How green was my mountain: The abandoned mines of Jharia, in photos

A barren open-cast coal mine in Jharkhand’s Jharia lies abandoned. Excessive mining and the resulting fires in Dhanbad and Jharia has been in grave violation of ecological as well as human rights. In Jharia, Jharkhand, India.

A stone quarrying site at Nachosai, Jharkhand. The village has seen relentless stone mining, valued as an important activity by construction companies that have now turned many a sacred grove into barren land, against the wishes of the people living in the area. In Nachosai, Jharkhand, India.

Local residents of Jharia earn Rs 120 every day mining illegal coal from company leftovers. This has given a rise to inflammatory diseases and numerous other health issues. In Jharia, Jharkhand, India.

Mousomi Ghosh, a resident of the Borara region in Jharia, poses in front of the remains of her house, now taken over by private companies to mine under. She has had to move to the city — to escape the poisonous gases leaking from the ground underneath. In Jharia, Jharkhand, India.

Women workers scavenge for illegal scraps of coal at the base of the river bed near the Telmachho bridge in Jharkhand, India.

A house broken by dynamite blasts used to blast up open-cast mines to access coal. In Dhanbad, Jharkhand, India.

A man picks lotus flowers to sell them in the local market. He lost his job at a coal mine recently and hopes to earn a living by collecting and selling lotuses. In Dimna, Jharkhand, India.