Down a 'rat hole'
"Risk is better than hunger" for the miners of Meghalaya - a state in northern India where there is a large problem with illegal mining. Risk is high for the workers and accidents are frequent and often not reported.
Mountains of wealth?
The coal mining industry in Industry in India is over 200 years old. It continues to be a major driving force for internal migration and attracts laborers from Nepal and Bangladesh, particularly the coalmines in the northeastern state of Meghalaya.
Through the rat holes
Northeastern India's Meghalaya state has well over 500 million tons in coal reserves. The private mining industry uses a primitive surface method known as "rat hole mining."
Underground
The laborers climb down rickety bamboo ladders and use no safety gear. They clamor through two-feet-high tunnels clawing for coal with traditional tools.
Sweat and blood
The miners use primitive tools and wear no safety gear. Accidents are often not reported and laborers rarely get any compensation.
Migrant workers
In October, the Meghalaya government released a report saying that nearly 20,000 illegal immigrants from Bangladesh had been detected in the state in less than six years. Most of them were working in the coalmines of Jaintia Hills.
Little reform
In July, the Meghalaya chief minister announced government plans to overhaul the states Mines and Mineral Policy 2012; but it allows miners to continue with rat hole mining.
Worth the risk
Most work as day laborers and earn 100 - 200 US dollars per month, which is higher than a lot of other jobs pay.
Taking chances
A laborer who came from her village to work in the mines. "Risk is better than hunger," she says.