In 2010, a family in central India was offered about $70,000 to move out of the hilltop village where they had lived for generations. The hilltop was levelled. In its place, a conglomerate dug an enormous pit—its largest operational coal mine in India.
One afternoon in 2010, in a hilltop village called Kete in the forests of central India, a man arrived at the doorstep of Shri Prasad Khusro. Khusro shared a mud hut with his wife, children, elderly parents, and siblings, on land where his family had lived for many generations. The man introduced himself as a collector, or local administrator, and told Khusro that a coal company wanted to mine there.
Kete was torn down. The hilltop was levelled. In its place, the Adani Group, a conglomerate run by Asia’s richest man, Gautam Adani, dug an enormous pit—its largest operational coal mine in India, known as the Parsa East and Kanta Basan. Today, the mine stretches over two thousand seven hundred hectares—almost eight times the size of Central Park—and looks much like the pitted mining regions of West Virginia. Drills regularly pierce the earth in search of coal.
The Hasdeo forest spans more than six hundred and fifty square miles and nurtures endangered species, an elephant corridor, valuable water reserves, and thousands of forest-dwellers like Khusro and his family. The estimated five billion tons of coal that lie underneath the forest, however, have made it one of the most contested sites in India.
About a decade ago, many of Kete’s displaced residents were relocated to a village called Basen, which is situated a few miles away from the edge of the mine. As part of a rehabilitation package, a new colony was erected, made up of concrete homes that share a toilet complex. But most residents I spoke with, including Khusro, declined to squeeze their families into its tight two-room homes. Instead, Khusro spent a portion of the money he received to build a mud hut nearby.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
15-year-old charged in connection with Oak Forest gun shop burglaryPolice said a 15-year-old faces six charges including burglary in connection with the theft of 28 firearms from Eagle Gun Range in Oak Forest.
Read more »
Teen charged in theft of 28 guns from Oak Forest gun rangeThe crime was caught on camera, and police released surveillance footage showing the four suspects wearing stocking caps and masks.
Read more »
Teen arrested in Oak Forest gun range smash and grab using car; 23 guns stolenA teen is the first arrest made in a suburban gun range smash-and-grab in which thieves rammed a stolen car into the business and then took 23 guns.
Read more »
David Bonola sentenced to prison for killing of Forest Hills mother Orsolya GaalA handyman has been formally sentenced for the killing of a woman from Forest Hills.
Read more »
The Blob marine heatwave transforms California kelp forest ecosystems - Communications BiologySessile invertebrates in Californian kelp forests exhibit prolonged changes to community structure following a marine heatwave event.
Read more »
How do you photograph a wild elephant? With 1,100 pounds of gear.Designing camera traps for the world’s largest animals was an elephantine task. Here's how National Geographic’s photo engineer did it
Read more »