Vicky Nanjappa and photographer Dominic Xavier travel through the battered roads of Bellary to some of its dusty villages, to uncover a tale of neglect, poverty and health woes in the mining heartland of Karnataka.
Money, glamour and poverty -- these three words can describe Bellary. One of the most high-profile and controversial constituencies in Karnataka, Bellary goes to polls on April 23.
Bellary has been a traditional battleground between the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party. The state's mining capital shot into the limelight when Sonia Gandhi took on Sushma Swaraj in her first parliamentary election in 1999. She won, but prefered to represent Amethi in the Lok Sabha. In the 2004 general election, BJP candidate Karunakar Reddy defeated Congress candidate K C Kondaiah.
Image: Thoranagallu village in Bellary
Also see: Taps run dry in Chitradurga | India Votes 2009
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