Embed

Inferno Village

When leaving a land of fiery coal pits is scarier than burning alive

Jharia in India is like a hellish scene from a demonic horror movie: perpetually wreathed in suffocating smoke from an underground fire that has been burning for 100 years. Jharia’s coal fields represent the country’s richest reserves but the people forced to live here remain steeped in poverty. 

For many, pilfering and selling small baskets full of coal from the quarry is the only opportunity to make a meagre living. Whole families, including little children, labour in dangerous and harmful conditions.

Related: Instead of having health and safety precautions, this ‪E-Waste‬ dump has‪ child labour‬.

Living here is very risky: the ever-spreading pit of fire frequently consumes whole houses and blasting regularly shakes the whole village, damaging buildings and throwing plumes of coal dust into the air. High levels of carbon monoxide cause severe respiratory complaints among residents. Despite the danger, most families daren’t relocate because coal provides their only means of income.

Related: A whole town in Egypt that lives on rubbish

Some residents have been moved out, though not voluntarily, they’ve been relocated to a specially built township. However, unemployment and an underdeveloped infrastructure makes them homesick and wish they had never left their burning homeland. 

Local activists are standing up for the rights of Jharia population. They believe the relocation is motivated not by concern for the people’s interests but to free up more land for the government owned mining company to exploit. 

Follow stories the mainstream media ignores: Follow RTD's Twitter

WATCH TRAILER
Please rate this film

9.05(17 users)

Published: 27 January 2017 00:00

Duration

26:56

Tags
Watch this film in Russian

don't miss

26:33
Investigation 31 August 2016 00:00

The Ugly Face of Beauty. Is child labour foundation for your makeup?

26:33
Professions 05 May 2017 00:00

Golden Gamble. Gold mining in the Philippines, a dirty business

26:33
Human Rights 17 January 2018 00:00

Undermined. Bolivia’s child workers: Breadwinners or exploited kids

26:33
Society 23 October 2019 00:30

Lost Kids. Stories from desperate parents amid India’s missing children epidemic

26:33
Environment 13 March 2017 00:00

Cry of a River. The trouble with India’s toilets and drinking water

26:33
Environment 17 August 2016 00:00

H2WOE. India's Water Crisis: A Warning To The World

26:33
Investigation 03 December 2012 00:00

On the golden breadline

26:33
Environment 30 July 2018 00:00

Palawan Lost . The dark side of a tropical idyll that tourists don't see

26:33
Environment 30 November 2022 12:00

Protect Oak Flat. Native Americans protect sacred land from foreign mining and destruction

26:33
Health 09 February 2015 00:00

Wombs for Rent. Surrogate motherhood in India

26:33
Society 20 October 2017 00:00

Dance, sex, dance. The Story of an Indian Street. The hopes & fears of Muzaffarpur's red light sex slaves

26:33
Lifestyle 02 October 2019 12:11

Gandhi's Footsteps. Barefoot Mahatma followers undermining capitalism

26:33
Traditions 07 September 2015 00:00

The Invisible Women. Shunned from their families, widows in India driven to the streets to die

26:33
Society 15 January 2016 00:00

Café Sheroes. Life After An Acid Attack

26:33
History 26 May 2023 12:00

Looted India: Cost of an Empire. Former British colony reclaims its stolen treasures

26:33
Religion 28 September 2016 00:00

The Immortals. Meet the “divine” leader of a polygamous cult

26:33
Society 11 August 2017 00:00

Love Commandos. Saving inter-caste couples from honour killings

26:33
Society 22 May 2015 00:00

100% Cotton. Made in India. Farmers commit suicide after planting GMO cotton

26:33
Investigation 13 March 2015 00:00

Scrapped. The deadly business of dismantling ships in Bangladesh

26:33
Society 06 April 2018 00:00

Togo: Tough to Survive. Togolese children stuck between hard labour and human trafficking

VIEWER’S CHOICE: 1,000,000 VIEWS AND MORE

VIEW ALL