male member outside the family. However, through the work of the SHG, we started contributing towards family income and worked for the upliftment of the family in various ways. For instance, we provided better education to our children. Hence, our say in family matters has greatly increased, and the villagers' perception towards women is changing positively."

Educated youth from Jharkhand's coal town return to farming, provide jobs to migrants

These young men have discovered that farming, done right with the aid of science and technology, can fetch more money and provide better life satisfaction than their old corporate jobs.  Dhanbad: A group of educated youth from Dhanbad have left their jobs in multi-national companies to take up farming. They are cultivating a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and flowers under the banner of RPA Farming, a self-employment venture that they have set up. The group, incubated by the newly established Atal Community Innovation Centre in the Indian Institute of Technology at the Indian School of Mines (IIT–ISM), is aiming to foray into new areas of food processing with technical support from the institution.RPA Farming was established three years ago by Ravi Nishad, a resident of Bhuli in Dhanbad who holds a degree in BSc IT, and Ranjeet Kumar, a former sales representative in the telecom industry. Currently, the group has several members, including Budhan Ram, a mining engineer from Barwadda, Sudhir Hembrom, a computer engineer from Sondaha and Amit Kumar Mishra, an agronomist. They are cultivating crops on 150 acres of land taken on lease.“My mother Parvati Devi, who was born and brought up in Jharia, died of lung infection caused by pollution five years ago. This loss prompted me to quit my job and lead the change. Farming on large patches of land has several advantages for the residents in the area; besides providing livelihood opportunities to farmers and bringing down food prices, it helps the environment by reducing air pollution,” Nishad said.“At present, our project is underway at several locations, including Sondaha in Baghmara block, Matari and Shakti Chowk in Katras, Birajpur and Srirampur in Govindpur, Maharajganj in Tundi, as well as at Bhuli and Dhangi in Dhanbad block. Besides marigold and papaya, which are our major produces, we are also growing a large number of seasonal vegetables and fruits such as cabbage, cauliflower, eggplant, pointed gourd, bottle gourd and green chilli,” said Ranjit Kumar.“More than 60 people are working with us. Besides learning innovative agriculture techniques, they earn Rs 5,000 per month,” he said, adding that he was motivated to join the group after he saw Nishad, along with some other youth, working in the field.Hembrom (33) is the site in-charge in Sondaha where primarily papaya and marigold are being cultivated on 10 acres of land. “I worked for Reliance Industries at Hazira in Gujarat for a few years. I joined RPA Farming around two years ago and have realised the basic difference between a regular job and owning a venture. While on the job, I could barely save any money, but now, even though I work less compared to the corporate job, I am not only earning more but also providing a source of livelihood to eight persons in my locality,” he said, adding that traders are making a beeline for their farms to buy their produce.Members of RPA Farming and their employees carry out papaya cultivation at one of the sites (Picture credit - RPA Farming)Ram (32) said, “After completing my diploma in 2014, I worked as a computer teacher for some time at Nari Shakti Samiti, a social initiative by Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) officers’ wives. I also worked in a private company in Kolkata for six months before returning to Dhanbad around two years ago and joining RPA Farming. I have now realised that farming is a better choice than a regular job; besides providing a better livelihood, it also offers me the freedom and time for personal work.” He added that besides working on the project sites, members of RPA Farming also grow crops on their own land.Hari Prasad Kevat, a resident of Dhangi Basti in Dhanbad block, said “I was working at a Godrej factory in Goa when COVID-19 started spreading and the whole country was locked down. I had to return home. After joining RPA Farming, I do not feel the need to stay away from my family to earn money. Working on my own field using the innovative farming techniques that I have learnt while working with the group helps me make enough money to take care of my family.”Papaya and marigold are the main crops cultivated under RPA Farming. They harvest around 75 tonnes of papaya from around 3,000 trees on their project sites. Marigold cultivation provides livelihood to around 30 women who sell the flowers at local markets.“We are also experimenting with the cultivation of a variety of fruits, including apple, grape and litchi,” said Nishad, adding that they were seeking technological support from the Atal Community Innovation Centre for extraction of chemicals such as phytophenols from marigold, which can fetch higher prices in comparison to the flowers.Amit Shukla, the chief executive officer of the Atal Community Innovation Centre, hailed the youths’ efforts and said, “We are planning to support the group’s initiatives by teaching them how to extract various products from marigold and providing new mulching equipment to prevent the growth of weeds.”