Mindless Mining – The Tragedy of Kudremukh

December 31st, 2005 was an environmentally historic day that went virtually unnoticed, even by most environmentalists. It was the day on which a landmark judgment of the Supreme Court of India took effect, bringing the curtain down on a mining operation that was causing havoc in the Western Ghats of Karnataka. The Supreme Court’s order was all the more remarkable because what was closed down was no two-bit operation but a massive, government-owned, export-oriented, profit making corporation, the Kudremukh Iron Ore Mining Company Limited (KIOCL), one of the so called ‘Mini Ratna PSUs’. The Judgment was the culmination of a hard-fought campaign led by a Bangalore based NGO, Wildlife First, and serves as further proof that a small band of committed people can make a big difference. This film, made by Shekar Dattatri, added firepower to the campaign and was screened to critical stakeholders.