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The town of Jharia is situated on the Chota Nagpur Plateau of eastern India, just south of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. The plateau is rich in mineral deposits including coal. The coal from the plateau, specifically from the area that was once part of undivided Bihar, has powered Indian industry and railways for several years.
However, Jharia, today part of Jharkhand, has been famous for something else too. For over a century, fires have burned in the coal mines of Jharia and continue to do so. This has had significant impacts on the topology of the area as well as the lives of local residents.
The underground fire in Jharia’s coal mines was ignited in 1916 by an unidentified factor. It has never extinguished in spite of huge efforts by the Indian government and local authorities.
The fire has caused subsidence and fissures in the region. These act as a corridor that supplies oxygen and sustains these underground fires, according to a 2021 study titled Underground burning of Jharia coal mine (India) and associated surface deformation using InSAR data.
The study adds that there are 23 underground and nine open cast mining areas in Jharia. According to data from the Bharat Coking Coal Limited, coal fires have destroyed 37 million tons of coal and made 220 billion tons of coal inaccessible.
The conditions make lives of local people extremely difficult. So extreme is the heat in these areas that it is not possible to even walk with a shooed foot, according to the Times of India. Local people are afflicted with respiratory illnesses due to exposure to toxic fumes and smoke from the burning coal.
Efforts have been made to rehabilitate locals. But progress has been slow. Consequently, they continue to live in hazardous conditions.