Three Women Die in India, Five Injured, as they Dig Soil to Plaster Houses

On Wednesday, 10^th April 2024, three Indian women died when a hole from which they were digging soil collapsed on them. The accident occurred in the state of Jharkhand in the eastern part of India.

The three women were set to carry out one of women’s traditional roles, which is that of plastering their home structures with freshly-dug soil.

Local Police Inspector, Anil Kumar Nayak, confirmed the fatal accident, saying the three victims lost their lives right at the site.

There were five other people involved in the soil-digging event, but they were fortunate enough to escape with only injuries. The inspector of police indicated that the five received treatment at a health center within the vicinity.

Mud Plastering of Houses a Common Practice in India

Plastering of houses with mud is common in some parts of India. Some households seize the opportunity to display lovely art on their walls, while others prefer mud walls to keep the inside of their houses cool.

Temperatures in India can go as high as 50˚C or 123.8˚F, like in Rajasthan. Rajasthan is India’s most vast state and is in the country’s north-western side where it borders Pakistan.

However, art and weather conditions notwithstanding, a big percentage of women who dig soil to plaster their houses come from poor families. For example, the state of Jharkhand, where Wednesday’s accident victims hail from, is only second to Bihar in the level of poverty.

Narendra Modi’s Government Committed to Poverty Reduction

The Indian government is aware that a big part of its population is poor, and is determined to improve their lives.

On January 15^th 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi noted that the standard of living in the state of Bihar has improved over recent years. He also mentioned on his X account how encouraging it is, to see that about 250 million Indians have risen above poverty levels over the past 9 years.

At present, the population of India is around 1.5 billion, and only 34.4 million can be considered to be living in extreme squalor. That is a significant improvement from 2022, when the number of Indians living in squalid conditions was almost 47 million.