Invisible Burden: Jharkhand's Cycle Coal Workers And Weight of Survival

In less than 48 hours Jharkhand will begin voting for a new government.

For coal mine workers in Giridh and Bokaro, each election offers a measure of hope to improve their miserable social and economic fortunes but each, ultimately, dissolves into nothingness, each day filled with long hours of toil buried deep underground and each a struggle to survive.

Here, in these mines, they scrape coal from the remains of deserted pits, risking injury and even death. Their livelihood depends on these expeditions, and thousands of others rely on their coal expeditions daily, loading over 200 kg of coal on a bicycle and pushing it for eight hours day through scorching summers and muggy monsoons, all to make a few hundred rupees daily.

In February Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, weeks before April-June general election, tried to highlight their daily trauma; he tried to push a coal-laden bicycle - carrying a back-breaking 200 kg - and called for justice, that these men be paid better for their hard work.

Yet, despite that headline and the Congress being part of the ruling alliance in Jharkhand, the lives of these 'cycle coal workers' remains unchanged and as difficult as ever.

And, alongside them stumble along men charging Rs 100 to help push these coal-laden bicycles uphill, adding to a complex ecosystem of survival the only goal of which is survival.

And one and all they lament 'missing in action' MLAs and lawmakers, who "promise employment during elections but, after winning, disappear". Yet, they say, each election they vote because "that is all we have... a flickering hope... perhaps false... but hope nonetheless."

Mathura Ravidas

"My name is Mathura Ravidas. I live in Asurbandh in Bokaro."

Ravidas loads his bicycle with around 240 kg of coal every day. He buys this for Rs 650 and sells it for Rs 900. "The profit isn't much but it is enough to keep us going," he told NDTV.

Ravidas has six children and he is the sole earner in the family, and where he lives there is, he said, no other job or source of income.

"The journey back (with coal) is gruelling... sometimes the climb is so steep and the load so heavy I stumble and fall, and get hurt. It takes six or seven hours just to return home. I wonder if there will ever be a better life for my children, one in which they don't have to carry this weight."

"I don't know who Rahul Gandhi is... the leader who came and tried to push a coal-laden bicycle like ours. It is nice someone noticed... but we are still waiting for real change. Every day we risk our lives, hoping someday the pain of carrying this load will subside," he told NDTV.

Munna Yadav

"I am Munna Yadav. Today, I left Giridih at 2 am and reached Chhotki Khargadiha (a distance of around 25 km) to sell my coal. My cycle carried 15 baskets - around 300 kg. I buy each for Rs 120 and sell it for Rs 220. I have eight family members, and earn Rs 500-600 per trip."

"This has been my life for the past 20 years but, as I get older, it becomes harder. I wake up in the darkness of night, bearing this weight. Every election I think... maybe this time, the MLA will keep their word and give us an opportunity to leave this work behind..." he said.

Yadav told NDTV there are 100 to 150 people in his village who do this work.

"When we are sick, we have to go to the hospital in Bengabad as we have no healthcare nearby. I dream of a life without this burden... my children can have better opportunities. Whoever forms the government, I hope they listen to us and offer real work. Until then, we will carry this weight."

The Invisible But Essential Workforce

In Jharkhand, coal represents survival and hardship.

Jharkhand holds nearly 40 per cent of India's mineral wealth, including 27.3 per cent of its coal reserves, making it the country's largest coal-producing state.

In November 2022 the state government set up a Just Transition Task Force to address the needs of coal-dependent regions and transition to more sustainable livelihoods. Yet, despite this initiative, workers like Ravidas and Yadav remain invisible.