‘They stole our jobs and life’: Anger and desperation in India’s coal belt

People living in the coal belt in West Bengal say their demands are unheard as India elects its government.

West Bengal and Jharkhand, India – Amar Baran Paul can never forget how the ground below him shook and more than 25 houses around him collapsed four years ago in Harishpur town in eastern India’s West Bengal state.

Harishpur is located near the Madhabpur opencast coal mine — where coal is extracted from the surface of the ground and not by digging the ground — operated by Eastern Coalfield Limited (ECL). It is in the Asansol-Raniganj coal belt in West Bengal’s Paschim Bardhaman district, about a six-hour drive from the state capital, Kolkata.

The belt, which has 146 villages, has been extensively mined since the 17th century, and land subsidence incidents like the one in Harishpur, which occurred when the ground near the opencast mine collapsed, are common in the area.

“In July 2020, the road nearing our township suddenly sank and cracks began emerging on houses near this road. Soon after, we could feel tremors and the walls of some houses began falling,” Paul, a retired ECL employee, told Al Jazeera. “More than 20 people lost their homes overnight.”

Sitting on the verandah of his home where the cracks on the walls were clearly visible, Paul said more than 400 residents were forced to flee Harishpur after the land subsidence. Paul’s family found a house on rent near the town but the steep rent made them return to their damaged home.

“I have a son who is 29 and disabled. I have to prioritise his safety. Living in Harishpur I constantly worry that if the ground sinks again because of the opencast mine, my son’s life will be in danger,” said Paul, who belongs to the Jadhav caste, falling under the Other Backward