Child Labour at Jharia opencast mine : Boy packing illegally scavenged coal from Jharia opencast mine, Jharkhand, INDIA - 13/01/2017. India's largest coalfield of Jharia (280 square kilometer) produces most of India's coal. Jharia is sadly famous for a coal fire which has burned for a century. Due to more than 70 underground fires, nearby houses regularly collapse. 400,000 residents of villages around Jharia live on land in danger of subsiding. Jharia is on the verge of an ecological and human disaster: heavy fumes emitted by the fires lead to health problems such as breathing disorders and skin diseases. Government-owned Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) which operates the mines allows villagers, including children, to illegally scavenge coal between 6:00am and 8:00am to ensure their basic subsistence. The latter then transport the coal back to their village, carrying baskets weighing 50kg on their heads. The walk up from the mine takes more than half an hour. Life then revolves around chipping, burning and packing coal. Credit : Francois-Olivier DOMMERGUES/SIPA //DOMMERGUESFO_20170113.IND.113