An Exploratory Study of Health and Livelihood Conditions of Coal Workers in Jaintia Hills District, Meghalaya

Abstract

Jaintia Hills district of Meghalaya is endowed with rich reserves of mineral resources. The process of coal extraction in artisanal and small-scale mining of the region is primitive, unscientific, haphazard, unchecked, absence of safety gear and illegal. Digging of coal in these areas has been carried out manually in the small deposits with no mechanisation. The objectives of the study are to examine the contribution of coal mining and related activities on employment and incomes of the people, and to study the health and livelihood conditions of coal workers. The present study was carried out in different coal mines of the Jaintia Hills district. Data were collected from randomly 150 households, using structured questionnaires during 2016–2017, and secondary information has been collected from different government offices. In this business, the coal workers get the dust and dirt while benefits accrued in few hands. At present, mining has increased the rate of disease prevalence due to the air and water pollution. The study thus shows the unscientific process of extraction, which is bound to bring a more negative rather than positive transformation in the nearby mined and un-mined areas.