Nagaland: Meet the mom-daughter coal miner duo from Oting village

Oting, Mon: Winter is almost here, and most people in Nagaland are gradually preparing for the most awaited season—Christmas. However, in Mon district’s Oting village, coal miners are gearing up to earn their livelihood as mining activities will shortly begin in this part of the state.

Located about 95-km from Mon town, Oting village has been in the coal business for more than a decade. As the countdown to mining activities ticks, the wait will soon be over for Mary Konyak, an 18-year-old miner.

The young resident of Oting village began mining at the age of 17 years, when she joined her 44-year-old mother Awad Konyak, to earn her pocket money last winter. But unlike last year, Mary is now determined to work harder and go the extra mile to look after family.

Sitting for a conversation with EastMojo outside their dimly lit thatched-kitchen, located just above the lone church in the village, she said, “Last week, we went to Tiru to build our camp. I am preparing myself to work really hard. I have realized the need to save money in case of any sickness or eventuality upon my family.”

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Tiru, located few kilometers from Oting, is where all coal mining activities take place. Every year, locals prepare for the winter season to get their hands on the coal at Tiru to sustain for the next year.

However, a tragedy that took place near the mining site on December 4 last year changed the lives of the family forever. Mary’s elder brother, Manpeih, also a coal miner, was among the 13 who were killed by security forces during an ambush on innocent civilians in a case of mistaken identity, that fateful day.

The incident compelled Mary, the youngest among four siblings, to take up the responsibility as the bread earner at a tender age. “My elder sisters are married, and my only brother who assisted my mother in earning for the family, was killed. So, it is now my responsibility to look after my parents,” she said.

Traumatized by the incident, her mother, who was a coal miner for over seven years, no longer wants to continue in the profession as she is reminded of her deceased son every time she has to cross the place of incident on her way to the mine.

“I have completely stopped mining after my son was killed. I don’t want to cross the place where my son’s dead body once laid. I can’t stand the sight of it,” the mother expressed with grief.

As a female worker, she recounted collecting coal on traditional bamboo baskets and stockpiling the coal for sale.

“Since we cannot dig with the crowbar and pickaxes like men, we are usually tasked with carrying the mined coal. Since women miners transport the mined coal, the weight of it makes us more tired. Sometimes we are unable to walk or even get up after an extended session of heavy work,” Awad said.

But for the miners, it is worth the hard work. There are times when a single miner can earn up to Rs 10,000 a week during peak season. At the mines, there is no specific work duration.

Sometimes, these workers even have sleepless nights to meet the demand. Other times, the female miners earn Rs 200 as daily wage while it means Rs 300 for the men. The amount they earn also depends on the different types of mining.

The workers, she said, are mostly geared with head scarves, gloves, socks, shoes and jackets. At the open mining pits, the coal, she explained, was as soft as soil, causing little to no injury. However, back and body aches are a common thing for the miners, especially the women folk, as they stockpile the coal day-in day-out in order to be productive and make the most out of the brief working season.

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Even as the grieving mother now chose to give up the work at the mine, her daughter, Mary, on the other hand, eagerly awaits the season so that she can earn and support the family. It is during the months from December to April when most people from the village, irrespective of gender, camp at Tiru to collect and sell coal, as a means of livelihood.  

In the past, it was the mother and her son who worked at the mine to earn hard cash while Mary’s father took care of their field. Mary’s mother now stays at home and looks after the domestic animals.

“Initially, I took up the work to earn for Christmas celebrations and for my pocket money. But now, my priorities have changed. I’m left with very little options, so I have to make the best use of this opportunity to earn and save up for our sustenance,” Mary told EastMojo.

The young miner recalled earning Rs 10,000 per week during the last working season. While it was her first, she shared about her brief working period at the mine before the tragic incident.

“I dropped out of school when I was in class VII. Since I was tired of staying idle and unproductive, I joined mining. It can get very tiresome as we spend whole weeks at the mine and only return home to rest during weekends. But it’s seasonal work and we have to seize the opportunity,” she said.

When it comes to collection and sale of coal, she said there is no pay disparity between male and female miners as the final stockpile determines the amount they earn.

Despite the seasonal nature of work, the coal miners in the state, like many other construction-related workers, are unaware of the benefits provided by the government. 

CEO of the Nagaland Building and Other Construction workers (NBOCWWB) T Chubayanger informed that out of 35,000 registered construction-related workers in the state, 50% are women. 

Intriguingly, most women registered with the board were not construction-related workers. In this regard, he said that the Board is working out ways to shortlist active workers and ensure that only the right beneficiaries are registered with the Board. 

Like other construction-related workers we highlighted in the previous series, coal miners like Mary and her mother, remain far from claiming any benefits due to them. 

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