Vikram Kudremukh, a theatre artiste and a native of Labour Colony at Kudremukh, has now come out with a documentary to convey the woes of people settled in the place he grew up in, which was once a bustling township, in Mudigere taluk. With his friend T.C. Ranjith from Chikkamagaluru and others, he has shot the documentary Aranya Rodana. The documentary was uploaded on YouTube on September 7.
Around 150 people have been living in dilapidated huts at the colony without basic amenities such as power supply and drinking water for decades. After the Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd. (KIOCL) stopped mining operations in 2005, following the court order, they lost the job as well. And since then, they have been struggling to get an alternative land.
“I am from the same colony. I have gone through the problems faced by my people. Even after years of struggle, we have not got a piece of land,” said Mr. Vikram Kudremukh.
He discussed the topic with Mr. Ranjith and took him to Kudremukh for a few days. They both interacted with the local people and made preparations for the documentary.
Later, they camped in the village with a team and shot the 14.34-minute documentary over five days in July. “We spent about ₹25,000 for the documentary. The amount included expenses towards travel, accommodation of the team, besides post-production expenses. However, we have not spent anything on the camera and other equipment, and our friends got involved in the project voluntarily,” he said.
Madamma, one of the women featured in the documentary, died recently even as her dream to have a house remained unfulfilled.
The residents cannot demand any facility from the local Samse Gram Panchayat as the place has been kept out of panchayat limits.
The State government has decided to handover 1,657 acres of revenue land to the Forest Department as an alternative to the forest land acquired for the Hubballi–Ankola railway line project.
“Earlier, the district administration had identified 10 acres of land at Kalmakki to rehabilitate the Labour Colony residents. However, it has been opposed by the local people. The government can earmark at least 10 acres of land being handed over to the Forest Department,” said Mr. Vikram Kudremukh.