Alor Disha after Darkness, a film made by Superintendent of Police of Cooch Behar at the Portugal Film Festival

Cooch Behar: The Festival of Lights has just ended. Still not angry. Ordinary people are looking for a new direction of light after overcoming the darkness with different kinds of light. But what is the light? Where is the darkness? Birds and insects are endangered one by one due to light pollution with the help of new technology to overcome the darkness given by nature. Once there were many cockroaches or weevils, but now they are not so noticeable. Due to the strong light, stars and meteors cannot be seen from urban areas. Superintendent of Police of Cooch Behar Dutiman Bhattacharya made a documentary highlighting these aspects of light and darkness. The documentary named ‘Let There Be Darkness’ is being released in Portugal. The documentary made by the police officer will be screened at the International Film Festival there.

Dutiman Bhattacharya was the DC (Headquarters) of Howrah City Police before taking charge as Superintendent of Police of Cooch Behar. The production of the documentary was completed in March this year. It took about six months to build. The Superintendent of Police said that there are many practices related to protecting the environment due to air pollution, water pollution, tree cutting. But few think about things like light pollution. As time goes by, more sophisticated lighting is being developed. Birds are endangered due to night light. The number of birds and insects in the tree is decreasing by decorating the tree with lights. There are many problems in human physiology. The amount of light pollution is increasing so much that when looking at the sky from urban areas, stars, meteors or galaxies cannot be seen well. But once they were well seen. Flocks of migratory birds that used to navigate by night are also being misled by artificial lights. Superintendent of Police said, ‘We are losing the darkness of nature due to light pollution. Physiological problems are also seen in humans along with birds and insects. These are the issues covered in this 18-minute documentary.’

The documentary produced with English commentary features many people’s stories. There are descriptions of their experiences. This documentary has already gained fame in the country and abroad. It won the twin awards for Best Documentary and Best Soundtrack at the international competition held recently in Italy. It has been nominated for screening at various venues including Kolkata International Film Festival, Jharkhand International Film Festival. This documentary is going to the International Film Festival in Portugal.

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Kuhelika Barman is working as Sub Editor Since 2016. Presently she is attached with Uttarbanga Sambad Digital. She is involved in Copy Editing, Uploading in website and various social media platforms.