Kolkata, December 27: A documentary produced and directed by journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta throws light on environmental and livelihood issues plaguing the Bellary belt of Karnataka and Anantpur in Andhra Pradesh by the powerful mining mafia.
The little over a two-hour documentary ”Blood and Iron”, presents a comprehensive picture of the money, politics and greed of the mining mafia in the area.
It also depicts the influence of local politics on the powerful mining lobby in Bellary and Ananthapur region, Guha Thakurta said in an email interview to PTI.
The documentary uses news clippings, interviews with prominent personalities, academics and political activists to outline how mining has ruined once verdant Bellary.
It makes a chilling point about the nexus among criminals, businessmen and politicians that drives, even sustains, illegal mining.
The film also shows that child labour too is rampant in these areas, where malnutrition rates are high and entire families and villages have been displaced and deprived of their source of livelihood, he said.
The shooting of the documentary began in March 2010 and the first version of the film was ready in early December 2010.
The documentary was shot at various locations in Karnataka, including areas in and around the Bellary-Hospet region and Bangalore, Andhra Pradesh including Hyderabad and New Delhi, Thakurta said.
The documentary was produced and directed by Thakurta with the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE)”s financial support.
The documentary was publicly screened at venues in Bangalore between December 10 and December 13. A screening has been scheduled for January 6 next year at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi.
Subsequently, it will be shown at Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and other parts of the country.
Private screenings are also taking place at Bellary and other places in Karnataka and also at Anathapur and other locations in Andhra Pradesh.
——–PTI