“Dhyan se! Pairo tale zameen khisak sakti hai” (Careful! The ground beneath your feet might give way),” warned my driver. I was on my way from Dhanbad to Bokaro when noxious fumes forced me out of my car. The smell seemed out of place in this part of Jharkhand. Kenduadih in Dhanbad district is green all around. The only indicator of something unusual were the grey wisps of smoke rising out of the ground. I was standing inside what was literally a ring of fire, one that had been burning in for a century.

Kenduadih is home to three of 77 mine fires in the Jhariacoal fields, the first of which was detected at Bhowrah colliery in 1916. Mine fires are deposits of coal that are smouldering underground. Several of these exist around the world, including Mount Wingen in Australia, which has been burning for six millennia. In Jharia, though, the mine fires are the result of unscientific practices collectively known as slaughter mining.

Private mine owners, who ruled the roost before nationalisation of coking coal in 1971, would randomly dig up a patch of land, extract coal if any was easily available, and move on to the next patch without properly closing the earlier mine, leaving gaps for oxygen to pass through and reach the surface. “With fuel and heat already available, the fire triangle is completed,” Dr RVK Singh, senior principal scientist of mine fires at Central Institute of Mines and Fuel Research (CIMFR), explained to Newslaundry.

The turtle-shaped coal fields of Jharia have multiple seams of high quality coking coal, an indispensable ingredient for the steel manufacturing industry. A particular quirk of these coal fields is that the better quality seams are available closer to the surface. While this is good for mining, it also causes fires to spread faster.

At present, the densely-populated region is home to roughly 1.7 lakh families, who inhabit the serpentine lanes between the collieries. Everyone depends on mining, either directly or indirectly. Most are poor and their well being has traditionally been ignored because the majority belong to lower castes. Fires rage underneath their homes and while residents have made peace with the scorching temperatures, their bodies bear its brunt. Respiratory ailments and skin diseases are common, especially among children and the elderly. Many suffer from tuberculosis and chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD), an illness without a cure.

There’s now a new concern:because of the mine fires, there is a very real danger of people and property being engulfed by the earth. “When the fuel burns, the land it occupies is hollowed out,” said Dr Singh. “Eventually, that land subsides.”

Near Ghanudih, which is one of the 41 Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL)collieries affected by mine fires, 10-year-old Sonu Gupta pointed to a subsided patch of land and said, “We used to play there.” said Sonu. “Company koyla nikalna band nahi karti, aur yeh mines jalna (The company doesn’t stop mining, the mines don’t stop burning).”

BCCL has 103 collieries in its leasehold and over 53,000 people on its rolls. In Ghanudih, part of Bastacolla colliery, the flames have charred the Jharia railway station beyond recognition. Even at eight in the evening, the open cast mine — in these, excavation is done at the surface, rather than underground — is a hive of activity. As earthmovers dig up the coal and tippers transport it to the depot, flames erupt like hellfire.

Until last year, Sonu lived with his mother Sunita Devi (36) and three sisters in a single-storey house. Sonu’s paternal uncles, Mantu (22) and Pankaj (27) lived close by, in the same lane. One day, a cave-in split the lane and left a deep crater 10 feet long and five feet wide in front of Sonu’s home. Mantu and Pankaj’s house was reduced to rubble. Pankaj and his wife left Jharia, Mantu has moved in with Sonu’s family. Currently, the six of them share three rooms that are less than 200 square feet in all and stand the verge of collapse.

Pankaj and Mantu’s house was reduced to rubble when a cave-in split the lane in front of it a year and a half ago

Sonu’s family is eligible for rehabilitation and resettlement, according to a master plan that was first formulated in 1999. In 2004, the Jharia Rehabilitation and Development Authority (JRDA) was formed to implement a plan that states each family will get a one BHK (bedroom-hall-kitchen) flat under the urban poor housing scheme, and job guarantee of 500 days. In 2006, the union coal ministry decided to construct 79,159 houses, including 25,000 for BCCL employees. However, this is far from adequate. “As per our recent estimate, the number of affected families has increased to 1.2 lakh [BCCL employees not included],” said Sunil Dalela, Chief Manager (Civil) of JRDA, to Newslaundry.

Since 2008, a resettlement colony is being built in Belgadia at an excruciatingly slow pace. “So far, we have constructed 3,072 flats, another 7,028 are under construction,” said Dalela. “It might take another 12 years to finish building all 1.2 lakh flats.” One reason for the delay is land acquisition — alcoholism is a common problem in families associated with mining and this makes many villages in the area unwelcoming of them. “Villagers don’t want the (mine fire-affected) families to be resettled in their areas,” said one JRDA official who did not wish to be identified.

Even the beneficiaries have reservations. Despite multiple notices, Jagdish Bhuian refuses to budge from his 1000-square-foot house in Laltenganj village, which he shares with his wife and seven sons. “Family badi hai, room mil rahaek. Usme kya hoga? (I have a big family, I am getting one room. How will we manage?),” asked the 52-year-old.

Others are worried about staying too far away from their workplace. “They are sending us away to a village with no jobs,” said Ravi Bhuian, 30, who stays near MADA (Mineral Area Development Authority) Colony in Ghanudih. “We’ll have to travel 10km to Jharia every day in search of work.” JRDA sources hinted the slow pace of flat construction is due to the families’ resistance.

With nowhere to go, the singed masses hope that the fires will perhaps be doused. This can actually be done.There are two ways, according to Dr Singh. The more time-consuming and expensive way is blanketing (filling the cracks with soil), sprinkling with water and using coolants like nitrogen. The other is by eliminating the fuel itself, which means digging out the coal. Together, the two methods have helped extinguish 10 fires in the region and make nine others dormant.

Of late, BCCL has opted for the latter process. “By cutting off the oxygen supply, you can isolate the fire,” said Dr EVR Raju. “But by extracting the coal, you stop the fire itself. We’ve been trying to do so since 2008.” Dr Raju is the deputy general manager (environment) of BCCL. While the second is a cheaper and faster process, it may also be an excuse to extract as much coal as possible.

Meanwhile, Jharia’s families continue their toil on the burning earth that is both their refuge and their destruction. They take their battered bodies to work in the collieries and say a prayer with every step, hoping the ground beneath their feet will hold. After all, there are mouths to feed, bills to pay and a life to be lived, even if it is scorched by the infernal heat of Jharia’s mine fires.