Every year hundreds of men from the poorer Indian states of Jharkhand and Bihar, travels to Zanskar, high up in the mountains of northern India, to work. Their main purpose is to construct roads in this remote area. The salary is low and the work is hard. But they have few job opportunities back home. The workers are nicknamed Dumkas, because many of them comes from a placed named Dumka in Jharkhand.
Many of the Dumkas in Zanskar come back year after year, but not everybody survives. Accidents happens, plus the inexperienced Dumkas are not used to the cold and the altitude.
The workers stay here all summer and make 30 000 INR (about 392 dollars) for around six months work. On top of that they get food and shelter. Their work is usually exceedingly high, 3500 meter and higher.
The workers are recruited by Himank, a government company within BRO (Border Road Organisation). BRO build and maintain roads in the border areas in the northern part of India, mainly in Ladakh.
For the workers to get from their home to where they work in Zanskar, it takes about six days each way (train and busses).