Kannada short film hopes to highlight sand workers’ plight

UDUPI: A Kannada short film on sand extraction, Maralu -Karmikara Jeevanagaathe, was released on Monday. The movie team is planning to send a copy of the CD to chief minister Siddaramaiah on December 5, to highlight the struggle of sand workers and their families, following the ban on sand extraction. The 25-minute short film has been shot in Udupi, Santhekatte, Manipal Brahmavar and Kolalagiri.Speaking to TOI, producer Ansar Ahmed said “The movie hopes to draw the government’s attention towards the struggle of the working class, who depend on traditional sand mining. I have been a part of Udupi Zilla Sarva Sanghatanegala Maraligagi Horata Samiti for a long time. We struggled a lot to catch the attention of the government and district administration on the plight of sand workers, but did not succeed. We are hoping that the short film will highlight our problems."Ahmed says the district administration can take steps to get a stay order on sand extraction in the Coastal Regulation (CRZ) area. Vacating the ban by the Chennai bench of National Green Tribunal (NGT) is also possible. It is not a difficult task, he adds. “When there was a ban on UPCL and Yethinnahole projects, it was lifted within 10-15 days. On this issue, no one is interested because there are no benefits. The matter is not related to one or two families, but thousands, who are struggling to make ends without a job. Many take to crime in such situations,”said Ahmed.The film revolves around two families struggling to educate their children and getting a daughter married. Shot with Rs 65,000, Rakshit Kumar and Sandeep V Acharya are the directors.