The thriving mica industry in the states of Jharkhand and Bihar has put thousands of children in the are at risk of exploitation and losing their childhoods. Pronounced poverty and impoverishment has led to children dropping out of school in large numbers to supplement their family incomes by working in illegal mines under inhuman conditions.
Robbed of schoolbooks, armed with tools and collection baskets, children are often used to mine mica that is found deep in the ground due to their small stature. With every hammer strike however, the danger of being buried alive due to a mine collapse only gets aggravated. Deprived of basic rights, picking ‘dhibra’ or mica waste becomes a primary source of livelihood.
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