Children - Terre des Hommes

24
local markets. 55 This has a severe impact on the nutrition
status of children. They reported an increase in levels of
child malnutrition in their village. With the highest number
of malnourished children in the world — almost 50 percent
of India’s children suffer from malnutrition — the loss of
vegetables and other essential food groups from their diets
is extremely worrying.
Amongst the population displaced by coal mining in
Urimari, Jharkhand, child malnutrition rates are high. The
anganwadi worker who was interviewed, explained that the
majority of children she visits are malnourished. Other
child health problems in the village include skin diseases,
malaria and TB, but there is no medical facility there, hence
a lot of dependence on superstitions. Non-availability
or inaccessibility to health facilities in their new location
only further compounds the problem. The impacts fall
disproportionately on children, who are more vulnerable
to health problems and require access to health care and
regular check ups.
In villages visited in Koraput district, child labour figures
district. However, the latest Annual Survey of Education
cent of children in Koraput are out of school, showing that
the district has one of the highest numbers of out of school
children in the country. 58 There is a high incidence of child
labour around the NALCO area, although there is no child
labour within the company premises. Interviews carried out
in seven villages in the area, with families who have been
displaced by mining, revealed that a very large number of
children are working in dhabas, tea stalls, pan stalls and as
domestic labour. People reported that school dropout rates
had increased since they had been displaced, as children have
to earn money for the family’s survival. According to the
Displaced Peoples’ Union, between 100-200 children in the
displaced peoples’ camps of Amalabadi and Champapadar
are working as casual labourers. As 131 families of the
Displaced Peoples’ camp are headed by widows, most of the
children of these families are working as manual labour in
mining and associated activities. Many of them were seen
to be working in hotels, restaurants, paan stalls, and other
small shops and it can be estimated that in total, around 500-
1,000 children of the project affected areas are working as
labourers in the local area. Many youth are also reported to
have migrated to the cities of Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad
and other cities for livelihood. The rehabilitation of the
community displaced by NALCO, even after almost
three decades, still remains incomplete. There has been
no impact assessment of the region undertaken during this
period and no stock taking of the rehabilitation process, or
review of the basic services provided. Particularly, there has
been no assessment of the impact on children, even when
a high incidence of child labour, school dropout rate and
malnourishment are visibly evident.
Forced Migration
The nature of mining work means that migration becomes
an essential survival strategy for people engaged in this
sector. Climatic factors, market fluctuations and changes
in demand for minerals mean that mining locations
change regularly. With heavy monsoon rains affecting most
parts of the country in the summer months, many mining
and quarrying operations are discontinued or slow down
during this time. Migrations tend to begin around October-
November, with migrant families spending the next six to
eight months at the sites before returning to their villages at
the next monsoon.
Living conditions at informal mine sites – case study
from Maharashtra
“We have been staying here for 10 years because it is
the nearest place to the quarry sites. The houses are very
small (four feet by six feet). If anyone wants to enter
the house, they have to sit down and only then can they
enter the house. We do not have any electricity and the
water is provided by the quarry owner – every day one
tanker comes for the community. Now and then we fall
sick from drinking this water.”
.
55.
56.
57.
Interviews in Thumbli village, Barmer district, Rajasthan, July 2009.
Interviews in mining-affected communities in Urimari coal mining area, Jharkhand, September 2009.
Census of India, 2001.
58. Pratham, Annual Status of Education, 2008.
59.
60.
Interviews in mining-affected communities in Koraput district, Orissa, June 2009.
Ibid.