Scavengers of all ages head towards the nearby mines – such as this one in Ghunudi – each morning at dawn. With few other jobs for those without education or resources, coal mining has become their sole means of subsistence
Scavengers of all ages head towards the nearby mines – such as this one in Ghunudi – each morning at dawn. With few other jobs for those without education or resources, coal mining has become their sole means of subsistence

India’s announcement of an ‘international solar alliance’ at the Paris climate talks is belied by PM Narendra Modi’s plans to produce double the amount of coal by 2020. Back home in the coal-mining heartland near the city of Dhanbad, fires rage underground and poisonous air puts health and livelihoods at risk

On the outskirts of Jharia in the village of Laltanganj, large open fires – caused when the coal is exposed to oxygen – burn uncontrolled, night and day.
On the outskirts of Jharia in the village of Laltanganj, large open fires – caused when the coal is exposed to oxygen – burn uncontrolled, night and day. - The fires billow dangerous fumes of sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide and mercury into the air just metres away from people’s homes. It is estimated that in India, these fires spew around 1.4bn tonnes of carbon dioxide a year into the atmosphere