[Disclaimer] ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO A COAL BED BENEATH THE CITY OF JHARIA CAUGHT FIRE. IT'S BEEN BURNING EVER SINCE. THE FIRE CLAIMS MORE HOUSES AND MORE LIVES EVERY YEAR.
LEAVING THE FIERY AREA THOUGH, IS MORE FRIGHTENING THAN BURNING ALIVE
[Pardeep Mahto] Look, the fire is everywhere
The ground is burning beneath our feet
[woman] Many have died: some have fallen off roofs,
others burned or hung themselves
We are scared
We believe there must be a black spirit here
It frightens us
We don't leave our homes at night.
[Poonam Nishad] The government built houses in the danger zone for profit,
and left us here to watch the dance of death
[Title] INFERNO VILLAGE
[Pardeep Mahto] I have a recurring dream:
I see myself carrying coal, then a police car shows up
A policeman gets out and arrests me
I'm taken not to the local precinct, but to one in the big city,
where I'm prosecuted and sentenced to 7 years in jail
That's the dream
Once in jail, I weep, thinking about who'll feed my family while I'm there
What will my little kids and wife do?
What will they eat?
I often have this dream
[Pardeep Mahto] She works like an adult
She does some easy work
And this guy is a real cheeky scoundrel!
All he does is play
We give him a tiny basket and don't know where he goes with it
First, we send the children out
They fill small baskets
Once they're full, I lift them from the pit
[Titles] PARDEEP MAHTO
It's very hard work
Respectable but hard work
You can see how far down we must go
Look how long it takes the lorry to drive up and for us to walk
Have you filled your basket yet?
Big chunks won't fit, let's put it into this one
Now help me put it on my head…
Come on, there's room for one more
[VO] Jharia’s coal fields are spread over dozens of square kilometers,
they’re the country's largest reserves, owned and exploited
by a state-owned monopoly
[VO] Every morning, hundreds from nearby villages descend into the quarry to steal coal
[VO] The company turns a blind eye to this habitual theft, for many
people, it’s their only source of income
[Pardeep Mahto] Collecting coal is very tough
The government won't give us a job
The coal is the company's property,
but the company can't give jobs to everyone,
so we are forced to steal it to sell
That's how we fend for ourselves
Sometimes when I walk on coal, I see it smouldering
If you stand there, your foot sinks in and you get burnt
[Poonam Nishad] I have a dream where someone knocks on my door
I don't know who it is because the outer door is locked
The person is knocking on the interior door,
so it can't be just anyone
This dream has recurred many times
Now I'm not even sure where my house was
[Titles] POONAM NISHAD
[Poonam Nishad] Look over there
Six years ago it was perfectly normal:
there was green grass, the area was lively,
many families lived here, but today…
You can see for yourself, it's all like this
[VO] Poonam has lived on the very edge of the burning pit for six years
[VO] She came to Jharia when she married her husband
[VO] Each day the fire creeps closer and closer to her home
[VO] Several neighbours’ houses have already collapsed - sometimes fatally
[Poonam Nishad] My husband died six months after we moved away from here
He had cancer
We went to Kokilaben hospital in Mumbai for treatment
He died a month or two after he came home
[Ashok Agarwal] This place where we are standing, there is fire underneath it
And this fire is progressing
You can see the fire right here
The smoke that is coming out,
it shows that there is fire underneath this
Probably, there must be around 10 or 15 houses now
[Titles] ASHOK AGARWAL ACTIVIST
[Ashok Agarwal] There must have been at least 250 families living here at one time
And there was a temple over here
It's all now finished
[VO] Coal has been mined in Jharia for over 100 years
the rich coal seam was accessed through mine shafts
[VO] When it became depleted, giant open cast pits were dug,
then a fire that had smouldered for decades suddenly burst
into flames and spread widely underground
[Ashok Agarwal] Coal is the target
Everybody wants coal
And the people here are treated just like robots
Around 700 to 1000 families will have to be evacuated today or tomorrow
And some of them, they've also got to be thrown out
Somebody has to raise somebody's voice
because these people, these poor people have got no voice
And the people who have got money, they are not going to say anything
They've got a vested interest in coal-mining
Therefore someone has to speak up
[RAJESH CHANDRAPAL] Listen! It is the sound of blasting
[Titles] RAJESH CHANDRAPAL HEAD MASTER
[RAJESH CHANDRAPAL] You can feel everything
It's about 5.5 on the Richter scale
It damages our building
Five years ago they also found a fire under the building,
however, the school wasn't closed
Two years later, the same thing happened again
The children said: 'Sir, it's so hot in here, fire is escaping!'
When I arrived, I saw smoke coming out
I led the children out of the building
Two explosions followed a few days later,
then the wall collapsed
It's all over the place
The fire is everywhere
It comes out from here
On this side, that side, and that side as well
And beneath that building, too
[Rajesh Chandrapal] What's essential for Diwali?
What are you looking at? Look this way
See, here's one candle
Draw three or four candles and six or seven light bulbs
Colour them in
They look very pretty when they are colourful
You must have seen small ones like this at home, the clay ones
They're so pretty! Please, draw them
First, draw the outline with a pencil, then colour it in
[VO] With only a week to go before the major holiday,
the house has to be tidied up
[VO] Everyone looks forward to Divali,
a favourite holiday in India
[VO] It's also known as the festival of light
[Pardeep Mahto] We always light a candle or a lamp for Diwali, set off firecrackers
We let the children do it
My wife and I perform the rituals and pray
We spend all the money we have
But if there's little money, there's not much to spend
During Diwali people buy lots of candy
They are cooked on the stove,
so you need more coal, and prices go up
We'll be burning this coal through the night
We always do this, if we have coal
It must burn all night
Meanwhile, we'll go to market. It's hard work
Give me a piece of wood!
It should be ready by 2 am, I guess
[woman] Are you bringing your kids for Diwali? [Girl] Of course!
Bring them round, my dad and his family are also coming
She comes once or twice a week
She comes round whenever she's bored
She was here the day before yesterday
Now she's here again
She comes for an hour or two, then goes back
[VO] Like every other resident of Jharia, Poonam and her sister go
to the market before Divali to buy an obligatory assortment
of brightly-decorations
[VO] Poonam will celebrate the festival of light at a relatives' house
[Poonam] How much does it cost? [Seller] 30 rupees ($0.44)
[Poonam] I'll take it for 10. [Seller] Just one for 10?
[Poonam] You must be kidding!
[Seller] No, you're kidding! It's a fair price
[Poonam] How much is this one? [Seller] 200 rupees ($3)
No, really? So much?
[Poonam] Will you sell for less? [Seller] No, I can't
But I like it so much, man. Please, sell it to me!
Not that one, this one. I like it
If you won't, I'm leaving
[Ashok Agarwal] This is Belgaria
This is the first township made by Bharat Coking Coal Ltd
for the rehabilitation of the people who are being displaced from Jharia
See, the people when they were staying on the fire, the reason was livelihood
They were getting coal over there
They may be pilfering it or collecting it,
but they could sell it in the market and make ends meet
They could put two square meals on their table
Right now they are unable to do this
[Ashok Agarwal] What problems do you have here?
[citizens] Unemployment is the biggest
[Ashok Agarwal] Then why did you come here?
[man] The government relocated us
[woman] Our old house had everything: water, electricity
[Ashok Agarwal] Yes, I'm from Jharia, I know
[woman] Here it's hard for us to educate our child,
it's hard if we're ill, food is a problem, work too…
[Ashok] Where do you get your coal? [Woman] We buy it
[Ashok] From the pit? [woman] Yes
[Ashok] Can you buy vegetables? [woman] Yes
[Ashok Agarwal] Where are they from?
[woman] A trader brings them,
but they cost 40 rupees here,
and only 20 rupees in Jharia
[VO] Activists say that the spread of underground fires is in the government’s interest,
because it can then remove people from land that can then be used for coal mining
[Ashok Agarwal] The government is taking advantage of this
They know that the fire is progressing,
so eventually these people will have to vacate their houses
They don't have any option
[Child] Pick me up! [Poonam Nishad] Be patient. I'm cooking now
Come here, please, behave
Go turn on the TV
[VO] Poonam was 2 single-room apartments in exchange
for her small house that was lost to the inferno
[VO] It's spacious, but the Belgraia township taken more from
the young girl than the fire ever did
[Poonam Nishad] A family member died after we moved here in 2012
Then, in 2013, my husband died
In 2014 there were no deaths in the family,
but in 2015 both my father-in-law and younger brother's wife died
So, I lost four relatives in three years
But we still live in danger
We don't want to live here, but we have to
This place is no good
The rumour is that it was built over a cemetery
[Poonam Nishad] Look, what a delicious treat you have!
[Child] Feed me [Poonam] Why should I feed you now?
[Child] Mum, we're out of sweets, can you buy some?
Be patient
The house we had in Jharia was the best
It was more of a hut, but it was a palace to us
We enjoyed living there,
we were comfortable
We wanted for nothing
I often dream that I go up to the roof,
and someone throws me and my children off it
I never have good dreams here, only nightmares
[Children] Why are you here?
My mum went down without me
Give me a hand, then
Not here. Stand over here
Look, you pick it up like this,
and then put it here
[Pardeep Mahto] When the gas starts leaking, it's terrible
It's a killer. If it enters your body,
you get a terrible headache
It messes with your internal organs
Our children also get terrible headaches from the gas,
sometimes they even faint
It's a common problem,
everybody suffers from it
We deal with coal so we breathe in the dust too
Everyone inhales it and is sick all the time
[Dr O.P Agarwal] When I was in Delhi I used to see 70 to 80 patients
But here, mostly they suffer from pulmonary tuberculosis
and asthmatic disease related to breathing problems
[Titles] DR O.P. AGARWAL
[Dr O.P Agarwal] that are owed to the coal dust
More or less like this, black
Because of the presence of air
But you see, the whole area is studded with these white patches,
that is more or less fibrosed
So that portion of the lung is not working
When was the last episode?
[Man] On the 24th. [Woman] October 24th
In October... Any problems since?
[Man] I guess, not. [Woman] You had a bleeding episode
This means you haven't completed treatment yet
We used to advise them, as doctors, regarding
what preventative measures and what should they do,
but because they are very poor, they are slum dwellers,
they don't have any such amenities
That's why they are forced to live in the vicinity of the coal mines
They collect coals over there,
they sell it at the market,
and out of their earnings, they are living their day to day lives
[Pardeep Mahto] One person earns about 600 rupees ($9)
the price for one basket
A child-size basket sells for 400-500 rupees
Some might fetch 800, it depends
Sometimes we take coal to the market
and sell it to a restaurant, tea-seller or street-food vendor
[VO] Every two days Pardip takes the coal to sell at the city market
where he has regular clients
[VO] On the eve of Divali, everyone needs to buy coal,
that's why Pardip collected more than usual
[VO] What money he makes, will be spent on gifts for his wife and four children
[Pardeep Mahto] I made 200 rupees
[child] Where should I put them, Mum? Here? [Poonam Nishad] Turn it around
[child] Where else should I put them?
[Poonam] Over there, next to the shrine
[child] Mum, the midges are biting!
[man] Have you got light? [Poonam Nishad] We did
[man] I don't know why it won't turn on
[child] Mum, I'm getting bitten!
[man] Maybe the bulb's gone? [woman] It was fine yesterday
[man] Bring me another? [Poonam Nishad] I'll check the neighbours
[woman] Try this, it should work
Did you check it when you bought it?
[Woman] How much was it? [Girl] 150 rupees ($2.20)
[Man] Let's put it outside
[Poonam] Should I turn it off? [man] Yes
[Poonam Nishad] We have no argument with God,
even though he's taken a lot from us
That's clear, because he's taken so much
God hasn't given us anything, but we still believe in him
[woman] Give everyone a light
[child] I want one, too!
[woman] What? [Child] Give me one!
[child] I want to light one too. [woman] Go ahead
[Pardeep Mahto] Children like to listen to my fairy-tales
They say, 'tell us that fairy-tale of yours.'
And I do. They listen and fall asleep
I tell them the story of the Ramayana: how Rawan kidnapped Sita,
and Hanuman went searching for where she was hidden
He found her in Lanka but she didn't recognise him
Hanuman thought deeply about
how to persuade her that he was sent by Rama...
[Pardeep Mahto] We teach our children not to do this job when they grow up,
to do something else
Go to Mumbai or Delhi and learn a trade
We don't want our children to be involved with coal
It's the worst
[Poonam Nishad] When we lived here, we dreamt of building a house,
having a family with a husband and children
Everyone dreams of this,
but how can you dream,
when you're surrounded by a reality like this?