Coal mining began in Jharia in 1894, and there are now more than 20 underground mines and several large open-cast coal mines there. The coal is worked from open pits, but wages and safety conditions are poor. Underground fires were first noted in Jharia in 1916, and they have continued to spread, destroying properties and killing miners. The miners are usually from localgroups that
unions and depend on Jharia’s coal-mining economy for their livelihoods; many also worktheir
crops at harvesttime. Pop. (1991 prelim.