Dwindling jobs and an uncertain future in India's coal-mining hubs drive millions to abandon their hometowns and families
Sriperumbudur/Mumbai — Shashikant Midha learnt to swim as a child in the river near his village in Dhanbad, one of India’s largest coal-mining hubs, but he hasn’t yet found time to dip in the pool at the apartment complex where he lives nowadays, far away in south India.
“If these opportunities also diminish — and considering the impact of climate change — migration is the only way for people who are in distress,” he said. “It is their only hope.” But the lack of local jobs and a plummeting economy in his village — where his elder brother runs a small cosmetics shop and takes care of his ageing parents — left him with no options.
Worsening extreme weather has pushed up migration numbers in India, with 4.9-million cases of displacement in 2021 alone due to disasters, mainly floods and cyclones, according to a global research body that maps data on the problem. Even in places where mining continues, local residents like the Midha family are being alienated and pushed out, turning them into “energy migrants” struggling to find jobs.
“Since these regions have higher youth numbers, unemployment will substantially increase,” he said, noting they have higher fertility rates than industrial states like Tamil Nadu. Midha remembers standing outside the gates of car factories, hustling for his first job. Five years on, he still has to renew his contract every six months, losing several days’ pay each time.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Scam call centres: the dark underbelly of India’s booming IT services sectorTo make ends meet, young, educated workers are forced to turn to low-paid jobs in the gig economy, where fraud call centers perpetuate telefraud on millions each day
Read more »
World Bank president expresses deep concern on Zambia debt restructuringWorld Bank President David Malpass said on Tuesday he remained deeply concerned about the debt restructuring stalemate in Zambia and that the bank is working with India and the International Monetary Fund on the G20 debt restructuring process.
Read more »
IFP to force sex-for-jobs councillor out of his job | City PressThe IFP national executive committee will take matters into its own hands after a councillor instructed to resign over a sex-for-jobs scandal has not done so.
Read more »