“I am 59 years old, and I feel proud to be called a coal mine worker. I have lived in the Kothagudem coal region throughout my life and 38 of these years have been spent working as a singareni employee.

I started my career as a trainee fitter. After a few years of hard work, I was then taken in as a full time worker, where I served in the drilling and blasting departments. Today, I serve as a Mining Sirdar here.

I am only one of the several thousands of workers you see on mine every day.
Our duty is not that easy. We work in harsh conditions underneath and the powder, smoke, after-damp, all combine to bring furrows to our faces. Even then, we are determined to serve with a sense of determination and pride.

In the last three and half decades of my career, I have seen many highs and lows but what I am proud of is the spirit of our worker’s union at Singareni Collieries Company who are always on the go no matter how challenging our jobs could be. This work is not for everyone – it’s for the few who dare to descend into the bowels of the earth to extract the energy-rich black gold!”