The Coffee Board of India has received bids from two major players — Cafe Coffee Day and Afoozo Private Limited, owned by Vikram Gurbaxani — for a revamping of its iconic India Coffee House (ICH) outlets, Board CEO Srivatsa Krishna said here on Tuesday.
The Board has mooted the revamp of 12 outlets, including one in Parliament House in Delhi, bringing in private players in a revenue-sharing model in an attempt to create a premium brand.
“We want to leverage the ICH brand to promote coffee consumption in the country,” he said.
Krishna said efforts are afoot to get a Geographical Indication tag for coffee grown in different geographical regions in the country, including Wayanad, Kodagu, Mysuru and Chikmagalur.
source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> Coffee (Commodity) / The Hindu Bureau / September 04th, 2018
The actor who is a Miss India finalist is all gung-ho about her debut film Chekka Chivantha Vaanam
Acting and films were never on the to-do list of Dayana Erappa. But, when the team of Madras Talkies called and told her that she had been chosen to play one of the lead roles in Mani Ratnam’s next film, she was confused, excited and nervous in equal measure.
Looking at the trailer of Chekka Chivantha Vaanam now, it’s hard to imagine anyone else playing the girl Chaaya.
“I just entered modelling to give it a shot. Later, I took part in the Miss India beauty pageant and was judged the runner up. I was busy with my projects when I received a call from Mani Ratnam’s team. I went to give my first audition in Mumbai and the second one in Chennai. They called me after two months and said that I had gotten it,” says Dayana.
Born and brought up in Coorg, Dayana’s father owns a tea estate and her mother is a homemaker. She also has an elder sister who has completed her Masters in Criminology.
“My parents have always supported me and my sister. When I told my father that I was going to be part of a modelling project, he asked me whether I was sure? Since it was something I was trying out, he was okay with my decision.
Later, when I told him that I’m going to be part of Chekka…, he was like ‘Wow! Really?’All of them were happy with the news,” adds the model.
For a newbie to get a big launch with director Mani Ratnam is a dream come true. “Acting was not my priority at all. I was just a theatre artiste, I feel lucky that people think that apart from good looks, I can also act. I didn’t want to lose the chance. Especially, when it was a Mani Ratnam directorial,” she says.
Chekka Chivantha Vaanam is a Tamil film which is being dubbed in Telugu as Nawab. The trailer unveiled recently has garnered a huge number of views on YouTube.
Dayana feels very happy to have worked in a star-studded film which has Prakash Raj, Jayasudha, Arvind Swami, Jyothika, Arun Vijay, Aishwarya Rajesh, Aditi Rao Hydari, Silambarasan and others in lead roles. The DOP of the film is Santosh Sivan and music is composed by AR Rahman.
“Working with so many stars was an amazing experience. They never treated me like a newcomer, but have given me all the support to do my best,” said the Tamil ponnu who is yet to sign her next project after Chekka Chivantha Vaanam.
source: http://www.telanganatoday.com / Telangana Today / Home> Tabloid> Cinema & TV / by Bhawana Tanmayi / September 02nd, 2018
Tashma Muthappa, an International-level Throwball player who was living in a flood relief camp along with her family has now been rehabilitated. She, along with her parents, will move to a rented accommodation in Madikeri on Monday. Also, Kodagu District Minister S.R. Mahesh has promised her a government job.
It may be recalled that Star of Mysore had published a report on Aug. 30 under the title “Floods shatter sports star’s life in Kodagu.” The report had highlighted the plight of Tashma, who brought laurels to Karnataka and India by winning national and international tournaments. First she was forced to give up her sporting career and take up a data entry job to support her family and second, her house was destroyed in floods and landslides.
Tashma’s house, built just one-and-a-half-years back in Second Monnangeri at Madikeri was washed away and all her medals, certificates and hard-earned money were lost. 23-year-old Tashma was to get married in December but now her wedding has been postponed to April next year as the jewellery worth Rs. 3.5 lakh too were swept away.
Following the publication of the report that was widely shared in social media, help started pouring in to Tashma and her family. They will move to a fully-furnished house at Kannika Layout near Madikeri Race Course Road on Sept. 3. Singapore Kodava Samaja has sponsored Rs. 50,000 to be paid as advance to the house and has also sponsored the monthly rent of Rs. 10,000 for one year.
The Singapore Art of Living team has sponsored utensils, food, fuel and other requirements to the family and Chandrashekar and friends have volunteered to look after the day-to-day needs of the family till it can sustain on its own.
Meeting Tashma, Kodagu District Minister S.R. Mahesh has assured her that he will secure her a government job.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / September 01st, 2018
Meanwhile, 23 more people from relief centres returned home as Kodagu continued to receive light rainfall on Saturday. Dr Pennekar Superintendent of Police, Kodagu.
Mysuru:
As Kodagu limps back to normalcy after its recent floods and landslides that claimed several lives and left the coffee land in distress, the district has two women officers, Deputy Commissioner P.I. Srividya and Superintendent of Police Suman D. Pennekar to thank for the pivotal roles they played in restoring order. Working with 1,200 personnel of different agencies, and officers from different departments, they helped in rescuing 4,300 people stranded as a result of the natural disaster that created havoc in the coffee plantations and buried hundreds of homes under mud and debris of landslides.
On Saturday, a team of 338 DySP and PSI probationeries of the Karnataka Police Academy (KPA) led by its director, Vipul Kumar, visited Kodagu and talked to Dr Pennekar about the Kodagu police’s handling of the situation. For the 33 -year -old police officer, who is an ayurvedic doctor and a 2013 batch IPS officer, Kodagu is her first assignment as SP and she had reported for duty in the district when the monsoon was at its peak, on July 15.
“I have not seen the sun shine since I came to Kodagu. It has been a huge experience, which will last me for the next ten years,” said Dr Pennekar, speaking to Deccan Chronicle.
Recalling the rescue operation, she said 160 policemen and officers from Kodagu helped the rescuers at the ground level. “I got 100 additional police men every day from other districts in the southern range for VIP security. We also got 15 officers of different ranks each day from different districts of the southern range for patrolling. A 100 home guards were posted at the check post and relief centres. All senior officers, including DG Neelamani supported me in handling the situation,” she added.
Meanwhile, 23 more people from relief centres returned home as Kodagu continued to receive light rainfall on Saturday.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / by Shilpa P, Deccan Chronicle / September 02nd, 2018
An exploration geologist ruled out the claims of ecologists about Kodagu bearing the brunt of a calamity due to manmade causes.
A man carrying an LPG cylinder and a stove wades through the flooded Kushalnagar-Hassan Road in Kodagu. (File | EPS)
Madikeri :
Amidst all the talks over indiscriminate exploitation of nature causing Kodagu disaster, an exploration geologist who has studied in New Zealand and is working in Australia ruled out the claims of ecologists about Kodagu bearing the brunt of a calamity due to manmade causes.
“Landslides in Kodagu are due to unprecedented rain in Pushpagiri Range and nearby region. What has happened to Kodagu is a natural calamity and not a manmade disaster,” said exploration geologist Iychettira G Machaiah, adding: “It is bizarre how some politicians and overnight ecological experts blame the same old timber mafia, sand mafia, forest encroachment, planters mafia as the cause for this disaster.” However, he says that the floods in the Harangi belt might be an induced disaster due to conversion of wet land and construction of layouts on the river bank and adds, “These organised layouts that have come up in recent years on wetlands are in serious violations of law.”
Nevertheless, the landslides in North Kodagu, he says, might happen once in 200 years and it is just a natural calamity. “Due to excess rainfall, the clay soil and laterite stone under the earth create a cave that starts to store water. And excess, unprecedented rainfall will result in their collapse, accompanied with a sound of breaking of earth’s plates. Western Ghats has a history of over 10 crore years and these disasters are natural to occur once in an occasion,” he stated.
He rubbishes statements of ecologists about deforestation causing such acts of nature and clarifies, “These landslides happen from the earth’s core and they will uproot the strongest trees. Mountains too could collapse during such a calamity. It is a nature’s freak event.”
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Prajna G R, Express News Service / August 31st, 2018
Both will receive the Rs 20 lakh high cash incentive earlier announced by the late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa for sportspersons winning medals in international games.
Jakarta : From left to right silver medalist Chae Bonjin and Kim Dongwook of Korea, gold medalist Shingen Furuya and Shinji Hachiyama of Japan and bronze medalist Varun Ashokthakkar and Kelapanda Chengappa of India pose for a selfie with their medals during the victory ceremony for in the 49er Men of sailing event at the18th Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, Aug. 31, 2018.AP/PTI(AP8_31_2018_000227B)
Tamil Nadu government Saturday lauded state sportspersons Vikas Thakkar and Chengappa Ganapathy Kelapanda for winning the bronze medal in 49er men’s sailing event at the ongoing Asian Games in Indonesia.
Chief Minister K Palaniswami announced a high cash incentive of Rs 20 lakh each for their feat, in line with the government’s policy of promoting sporting talent from Tamil Nadu. In seperate letters to Thakkar and Kelapanda, the Chief Minister lauded them for their medal winning performance and said they had made the state and the country proud.
Both will receive the Rs 20 lakh high cash incentive earlier announced by the late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa for sportspersons winning medals in international games, he said. “On behalf of the people and Government of Tamil Nadu, I once again extend my warm greetings to you and all those who supported you in this achievement and wish you bring more laurels to the country and the state in future,” he told them.
Further, the Chief Minister announced an additional Rs 20 lakh for paddler A Sharath Kamal, for winning a second bronze medal in the ongoing Asiad. “I am happy to hear that you have won your second medal in the ongoing 18th Asian Games, 2018 a Bronze Medal in Table Tennis mixed doubles event,” Palaniswami said.
The Chief Minister said Kamal was now eligible to receive a high cash incentive of Rs 20 lakhs, apart from a similar amount announced by him on August 29.
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Sports> Asian Games / by PTI, Chennai / September 01st, 2018
The Foundation, which is 22 years old now, has dealt with 10 natural disasters, Mrs Murty recounts. Infosys Foundation chairperson Sudha Murty helps pack relief material for flood-hit Kerala and Kodagu
Bengaluru:
“It’s easy to write a cheque,” declares Sudha Murthy. Far more difficult to dive into the work itself, packing bags and working through the night to personally supervise loading the trucks, as the chairperson of the Infosys Foundation, the company’s philanthropic wing and the city’s conscience keeper found when she threw herself full time into helping the hundreds of the displaced in flood-affected Kodagu and neighbouring Kerala.
Only last week, Mrs Murty found herself lavished with praise from all quarters, after a video of relief kits being prepared at the Foundation went viral. In the video, Mrs Murty doesn’t content herself with overseeing the job, she’s seen actively lending a hand, helping pack 2,000 relief kits which contain everything from rice and dal to biscuits, packaged water, tea and coffee as well as dhotis and sarees, and clothes for children.
“It’s been two weeks of non-stop The kits, which are worth over Rs one crore in total, were sent to Wayanad, Ernakulam and parts of Thiruvananthapuram in four trucks. Flood-hit Kodagu received 25,000 water bottles, steel utensils, buckets and mug, sent to families, slowly returning to normal life in their ravaged homes.
“It’s been two weeks of non-stop work,” an evidently weary Mrs Murty tells Deccan Chronicle on Thursday. “We worked through the night for four or five days, then we crashed for a while.” Twenty of their most dependable staff have been entrusted with the job.
“Too many people will bring down the efficiency,” she says. The 68-year-old author and philanthropist has always maintained a hands-on approach to her social work. The Foundation, which is 22 years old now, has dealt with 10 natural disasters, Mrs Murty recounts. “It needs a lot of experience, really,” she says.
The Infosys Foundation tapped into a vast network of contacts, including the Akshaya Patra Foundation, to help with distribution, which is their biggest worry. The kits have been designed to ensure that they can be distributed to every family with a minimum of discomfort. “We have volunteers on the ground in Kerala as well, for which we looked to our network,” she says. It’s a network she has built, painstakingly, over the last two decades.
“There are three parts to this. Deciding what to send, how to send it there and the distribution process,” Ms Murty said. In Bengaluru, all the action took place at the Bellaku campus. “We have chosen necessities like utensils, clothes, sanitary napkins, tea and coffee apart from food like rice and toor dal and also biscuits. All these are ready for delivery and have been chosen because they can be stored and can withstand the rain in the area. If I send 10 kilos of rice in bulk, who wil see to the distribution?” Work has been happening in full swing for the last two weeks and will come to an end on Saturday.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / by Darshana Ramdev, Deccan Chronicle / August 31st, 2018
MR Poovamma, spearhead and senior most member of the Asian Games gold medal winning Indian 4×400 Women’s relay team (which included Hima Das, Saritaben Gayakwad and VK Vismaya), explains the future implications of the victory in Jakarta, and reveals details behind the bold strategy that helped them upstage Salwa Naser-led Bahrain.
A gold medal is special under any circumstance, no doubt. But, when the top prize at the Asian Games — at any competition for that matter — comes after an athlete manages to upstage the best in the world, the medal attains a deeper meaning. Its significance transcends the podium, going much beyond the fervour or emotions the celebrating athletes, the fluttering flag, and the national anthem conjure up. The gold medal gets an additional gleam from a promise for the future, while dreams and aspirations of the athlete involved find new horizons.
When Hima Das, MR Poovamma, Saritaben Gayakwad and VK Vismaya climbed onto the top rung of the podium to celebrate the country’s final gold (in the women’s 4x400m relay) from athletics in Jakarta, on the last day of track and field competitions at Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) Stadium on August 30, they stood tall with a realisation that could, in the coming years, take them to higher pedestals.
source:http://www.newsclick.in / News Click / Home> Sports> India / by Leslie Xavier / August 31st, 2018
A group of Bengaluru-based young professionals trekked through the flood-ravaged Kodagu to reach a remote village near Madikeri in order to deliver relief material.
Bhavan Bopanna, an IT professional, along with his friends, set out to help the people of Kodagu.
They learnt that Kaloor, a remote village, had become inaccessible.
They walked 6 km to reach the village.
“When we drove our jeep through the roads, it was heartening to see an old couple carrying some relief materials on their head. Later when we reached the village, we found that over 45 families had not received any relief material for over a week,” he added.
As they could not reach the village in their jeep, they trekked for almost 6 km carrying the relief material.
According to Bopanna, most of the families were middle class and had a small property for themselves and they do not wish to stay at relief camps.
“These villagers only wanted to some rice, dal and oil so that they could cook for themselves. But the procedure to get relief is cumbersome.
A few villagers who managed to visit a few relief camps were made to run around and were not given their due by the authorities,” added Bopanna.
He said people from the village that he visited wanted food for their cattle and dogs. But somewhere, the government has not able to understand people’s requirement.
The group not only delivered the relief material, but also picked up trash on the way to ensure that no plastic was left behind.
Now, a Whatsapp group ‘Kodagu for Tomorrow’ with around 45 members are pitching in to help the people recover and rehabilitate.
Following the footsteps of some natives of Kerala in Bengaluru, youngsters are being mobilised in Kodagu also well.
Bhavan wants youngsters to come forward to pick the waste and process them.
Hailing from a poor family in 2nd Monnangeri — which was destroyed in a landslide — Tashma had a flair for throwball since childhood.
Tashma Muthappa
Madikeri :
The recent floods in Kodagu have altered numerous lives. Like that of Tashma Muthappa’s. Tashma (23), an international-level throwball player from Kodagu, is now staying at a relief centre after her house was washed away in the floods. And she lost her medals and trophies too. But thanks to the power of social media, help has been pouring in for her. After her story was circulated on the social media platforms, there has been a ray of hope. “I received help from 2nd Monnangeri activist Dhanjay and People for Kodagu Organisation,” Tashma said.
On Wednesday, MLC Veena Achaiah and her son Vishwas Achaiah visited Tashma and offered her help. “Vishwas Achaiah and his friends have offered to pay one year’s rent for our house and have promised to look after other expenses,” she added.
Hailing from a poor family in 2nd Monnangeri — which was destroyed in a landslide — Tashma had a flair for throwball since childhood. She has taken part in many throwball events, including those in Sri Lanka and Malaysia. She was part of the Indian throwball team that won an international championship in Bengaluru recently. However, she gave up her sporting career owing to financial constraints. Tashma, who completed her PU from Alva’s College, Mangaluru, now works as a data operator at Kodagu Medical College. Her parents Muthappa and Girija work at a homestay.
Life suddenly turned upside down for her on August 17. “At around 10 am that day, we started fleeing our homes after we noticed numerous cracks in the earth. We climbed uphill as roads were blocked owing to landslides. Walking through forests, we reached a relief centre at Cherambane at 9 pm,” she said recalling the horror. The family was later moved to a relief camp in Madikeri, where her story was learnt by many well-wishers and was circulated on social media.
Tashma hopes that the government offers her a permanent job. Though her immediate goal is to get a job and support her family, Tashma is ready to enter the throwball field and prove her mettle again … if she gets more support.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Express News Service / August 31st, 2018
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