By Ananya Sharma and Sandeep Verma 
Ramgarh, December 23: In Budhakhap, a small village tucked inside Ramgarh district, people say life has changed for the worse. Doors stay shut longer. Clothes are dried indoors. Children are told not to play outside when the air feels heavy. For villagers here, Aloke Steel pollution is no longer a topic for officials and files. It is something they breathe every day.
The anger now spilling onto village roads is directed at Aloke Steel Industries, whose plant operates close to homes and farmland. Over the last few weeks, residents have been protesting openly, accusing the company of Aloke Steel of pollution and of walking away from promises that were made when the factory first came up.
“We Wake Up To Smoke”
Speak to people in Budhakhap, and the complaints sound similar, repeated house after house. Fine black dust settles on floors even after cleaning. Utensils kept outside turn dirty. Water from handpumps smells strange on some days.
Residents saythe smoke is worst at night and early morning. Many complain of coughing that does not go away. Old people talk about chest pain. Mothers say children fall sick more often now.
“This was not there before,” says a farmer, pointing towards his fields. “Now leaves turn black. What will we eat?”
Videos shot by villagers show smoke rising behind houses and people covering their faces with scarves. These clips, shared widely on social media in December, have turned Budhakhap into a talking point far beyond Ramgarh.
What The Village Was Told
When the factory was coming up, villagers said meetings were held. People were told jobs would come. Roads would be built. The area would develop. Years later, locals ask what they actually received.
A few villagers say they worked briefly during construction. Permanent jobs, they allege, went mostly to outsiders. Young men from the village remain unemployed, watching trucks carry raw material past their homes every day. This sense of being cheated has fuelled the protests. People say they accepted pollution because they believed their children would have a future. That future, they feel, never arrived.
Company records speak of employment generation and compliance. Villagers say records do not put food on the table.
Expansion News Adds To Fear
Tension increased further after people heard about the company’s expansion plans. More production units. More machines. Even a power plant. For villagers already struggling, this news caused panic. “If this is the condition now, what will happen later?” asks a protester.
Official papers say environmental clearances have been granted and pollution control systems are in place. On the ground, villagers say pollution is already visible without any expansion.
They fear things will only get worse.
Aloke Steel pollution: Officials, Papers, And Silence
Technically, monitoring is the responsibility of the Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board. The company submits reports. Inspections are meant to happen. Villagers say they rarely see results. Complaints, they claim, go nowhere. No clear answers are given. No major action is visible. As of December 23, the factory is running as usual. There is no public information about fines, shutdowns, or legal action.
This silence has pushed villagers to take matters into their own hands, blocking roads and raising slogans.
Not Against Development, Say Villagers
People in Budhakhap are clear about one thing. They are not against factories. They are against being ignored. They say development should not mean dirty air, sick children, and empty promises. Many point out that Jharkhand has seen such stories before. Factories come. Pollution follows. Villages are left to adjust.
What is different this time is that people are refusing to stay quiet.
What Happens Next
For now, protests continue. Villagers plan to approach district officials again. Some want medical camps. Others wish to independent checks of pollution levels.
The company claims it adheres to the rules. The village says the rules are not protecting them.
As winter deepens in Ramgarh, smoke still hangs over Budhakhap. The protests show no sign of stopping. And for the people living here, the question remains simple and unresolved: who will listen when a village says it cannot breathe anymore?
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Covers Indian politics, governance, and policy developments with over a decade of experience in political reporting.
- Ananya Sharmahttps://hindustanherald.in/authors/ananya/
- Ananya Sharmahttps://hindustanherald.in/authors/ananya/
- Ananya Sharmahttps://hindustanherald.in/authors/ananya/
- Ananya Sharmahttps://hindustanherald.in/authors/ananya/
Regional journalist bringing grassroots perspectives and stories from towns and cities across India.
- Sandeep Vermahttps://hindustanherald.in/authors/sandeep/
- Sandeep Vermahttps://hindustanherald.in/authors/sandeep/
- Sandeep Vermahttps://hindustanherald.in/authors/sandeep/
- Sandeep Vermahttps://hindustanherald.in/authors/sandeep/
