“People have slipped into a fissure of fire and never returned”: Why Jharia’s residents choose to live on a burning land than relocate Saurav Kumar Raja Bhuniya, 17, stands in front of the open-cast mine where his home was once located. Saurav Kumar/The Migration Story JHARIA, Jharkhand: In one of India’s largest coalfields, nearly 100,000 families continue to live on land designated as “dangerous” because of the fire that burns underground. As pain sears their feet, the vill

Labour unions and worker rights' campaigners called for protection of livelihoods and preparing people for the future of work at the recently concluded COP29 in Baku Roli Srivastava  Green skilling the workforce was a talking point at COP29 with many discussions on the subject. Labour unions and worker rights' campaigners called for protection of livelihoods and preparing people for the future of work. A green transition could fuel migration making it important to ensure the

The construction industry is one of India's biggest employers but how well do we understand labourers?  Namrata Raju The construction industry in India is one of the country's biggest employers. But how well do we understand labourers who build homes and cities. This explainer is a deep dive into understanding the 'labourer' in our midst, the difference in "us and them" in the way we access infrastructure, common areas and facilities around us, and the ideal way forward to sa

Campaigners at COP29 underway in Baku, Azerbaijan, speak on whether the climate summit will deliver on gender justice. Roli Srivastava What does COP29 mean for India's most marginalised groups, women in particular? As world leaders, campaigners and industry bodies take part in COP29, it opens up the question if it would deliver on gender justice? Is the inclusion of women in the green workforce being discussed or their increasing vulnerability to climate disasters? Will COP29

Can the Global Plastics Treaty protect the environment and also address the livelihoods and health of millions of informal workers who help produce plastic or recycle it? Vaishnavi Chandrashekhar For representational purpose only On any given day, thousands of people in Dharavi, Mumbai’s largest slum settlement, sift through tons of dry garbage to find plastic that can be recycled. They sort them into piles—empty ice cream boxes, bottles of water, even disposable cups and pla

To switch from   wood or wood scrap to alternate fuels to fire their ovens would increase production costs and impact the business of countless small bakeries in the city Mansi Bhaktwani Prashant Nakwe Warm, freshly baked pavs straight from a traditional wood-fired oven at a Mumbai bakery. MUMBAI, Maharashtra : The aroma of freshly baked bread and pav  fills the narrow, potholed lanes of Trombay, an eastern suburb of Mumbai, flanked by shops, eateries, and bakeries on either

Once a talking point in Mumbai elections, the anti-migrant poll rhetoric has now tapered down Hepzi Anthony

Pachgaon village in Maharashtra has tapped its forest to start a bamboo business, create jobs and arrest migration. The village pays taxes and is also making a neat profit. Roli Srivastava The bamboo depot in Pachgaon village in Maharashtra. Roli Srivastava/The Migration Story PACHGAON, Maharashtra:  It’s a little past 10 am and the sound of axes clacking against wood envelop the forest in Pachgaon in central India as axe-wielding villagers work in a collective rhythm, cuttin

Prakhar Dobhal Swara Garge Delhi's pollution has cast a shadow on the earnings of migrant workers who travel to the city every year during the festival season to sell bamboo Ravan effigies. However, this year, many effigies remain unsold owing to rising pollution in the capital and restrictions on burning effigies. This means, the workers can't go back home as they have not made enough money during the festivities.

The story of human migration is a complex and difficult one to tell. But children’s authors are helping young readers understand the idea of home and sense of belonging through stories rooted in reality Vidya Mani Illustration by Sharanya Kunnath. Migration and displacement are significant global issues, often caused by challenges that include political instability, conflict, climate change, natural disasters, and the need to find better economic opportunities. According to U

Tribal women working under the exploitative ‘bhagiya’ system in Gujarat are very often sexually exploited by powerful landowners and silenced by threats and gangs that force out-of-system settlements Rohit Chauhan A migrant tribal family working as ‘bhagiya’ (farm labourers) on a cotton farm in the Saurashtra region, Gujarat. Picture courtesy: Majdur Adhikar Manch JUNAGADH, Gujarat: Like many tribal families in Madhya Pradesh, Sima* and Kishan* migrated to Bhesan in Junagadh

A sanatorium in Goa becomes a refuge for migrant workers recuperating from tuberculosis Menaka Rao Margao TB Hospital in Goa. Menaka Rao/The Migration Story GOA : For over a year, Tushar*, a migrant worker from Odisha, has been an inmate at the TB (tuberculosis) Hospital at Monte Hill in Margao, Goa. In March last year, a barely conscious Tushar was picked up from a train by the Goa police and taken to the Goa Medical College where he was diagnosed with TB.  “He had TB of the

The recent festival rush in trains is reflective of the challenges migrant workers face through the year on these journeys Deekshith Pai Mansi Bhaktwani Over 3,000 special festival trains have been added by the Northern Railway this year to help ease the rush between October 1 and November 30. To facilitate travel for those heading home for Diwali and Chhath Puja, 195 special trains were run between 26 Oct to 7 Nov this year compared to 138 last year during the same period. A

Not all migrants travel back home to celebrate the biggest festival of Bihar - Chhath. Countless celebrations dot major cities like Delhi where lakhs of migrants congregate to worship the rising and the setting sun Anuja FIle image of Chhath celebrations in Delhi. Picture courtesy: Praveen Jain/ThePrint NEW DELHI:  On a warm October morning, Ram Kishor Sah and Ghanshyam Jha sat by the roadside on plastic chairs at a busy, noisy intersection in East Delhi’s Geeta Colony, and d

The Migration Bulletin is a monthly round-up that captures issues related to migration that have been reported on various media platforms. In its fourth edition, we look at migrants becoming a terrorist target in Kashmir yet again and the top court’s warning to states to issue ration cards to their migrant workforce among other stories Two migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh were shot and injured by terrorists in Budgam, Central Kashmir, on Friday, Nov. 2. The migrants were id