It’s on fire. . .

dusty lanes

Fire… yeah, they have not discovered it on Mars but our earth has a lot of it and this is what has made me write. Living on the Chota Nagpur plateau of Jharkhand, I have paid many visits to nearby towns. And when I visited Jharia, I was unable to differentiate it from the other small towns of Jharkhand. It had a similar jostling crowd, dusty packed streets lining ancient houses and huts. But the one thing that was different was the soil underneath the feet. It was black and mixed in coal dust completely.

smokey paths

 This place is famous for coal and its mine. The area has remained the major source of supply for coal resources. It was not unusual to see the small coal Chulha placed in front of the houses emitting smoke. What amazed me the most that the population of as of 2007 more than 400,000 people who reside in Jharia are living on the edge of disaster. The entire area is on the coal mines which are burning inside. Heavy fumes emitted from these coalfield fires are also a health hazard for the people. Breathing and lung disorders are caused by the smoke.

The government has a lackadaisical attitude towards the safety of people of Jharia.

The life is normal there at least it appears to but the entire place is under threat and on the brink of disaster. The area is on the fire that can take over this small peaceful town any moment. The local government along with the residents and coal mine owners must prepare appropriate measures before the situation gets out of control and takes the form of God-awful disaster. Only warnings and not to mention the frivolous ignorance won’t help. This visit left me with a sense of helplessness. The Poor and their small livelihood all under threat which no one knows when the fire will gulp down if things operate at the same pace. Anyone Worried???

Coalfield Fumes 

Well, there is another fire in a rage too. Election fire is on this season and every newspaper and news channels are too obsessed with election saga. The leaders stand for better education, an improvement in health, development, lowering of prices, peace, and harmony. Well, who doesn't??The debates are held on news channels on the so-called BIG issues, the derogatory remarks which our politicians throw at each other. But no debates on what these leaders and their parties will do for people of small towns like Jharia and their condition. Why bother??  Election 2014 was a good opportunity to bring into light such problems of people and discuss such issues on panel discussions with people’s representatives and the methods they would adapt to tackle such issues. But nothing much happened as usual. These people are just uninformed voters. Our leaders and their parties have kept them uninformed.

Jharia is on fire…no matter how many elections come and elections go. Anyone cares????