HOUSING OF THE INDUSTRIAL WORKER, 279
Mining Areas.
The housing problem in mining areas presents features somewhat
different from those in other industries. The nature of the mine and its
probable length of life have a direct bearing on housing policy. The
difficulty of obtaining sites with a solid foundation is a handicap to substantial
 housing schemes. Subsidences caused by underground workings
are constantly encroaching on suitable sites and have resulted in damage
to existing accommodation. In addition, over 400 coal mines have been
closed down during the last nine years, and, although the total number of
employees has been reduced by nearly 25,000, the housing problem has
been complicated by the movement of labour from the mines which have
been closed, to the larger and better organised collieries. The average
number of workers has increased from about 200 to over 300 per mine.
Housing for all resident labour is generally provided rent-free by the
companies, but certain classes of workers prefer to live in their own
villages and may walk considerable distances to and from their work.
Provided the distance is not too great, this mode of life has many advantages
 ; there can be no comparison between the Santal villages seen
by us and some of the depressing lines of dhowrahs built on mine properties.
 In the Raniganj collieries the owners sometimes provide plots
of land adjoining the houses in order to induce the workers to settle
permanently. In both the Raniganj and the Jharia coalfields, all
housing construction is governed by regulations laid down by the Jharia
and Asansol Mines Boards of Health, which were constituted in 1913 and
1915 respectively and have been able to effect considerable improvements.
In the Jharia area, the common type of house is the * arched dhowrah”
 built of brick and cement concrete ; in Asansol a large number of the
recently constructed houses have tiled roofs, and two-storeyed buildings
are also found in a few instances. Many of the lines leave much room
for improvement. The arched dhowrahs, although possibly cool in the hot
weather, are often dark and ill-ventilated, and few are fitted with
windows. The single room, 10'x 10’, serves as kitchen, store room,
living and sleeping room. As cooking must be done either in the room
or in the arched verandah in front and ventilation is usually defective,
the inner walls quickly become coated with smoke and soot. When
dhowrahs are erected back to back, as is sometimes the case, these defects
are further aggravated. The classes from which the miners are drawn
are accustomed to build their village homes neither in long lines nor in
rows of rooms arranged back to back ; on the contrary each family has
its individual hut with a small enciosed space which ensures some degree
of privacy. In some of the newer types of colliery houses we saw, ventilation
 and lighting were reasonably satisfactory, but windows were
seldom provided. We consider that in all new houses both a window
and roof ventilation should be provided. On one colliery small blocks
of two to four houses have been recently constructed ; each house has its
compound wall and courtyard or private verandah. These partitioned
Units are not only more in conformity with the customs and desires of
the miners but secure good natural light and ventilation, and we recommend
 a more extended use of this and similar types. It should be easier