Ritayan Mukherjee

large_01-_AMI8723-RM-Taking_a_high_road_from_Jharkhand_to_Ladakh.jpg

medium_01-_AMI8723-RM-Taking_a_high_road_from_Jharkhand_to_Ladakh.jpg

small_01-_AMI8723-RM-Taking_a_high_road_from_Jharkhand_to_Ladakh.jpg

thumbnail_01-_AMI8723-RM-Taking_a_high_road_from_Jharkhand_to_Ladakh.jpg

01-_AMI8723-RM-Taking_a_high_road_from_Jharkhand_to_Ladakh.jpg

&quot;Oh, are you from Kolkata?” he looks up at me and asks, his eyes glistening. “I have also been to Kolkata and Howrah. So many times. Always in search of work. Sometimes I was lucky, sometimes I wasn’t. Eventually, I landed up here.”‘Here’ is 10,000 feet above sea level in Ladakh. And Raju Murmu, almost 2,500 kilometres away from his home in Jharkhand, draws warmth from memories of a familiar bustling city as the temperature outside his tent in this remote Himalayan desert drops sharply when evening falls. With no electricity, darkness will soon engulf the tents of Raju and his fellow migrant labourers. Raju, 31, comes regularly to Ladakh from Babupur village in Jharkhand’s Dumka district – as do many other labourers – to build some of the highest roads in the country. “It&#39;s my fourth year. I came last year too. What to do? There are no jobs in my village,” he says. Raju and some nine others from his state live in little tents a couple of kilometres away from their road construction site. They are building a pass between Khardung La (near Khardong village) at 17,582 feet above sea level and the Nubra Valley at 10,000 feet. The remote and isolated region of Ladakh, historically crucial to cross border exchanges of trade, religion and culture, is fast becoming a hub for migrants from Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and other parts of the country. The new administrative status of Ladakh has made it possible for private builders to make inroads into the region. The administration of the Union Territory, along with the Border Roads Organisation, has also accelerated infrastructure projects in areas of commercial and military importance. This has meant an increased flow of migrant workers into Ladakh. You can see them by the roadside, at times along with their families, in canvas tents no more than 11 x 8.5 feet. These improvised camps keep shifting ahead as the roadwork progresses. Each crowded tent, full of bags, belongings and utensils, functions as home for close to 10 people, who sleep on bare rugs on the cold ground. They live without electricity, battling harsh winters, and often work in sub-zero temperatures without proper safety gear. The unforgiving climate, the inordinate cost involved in infrastructure projects, and a lack of quality mechanical equipment means the workers build and rebuild roads while lifting and carrying heavy loads manually. All this unfolds in a high-altitude terrain where the oxygen level is low, and payment for the gruelling work is inadequate to sustain a family.

02-_AMI8702-RM-Taking_a_high_road_from_Jharkhand_to_Ladakh.jpg

&quot;I can save barely 22,000 to 25,000 rupees over a period of 5 to 6 months by the time I go back. That is nothing for a family of six,” says Ameen Murmu, who in his mid-40s and has come here from Dumka. Workers like him earn between Rs. 450 and Rs. 700 a day, depending on the nature of the tasks assigned to them. Speaking to us at his camp in North Pullu in Khardung La, this father of two boys aged 14 and 10, is upset that their education has come to a standstill with the pandemic. He had no money to buy them a smartphone when schools went online. &quot;In my area, the majority of the families can’t afford one. My elder son has stopped studying. If I save some extra amount, I will buy a smartphone for the younger one. But who will bear the internet charges every month?” he asks.In the camp next to Ameen&#39;s is a group of workers playing cards as I walk in. “Sir, please join us. It’s Sunday – a holiday,&quot; says 32-year-old Hamid Ansari, who too is from Jharkhand. This is an amiable and chatty group. One of them speaks up: “Being from Kolkata, you must know how badly Jharkhand has suffered because of Covid. So many deaths and innumerable lost jobs. Last year we barely managed, living hand to mouth. So this year [2021] we arrived here without wasting time.&quot; “I have been coming to Ladakh since the early 1990s as a construction worker. But last year was the scariest,” says Ghani Mia, another member of this Jharkhandi group, in his 50s, who came here during the first phase of unlocking in June 2020. “Upon arrival, we were sent to quarantine centres. After 15 days there, we were able to join work. But those two weeks were terrifying, mentally.” On the way back to Leh town, I meet another young group from Jharkhand. &quot;We came here to cook, to support the workers,” they say. “We don&#39;t even know how much our daily payment actually is. But it’s better to work here than lead an idle life there [in the village].” For each one of them, with stories to tell about their families battling the realities of the pandemic at home, there is one relief – they all have received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccination (See: <a id="15517" linktype="page">In Ladakh: a shot in the arm at 11,000 feet</a>)..

03-_AMI8370-RM-Taking_a_high_road_from_Jharkhand_to_Ladakh.jpg

04-_AMI8396-RM-Taking_a_high_road_from_Jharkhand_to_Ladakh.jpg

05-_AMI9106-RM-Taking_a_high_road_from_Jharkhand_to_Ladakh.jpg

06-_AMI8748-RM-Taking_a_high_road_from_Jharkhand_to_Ladakh.jpg

07-_AMI8725-RM-Taking_a_high_road_from_Jharkhand_to_Ladakh.jpg

08-_AMI8743-RM-Taking_a_high_road_from_Jharkhand_to_Ladakh.jpg

09-_AMI8696-RM-Taking_a_high_road_from_Jharkhand_to_Ladakh.jpg

10-DSC08877-RM-Taking_a_high_road_from_Jharkhand_to_Ladakh.jpg

11-_AMI8657-RM-Taking_a_high_road_from_Jharkhand_to_Ladakh.jpg

12-_AMI8668-RM-Taking_a_high_road_from_Jharkhand_to_Ladakh.jpg

13-_AMI8669-RM-Taking_a_high_road_from_Jharkhand_to_Ladakh.jpg

14-_AMI8678-RM-Taking_a_high_road_from_Jharkhand_to_Ladakh.jpg

15-_AMI8690-RM-Taking_a_high_road_from_Jharkhand_to_Ladakh.jpg

16-_AMI8688-RM-Taking_a_high_road_from_Jharkhand_to_Ladakh.jpg

17-_AMI8655-RM-Taking_a_high_road_from_Jharkhand_to_Ladakh.jpg

18-DSC08747-RM-Taking_a_high_road_from_Jharkhand_to_Ladakh.jpg

19-DSC08729-RM-Taking_a_high_road_from_Jharkhand_to_Ladakh.jpg

20-DSC08778-RM-Taking_a_high_road_from_Jharkhand_to_Ladakh.jpg

21-_AMI9042-RM-Taking_a_high_road_from_Jharkhand_to_Ladakh.jpg

22-DSC08847-RM-Taking_a_high_road_from_Jharkhand_to_Ladakh.jpg

This story is part of a series of 25 articles on livelihoods under lockdown, supported by the Business and Community Foundation.

Taking a high road from Jharkhand to Ladakh

ಜಾರ್ಖಂಡ್‌ನಿಂದ ಲಡಾಕ್‌ಗೆ ಎತ್ತರದ ರಸ್ತೆ ನಿರ್ಮಾಣ

ঝাৰখণ্ডৰ পৰা লাডাখৰ সুউচ্চ পথত

ਲੱਦਾਖ ਦੀ ਯਖ ਕਰ ਸੁੱਟਣ ਵਾਲ਼ੀ ਠੰਡ ਵਿੱਚ ਸੜਕਾਂ ਬਣਾਉਂਦੇ ਝਾਰਖੰਡ ਦੇ ਮਜ਼ਦੂਰ

ഝാർഖണ്ഡിൽ നിന്നുള്ള കുടിയേറ്റ തൊഴിലാളികള്‍ ലഡാക്കില്‍ റോഡുകള്‍ നിര്‍മ്മിക്കുമ്പോള്‍

ஜார்கண்டிலிருந்து லடாக்குக்கு சென்று பணி செய்தல்

পেটের দাবি: ঝাড়খণ্ড থেকে সুদূর লাদাখের পথে পথে

झारखंड ते लडाखः कष्टाचा आणि खडतर प्रवास

ଏକ ପାହାଡିଆ ରାସ୍ତାରେ ଝାଡ଼ଖଣ୍ଡରୁ ଲଦାଖ ଯାତ୍ରା

دو وقت کی روٹی کے لیے لداخ میں بھٹکتے جھارکھنڈ کے مزدور

दो जून की रोटी की ख़ातिर लद्दाख में भटकते झारखंड के मज़दूर

Ladakh

At present, we can only accept donations in Indian rupees by Indian citizens. All donations made to the CounterMedia Trust are eligible for exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Here is a copy of our exemption certificate.


India is bigger than New Delhi. And people need to know more about the rest of this vast nation.


Younger, media-saturated generations are growing up knowing little about their country, but a lot about the elites of a few metros and towns. For a narrowly-owned, commercially-driven media, the dumbing down of a nation is part of standard operating procedure. The last available data of the Centre for Media Studies (CMS, Delhi) show us that reports from New Delhi account for 66 per cent of news on the front pages of major dailies. The CMS data also found that just about 0.24 per cent of front page news came out of rural India. The TV channels are not much better.PARI exists to change that.We are a non-profit organisation. We publish under creative commons, and do not charge readers a subscription fee or put-up advertisements. Nothing is behind a paywall and we are completely free-to-access by anyone. We guard our independence and receive no direct grants from governments and corporations, nor any funding that could dictate our content. So, we are dependent on volunteer labour, donations from individuals, foundations and institutions that see value in independent and free media.PARI is changing the way Indian journalism reports and documents the rural.India is more than the elite of a few metros and towns. We report on rural lives and livelihoods, languages, communities, migrants and more. We need your help to pull off this most ambitious of Indian journalistic endeavours. The scale of this effort costs money. Donate generously - and spread the word about PARI.&nbsp;

Donate FAQs


ଆସନ୍ତୁ ଆପଣଙ୍କୁ ପରିଚିତ କରାଇବା

ପରୀକୁ ସ୍ୱାଗତ

ଆମର ସମସ୍ତ ବିଷୟବସ୍ତୁ ସବୁବେଳେ ବ୍ୟବହାର ପାଇଁ ମାଗଣାରେ ଉପଲବ୍ଧ ରହିବ। ଯଦି ଆମର କାମ ଆପଣଙ୍କୁ ଭଲ ଲାଗୁଛି, ଆପଣ ସ୍ୱେଚ୍ଛାସେବୀ ଭାବରେ ଆମକୁ ସହଯୋଗ କରିପାରିବେ କିମ୍ବା ଆମ କାମ ପାଇଁ ଆର୍ଥିକ ଅନୁଦାନ ପ୍ରଦାନ କରି ଆମକୁ ସାହାଯ୍ୟ କରିପାରିବେ।

Want to republish this article? Please write to <a href="mailto:zahra@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">zahra@ruralindiaonline.org</a> with a cc to <a href="mailto:namita@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">namita@ruralindiaonline.org</a>

Taking a high road from Jharkhand to Ladakh

Migrant labourers from Jharkhand and other states, who arrived in Ladakh when the second Covid-19 wave began to subside, have been building roads at altitudes of over 10,000 feet in extremely harsh conditions

Related stories

A rain-scented walk in Sivagangai

Living on ravaged land

Biswas and the bamboos on his bike

Recycling energy, Godda style

Bhadels of Goa

Pookadai: still throbbing with morning life

Koli Kadlas

Malnourishment high among children of migrants: study

Wheels of the rural Indian West

Living Under a Red Cloud in Bellary

Vedla – earrings of the Maher community

Dreaming of water, drowning in debt

Kali: the dancer and his dreams

Farmer's diet worse than a convict's

In Yavatmal, life goes on

Suicides are about the living, not the dead

Death of a carpenter

Hoisa Shigmo!

Women farmers: weaving a life in Anantapur

Defiant in Dhinkia

Spice and all that's nice

Kerala's Green Army

The ‘jugaad’ not-a-mobile

Health as someone else's wealth

Calibrating in a Kudumbashree assembly unit