A peek into Jharkhand’s mica mines where child labour & illegal mining are no secret
The mica mining industry today operates via unlicensed middle men and labourers who scavenge for mica in large abandoned mines, or dig holes into the earth for scraps.
From left to right: 9-year-old Chand Kumari and 16-year-old Roshni Kumari carry scraps of mica | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrint
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Giridih, Jhumri Telaiya: For generations, families living in the Koderma and Giridih districts of Jharkhand have survived on the collection and trade of mica — a shimmery, translucent mineral used in cosmetics and automobiles.
The mining of mica was once a legal, thriving business that made India the biggest exporter of the mineral. But concerns about mining causing environmental damage led to the passage of the Forest Conservation Act of 1980, which bars non-forest activities, such as mining, from taking place in forested areas without clearances from the central government.
The mica mining industry is still operational — but it has taken a different shape. Corporations have been replaced by unlicensed middle men, and labourers scavenge for mica in large abandoned mines, or dig holes into the earth for scraps.
These scraps, known as ‘dhibra’, are sold for anything between Rs 3 and Rs 15 per kilo. For families that mine together, more hands means more money, and parents often take their children along.
Mica mining is also notorious for its involvement of child labour, which has been reported by the global media extensively. The problem, however, still persists, and is threatened by the Covid-19 induced lockdown which forced schools shut.
“I would go to school but the master (teacher) hasn’t come in months. I don’t know where this mica goes, but I’ve learned how to collect it,” 12-year-old Dhanashree told ThePrint as she squatted to collect ‘dhibra’.
A man walks across an abandoned mica mine in Bergiyatari, Giridih | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrintGirls scavenge for ‘dhibra’ in Devanjot, Giridih | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrintWomen break through rocks to extract pieces of mica in a mine near Kararitola village in Koderma district | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrintTulsi Rai, a worker, displays the tools used by laborers to dig for scraps of mica | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrintAn abandoned mica mine in Bergiyatari, Giridih. Corporations once dug mica mines as big as this, before withdrawing from the industry once the Forest Conservation Act of 1980 was passed | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrintSani Rai stands inside a 30-foot underground cave that he and a few others dug to collect mica scraps near Kararitola village in Koderma | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrintA labourer sits at the periphery of an abandoned mica mine in Bergiyatari, Giridih | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrintVasanti, 21, walks across dug up caves, in search of mica | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrintVasanti collects scraps of mica, called ‘dhibra’, at Devanjot village in Giridih with a group of other young women and girls | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrintMiners remove scraps of mica from the cave they dug | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrintChildren in the abandoned Bergiyatari mine | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrintWorkers from the forest department, some of whom have left work scavenging for mica, return home after a day of work | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrint
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