'Visual Journey Of Jaduguda- Site of India's 1st Uranium Mine, Through My Lens'

In Feb, to understand the issue, I went to the east Singhbhum district's Bango hamlet, which is close to Jaduguda.

Several people living in the villages around the Uranium Corporation of India Limited in Jaduguda suffer from multiple health issues allegedly due to their exposure to radioactive waste.

(Photo credit: Ishan Banerjee)

Jaduguda is the home of India's first Uranium mine, which is situated in the east Singhbhum district of Jharkhand. I had read a lot about the disabilities that the people of the town were facing, allegedly due to their exposure to radioactive waste generated during the extraction of Uranium by Uranium Corporation on India Limited (UCIL). This is a photo of the tailing pond of UCIL 01(Uranium Corporation of India) in Turamdih, which covers approximately 78 hectares, is exposed and accessible.

In February, to understand the issue, I went to the East Singhbhum district's Bango hamlet, which is close to Jaduguda. When I visited the dump (tailing pond) site in February, I observed workers at the tailing ponds with metal pipes transporting moderately radioactive sludge. The pipeline is a network of curving metal tubes raised off the ground on tiny stilts.

The above photo is a close-up of the tailing pond of UCIL, where waste from the plant is dumped.

In 2007, survey data from an Indian Doctor's Association indicated that communities close to the mines had a much higher incidence of congenital deformities and fatalities from such anomalies than those 20 kilometres distant.

This is a photo of the Turamdih Plant of UCIL.

A team from Indian Doctors for Peace and Development (IDPD) performed research showing a significant rise in the number of congenitally defective kids born, rising infertility, and cancer-related mortality.

These children were photographed around the tailing pond.

I went to a few nearby homes to see several children allegedly disabled by nuclear radiation contamination. Sanjay Gope is one of the many natives of the village that are suffering from various disabilities due to alleged exposure to radioactive wastes.

Sanjay Gope, when I walked in, was lying on a charpai (bed), cross-legged, with a smile on his face. He has been confined to this cot for the past 14 years. "We can't leave him alone, one of us needs to be here all the time," adds the boy's grandfather. Sanjay chuckled happily when I showed him some photos I had shot. I believe that images may bridge linguistic, generational, and cultural gaps.

Rakesh Gope is a 19-year-old kid with muscular dystrophy who walks with significantly arched feet and upwardly arched soles in this case and cannot speak normally. He is also quite energetic. His sister and brother are both typical people.

"How long can we give him medicine?" His father begins by saying, "We don't even know how long he will survive."

Rakesh Gope's father says, "It's a struggle to pay for these medicines on our meagre agricultural income."

Rakesh sitting on his wheelchair. By now, I am sensing that something is amiss with the fact that too many comparable cases are being spotted in a relatively narrow region.

My last stop was Anamika Uraon's home, villagers nearby began slandering one another. Her whole face and its features only became visible as she drew nearer. Anamika's right side of her face was typical of girls her age, with curious, focused eyes. She had, however, developed a malignant overgrowth of cells and tissue on the left side of her face. One side's flesh was so disproportionately huge and heavy that it sagged.

Anamika Oraon (19) lives near the Narwa Pahar Uranium mine, in the village of Dungridih. Anamika has a cancerous growth on her face. 

In the darkest recesses of my mind, where everything I dread about the world is stored, her tumorous visage was permanently carved in my memory. I had no clue at the time that this face would stay with me for a long time, making me wonder about my fortunate existence.

Subarnarekha River near Jadugora. 

A local activist organisation called Jharkhandi Organization Against Radiation (JOAR) took water samples in 2008 from 10 different places around Jaduguda, including wells and streams. Seven were found to contain dangerously high amounts of heavy metals, including mercury and lead, a consequence of uranium mining.

(The Quint has reached out to UCIL. Their response is awaited. The story would be updated once a response is received.)

(All 'My Report' branded stories are submitted by citizen journalists to The Quint. Though The Quint inquires into the claims/allegations from all parties before publishing, the report and the views expressed above are the citizen journalist's own. The Quint neither endorses, nor is responsible for the same.)