Dr. S.V. Narasimhan, a family physician based at Virajpet in Kodagu district, is an avid birder, nature lover, adept at computers, Karnatak music and astronomy.
Author of Feathered Jewels of Coorg, a field-guide to 310 species of birds found in Coorg, Dr. Narasimhan is the pioneer in spreading wildlife conservation messages through his unique hand-painted Wildlife Message Cards that are sent free to individuals throughout the world to mark the Wildlife Week.
Total number of hand-painted cards made by him this year is 1,930; in 36 years, 72,655 cards. Total recipients this year including Star of Mysore – 1,010; in 36 years – 13,004 persons.
The Special Wildlife Messenger of this year is Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus) — This is the most common garden bird of India. It has a black chest that is turned forwards and has bright red patches on the cheeks and vent. Melodiously vocal, it feeds on fruits, nectar and small insects.
Bulbuls are mostly monogamous. They build an open cup-shaped nest made of rootlets and leaves lined with soft fibre. They live for about 10-11 years.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / October 20th, 2020
Six blue eggs of the rare Indian Robin bird were found at a coffee estate in Kodagu recently.
The 6 eggs were found nesting securely in a nest made of hay on a plant amidst the coffee estate.
The eggs were found by the farm workers of the estate owned by a woman named Pushpa in Bettathur village in Kodagu.
While the mother was found nowhere around the nest the eggs nested safe and secure from the current harsh climate.
According to reports Robins usually lay four eggs and then stop. However, Pushpa and her staff found six bright blue eggs in this nest.
It is the female bird’s job to maintain the proper incubation temperature, keeping the eggs warm during cold weather and shaded during hot weather.
The blue colour in robin eggs is due to biliverdin, a pigment deposited on the eggshell when the female lays the eggs.
There is some evidence that higher biliverdin levels indicate a healthier female and brighter blue eggs. Eggs laid by a healthier female seemed to encourage males to take more interest in their young ones.
source: http://www.newsable.asianetnews.com / Asia Net Newsable / Home> English News> India / by Team Newsable / Bengaluru – October 15th, 2020
After many months of intermittent lockdowns, travellers are venturing out again, opting for remote getaways, Nature trails and short drives as backyard tourism booms
Waking up to the sounds of a gurgling Cauvery and soaking up spectacular views of monsoon-drenched mountains, it was a blissful morning in Coorg for Archana N Vidur. “After being cooped up for five months, it felt like I was breathing again,” she says.
Archana and her family based in Bengaluru are just back from their first road trip post lockdown. “We had to get some fresh air and flush out the negativity that has entered our lives during COVID-19. Connecting with Nature, frees you up mentally,” she adds. They booked an entire property, the Carpe Diem Homestay at Kushal Nagar, which is a five-hour drive from Bengaluru.
“We selected a place that is cut off from ‘touristy’ destinations. We packed blankets, bed sheets and toiletries. We carried our plates, glasses, cutlery and a dishwasher too! Of course, we kept our masks on at all times. We packed our used clothes in sealed plastic bags and washed them immediately on return.”
Backyard tourism has now emerged as a favourite activity. Now that there are fewer restrictions on travelling across states, people are venturing out on short and safe vacations close to their cities — from weekend drives to isolated home stays to exploring the countryside on bikes. J. Rumi, a writer based in Bengaluru has lined up places like Dandiganahalli dam, Manchenahalli dam, and Turahalli forests, all well within 50 to 100 kms from her house. “ We can drive down and then go on treks, cycle around or spend some quiet time with Nature.”
Coppersmith Barbet | Photo Credit: Manish Kumar
Author and travel blogger Manjulika Pramod is contemplating a road trip to Machilipatnam beach which is 80 kilometres away from her home in Vijayawada. “I want to go to a place where I can easily avoid human contact. So, it’s best to go to a beach where we can take our own food. Nature, especially the sun, sand and waves will definitely cheer me up,” she says.
The monsoon has also ushered in some much-needed cheer. “It is the best time to explore the green countryside of my state, Jharkhand,” says Manish Kumar who lives in Ranchi and blogs in Hindi about travelling and conservation. “I indulge myself with trips within 50 to 80 kilometres over the weekends to places like the beautiful Patratu Valley on the outskirts of Ranchi, or the isolated Dhurva dam, which is a haven for migratory birds. Another popular place is the Ramgarh countryside (top photograph) for its lush green paddy fields,” says Manish, adding “Backyard tourism is going to boom now.”
Running wild and free
However, travelling during lockdown comes with its fair share of challenges. One has to follow handy tips to travel safe. Says Archana, who along with her husband Vidur runs Travelmynation, a couple travel and lifestyle blog, “COVID-19 is not the time for surprise vacations. We took all safety precautions as we travelled with our parents who are senior citizens and our two Lhasa Apso dogs. We packed our food, including coffee, and stopped at the outskirts cut off from the city to have our meals before reaching Coorg.”
Rashmi Chadha, founder of Wovoyage, a startup for women-centric travels | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
In a post-lockdown scenario, a road trip is also a way to finally reunite with family or friends after months of isolation. “A protocol is in place. Those joining avoid outside travel before the planned trip. They get tested and take off from a common point,” says Delhi-based Rashmi Chadha, founder of Wovoyage, a startup for women-centric travels. “Recently, we organised a road trip for a group of seven to eight women, most of them friends who travelled in two cars to Kanatal in Himachal to spend a few weeks in solitude. Some of our clients in Mumbai are taking off to Lonavala over the weekends. Those in Delhi now make trips to Rajasthan. The trend now is to travel with close-knit groups.”
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She also points out that the lockdown is encouraging people to explore their own backyards. “Domestic tourism is picking up. People are travelling to different places within their State, for example people in Madhya Pradesh are exploring places like Chanderi Fort and Jhansi Fort.”
Evergreen County Resort in Coorg | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Most travellers, however, choose to reconnect with Nature after months at home. Says Bajan Bopanna of Evergreen County Resorts, located inside a coffee estate in Coorg, “We see a rise in bookings. They want to trek or go on plantation trails within the property or enjoy a private camp fire.” Col VG Pandey (retired) of Vama Resorts at Nandi Hills near Bengaluru says families from locations within the State have been visiting the military-themed resort and camp. “They engage in activities that we offer, like how to improve mind-body coordination, overcome fear of enclosed spaces, to name a few.”
Richa Gupta | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Some take a road trip for a change of scenery like Richa Gupta, a digital media marketer for travel brands, who lives in Pune. “We wanted to beat the boredom. We checked in at Taj Fort Aguada resort at Sinquerim Beach, Candolim in Goa, which is located on a cliff overlooking an ocean. The check-in was contactless, safe and clean. We spent time at the beach and went on treks. Now, I am ready to be cooped up.”
Nishu Boralia | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Nishu Boralia, a chartered accountant based out of Bengaluru, plans to pitch a tent inside the forest in Chikmagalur. “The professional and personal space has become blurry. I am craving for open skies, a bubbling waterfall, and birds chirping around me.”
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu /Home> Life & Style> Travel / by K. Jeshi / Coimbatore – September 22nd, 2020
Multi-millionaires, owning large coffee estates, in Karnataka are sneaking into protected forests and hunting wild animals
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Multi-millionaires, owning large coffee estates, in Karnataka are sneaking into protected forests and hunting wild animals. According to sources, several poachers and hunters who have been arrested in the last three years are wealthy coffee estate owners, college students from affluent families and timber business owners. Some of them even belong to the Rifle Association of Karnataka.
On Saturday, the forest department officials in Kodagu district of Karnataka have arrested a gang of five hunters, three of whom own large coffee estates in the state. The arrested include Santosh, Sashi, Sharanu, Ranjit and Raju. The hunters and poachers used a licensed double barrel to shoot at a ‘big cat’ in Nagarhole Tiger Reserve.
The accused entered the protected wildlife area to kill a deer for its meat. When they spotted a ‘big cat’ lying in a pool of water, they fired gun shots at it. Forest officials believe that the tiger was lying in the water unmoved when the accused went near it. The officials believe that the tiger could have died due to health reasons.
The forest officials seized tiger claws and canines from the arrested. Three of the arrested, including Santosh, Sashi and Ranjit are from wealthy families who own coffee estates. According to sources, the coffee estate owners are poaching and hunting the wild animals with the help of locals. Among the five arrested, Raju was a casual labourer.
The accused used sharp knives, used in meat shops, to cut the tiger’s canines as they are strong, a forest official told The Hans India. The accused did not deskin the tiger but decamped with the big cat’s nails and canines. The forest officials recovered 13 claws and two canines, an official of the Indian Forest Service (IFoS) said.
The accused, who live in areas abutting the national park in Kodagu, shared the tiger nails between them after chopping off its paws. Cases have been registered against the arrested under the Wildlife Protection Act on charges of hunting, collection of animal parts, illegally entering a national park and using firearms.
This is not a lone incident of poaching during the lockdown. Earlier, a real estate tycoon was arrested for poaching in a wildlife sanctuary. Around 14 poachers killed two Sambar deer around Bhadra Tiger Reserve in Karnataka. The forest officials revealed that some wealthy families think it is adventurous to hunt wild animals. Officials also told The Hans India that wild animals are being hunted for exotic meat. Wild animals, including boar, sambar deer and bison are being poached for their meat. Hotels serve the meat for elite clientele, the officials said.
source: http://www.thehansindia.com / The Hans India / Home> News> State> Karnataka / by Srikanth Godavarthi / Hans News Service / September 05th, 2020
Deputy Commissioner Annies Kanmani Joy chairs a meeting in Madikeri on Friday.
Now, farmers can directly enter the details of the crops they have cultivated in their RTCs (record of rights, tenancy and crops) with a few clicks on the app on crop survey.
The last date for entering the details on the crop survey is August 24. The ‘Farmers Crop Survey App 2020-21’ has been developed by e-governance department of Karnataka, said Deputy Commissioner Annies Kanmani Joy.
Chairing a meeting on implementation of the crop survey, she said the farmers should mention survey number, hissa number of the land owned by them and upload details on agriculture crops, horticulture crops and other forest crops cultivated by them.
The DC said farmers had to take photographs of the crops cultivated on the land and fill in the details. Depending on crop details and extent of area cultivated that are documented in the pahani, government will announce support price and compensation during the natural calamities. The crop survey will benefit in documenting the details of the crops cultivated in pahani, Annies said
If farmers are unable to conduct survey of crops on their own, then they can seek the assistance of private individuals to document the details after August 24, she added.
The details uploaded by the farmers will be verified by the officials. The farmers can visit Raitha Samparka Kendra, revenue inspectors, village accountants and assistant agriculture and horticulture officials, for any query.
Agriculture Minister B C Patil, in a video conference with Deputy Commissioner, said that the crop survey should be implemented like a ‘Utsava’. For the first time in the country, the crop survey is carried out by the farmers themselves using an app.
In the past, objections were raised when the crops that the farmer claimed to have grown was different from the one recorded on the RTC. As the farmers themselves take up the survey, the mistakes in the RTC can be avoided, Annies said.
The ‘Farmers Crop Survey App 2020-21’ can be downloaded from Play Store. A farmer should register his name and mobile number using an OTP. The farmers should select district, taluk, hobli, village and add survey number of the land and then furnish details of the crops cultivated.
MLA M P Appachu Ranjan visited the rain-affected Makkandooru and other areas on Friday. He inspected the affected farmland, houses and public roads in Makkandooru, Kadagadalu, Hodduru Gram Panchayat jurisdiction along with officials.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Karnataka Districts / by DHNS, Madikeri / August 14th, 2020
Have you explored Black Baza Coffee’s lineup, yet?
Very few coffee lovers actually research how ethical their go-to fair trade coffee brand really is, but Black Baza Coffee ‘s biodiversity-friendly, fair-trade coffee production is going the whole mile when it comes to ethically responsible community-building. The Bengaluru-based label is committed to the idea of ‘creating a local, participatory and meaningful movement for coffee.’ During her PhD in coffee and sustainability, Arshiya Bose, the founder of the label explored some functional biodiversity-friendly coffee farming practises which helped her get a better perspective on responsible production.
The rich and balanced Wanderoo
“Through my research I met several smallholder coffee producers, and the brand is committed to the idea of helping them grow. Black Baza Coffee is not just about eco-friendly practises but we focus on biodiversity conservation. We take a look at how various wildlife and plants make use of the coffee farms and how they can be conserved on these farms, which also includes changing the way we farm. So we go beyond organic, from looking and understanding habitats to sticking to our all-natural agenda,” Arshiya tells us. Not to mention Black Baza’s line-up is amazingly diverse, featuring coffees with layered flavour profiles, be it fermented Robusta with spicy flavour notes or washed Arabica with a balanced acidity.
“Our Ficus coffee is named after this tree, our focus for conservation efforts in our farms,” the label writes on its Instagram page
In fact, you can even follow Black Baza’s Instagram page for their excellent fieldwork stories. We caught up with Arshiya to explore her vision further.
Black Baza Coffee has a focus on nurturing smallholders producers…
Yes, we do not work with coffee estates so we typically look at those coffee growing communities which are marginalised and vulnerable, particularly at a time like this and we work closely with them. We work with those who need our input and support the most and we are actually one of the few certified fair trade coffee brands in the country. We work with around 650 producers, we help set up coffee collectives and cooperatives. We source our coffee from The Biligirirangana Hills in Karnataka, Nilgiris, Coorg etc.
Tell us about your clientele. Do most of them share the label’s philosophy?
Yes, we have a really loyal base of customers who actively want to support communities which have suffered from the shutdown and the pandemic in general. We already had a steady base, but it has definitely grown since the pandemic started.
How has the label’s objective evolved in the four years since you started?
We are not a typical coffee brand, we function like a social enterprise, and we have definitely grown. We started out with four producers and we now work with 650, we have been able to reach so many communities who needed our support. We have also been able to source so many distinct varieties of coffees with varied flavour profiles, that’s been really interesting.
Tell us about how you’ve named each variant, like the ‘Otter,’ or the ‘Ficus’?
These coffees have been named depending on where they are grown, and represent the idea of conserving particular species of fauna which inhabit the region. The Luna coffee, for instance, is named after this interesting species of moth found in Indo-western ghats, we actively make observations of the luna moth on coffee farms, which tells us about their habitat or the vegetation around them. The names are also symbols of what we’re trying to achieve, it speaks to people about the kind of biodiversity which exists in our forests and why conserving them is so crucial.
source: http://www.indulgexpress.com / The New Indian Express – Indulge Express / by U. Roy / August 14th, 2020
The site of landslide in the Brahmagiri range, Kodagu. DH Photo
The oft-cited maxim of the ecological sensitivity of the Western Ghats, repeated ad nauseam over the past two decades or so, has fallen on deaf ears. The failure to prevent the degradation of forests in the Sahyadris, along with the increasing instances of extreme rainfall over a short period of time — especially over the past three years — has wreaked havoc in this lifeline of South India.
The Karnataka government, which has improved its performance in terms of flood preparedness, relief work and rehabilitation measures, seems to have taken little action to prevent or mitigate future landslide hazards.
Despite the devastation, the government has either proposed or persisted with over 20 linear projects that could damage more than 25,000 hectares of forest in the region. These projects include Yettinahole River Diversion project, Kalasa-Banduri project, Sharavathy pumped storage power plant, Hubballi-Ankola railway line and many road construction and widening projects.
Worse, this year landslides have been reported in 80 locations between Mangaluru and Karwar, where highway construction work has been taken up.
Apart from infrastructure projects, change in land use norms, the lack of a long-term mitigation policy to address deterioration of green spaces and improve forest cover, and relentless expansion of plantations in the Malnad districts are just some aspects contributing to a looming environmental disaster in one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots.
Several activists, who relentlessly protested against projects in the Western Ghats, have hung up their boots, and lament the futility of their past efforts to ensure legal protection to the ecosystem.
There is no dearth of comprehensive reports on the cause of problems in the region and how to address them. In 2011, the report submitted by the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, under the chairmanship of Prof Madhav Gadgil, had warned of impending natural disasters unless immediate and sustainable measures were taken to protect the ecosystem. The report sought to designate over 60% of the Western Ghats as highest-priority Ecologically Sensitive Zones.
All the states who are the custodians of the Western Ghats ignored this report. The states couldn’t come to a consensus on the subsequent Kasturirangan report even after four draft notifications, with Karnataka repeatedly rejecting the recommendations.
The Gadgil committee report was back in focus last year, as most of the places where the landslides took place were considered ecologically sensitive by the committee.
Now, the state government has set up another panel to study landslides in the region.
The benefit of commissioning a new report is still unclear. However, the government’s actions have made it evident that it is not keen on conserving the Western Ghats; experts say the degradation of forests here will have cascading effects, triggering landslides, choking streams and posing a flood threat for downstream areas, something we are witnessing today.
A scientific paper by Prof T V Ramachandra, Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science and others shows that the extent of evergreen forests shrank by 16% in Kodagu between 1973 and 2018, from 40.47% to 24.17%; a loss of around 67,000 hectares of forest land. “The region had 32% of forest cover under interior or intact forests in 1973, whereas in 2018 it covers only 19% in various protected areas,” says the study.
“The expansion or construction of linear alignments would result in irreversible ecological degradation. The recent floods and landslides are certainly a warning to the decision makers of likely implications, with the drastic changes in the land cover eroding the native forest ecosystems. Further interventions will worsen the ecology and hydrology as well as livelihood, with increase in instances of human-induced calamities,” the paper warned. Yet, the state revenue department lifted a ban on the conversion of land use in Kodagu in February this year.
Degradation main cause
While environmental degradation triggering landslides is starkly evident in Kodagu, similar situations persist in all districts bordering Western Ghats – Hassan, Chikkamagaluru, Shivamogga, Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada, Dharwad and Belagavi.
Conservation biologist Keshava H Korse pointed out that major landslides are being reported at core ridges of Western Ghats due to repeated disturbance of vegetation in such areas. “Bhagamandala, where major landslides were reported in the past two years, is one such area which has loose soil,” he said.
The area was classified as a highest-priority ecologically sensitive zone in the Gadgil committee report, where all development projects were expressly forbidden due to the fragility of the ecosystem. Yet, several projects were taken up here.
“The injuries to the Ghats cannot be healed in one go. Just to recover the natural vegetation where landslides have occurred, it will take four years,” Korse said.
Among the alarming incidents during the downpour in the first two weeks of August this year, were the landslides reported just six km from Linganamakki reservoir in Shivamogga district, pointed out Ananth Hegde Ashisara, Chairman of Biodiversity Board. He is heading a 10-member committee set up in February this year, to study the main causes for such landslides and to suggest an action plan to mitigate them.
Some of the places highly prone to landslides include the Kodagu DC office, villages near Jog Falls and settlements situated in the Western Ghats. “Our major challenge is to ensure people relocate from areas which are dangerous. It is a difficult task as people don’t want to move away from their homes or agricultural land,” Ashisara said.
Though reasons for landslides were varied across Malnad districts, he suspected that vegetation loss was one of the key triggers for extensive damages witnessed in Kodagu and Chikkamagaluru.
“Deforestation is high, non-agricultural use of land near the forests are prominent. The ecosystem can rejuvenate by reducing human interference in such regions. The ecosystem will revive on its own; this can be accelerated by planting flora indigenous to the region,” Ashisara said.
G S Sreenivasa Reddy, former chairman of Karnataka Natural Disaster Monitoring Cell and a member of the committee, said that there were observable changes in rainfall patterns that have triggered the crisis. “We will give recommendations on what each department should do to mitigate the problem,” he said.
According to him, the cascading effect of disturbing the Western Ghats will worsen fluctuations in the intensity of rainfall, affecting water security and crop cultivation patterns.
Col (rtd) C P Muthanna, former president of Coorg Wildlife Society, noted that Western Ghats are susceptible to even minute changes. “We are talking with the district administration to discuss measures to prevent such incidents. We are against converting land for commercial use as it causes degradation,” he said. Efforts are also being made to encourage planters to cultivate native trees inside plantations.
Sundar Rao Bantwal, who put an end to his environmental activism after the Yettinahole project was cleared, painted a gloomy picture on how environmental concerns were always sidelined over profits by politicians and contractors. “Despite a strong opposition, large projects are taken up in eco-sensitive zones. Even if we drag the cases to court, it will be of little consequence. Approaching the Green Tribunal too won’t help,” he said, citing the controversial project as an example. The project might fail in 10-15 years and neither those who approved it nor the ones constructed will take responsibility for the disaster, he added.
Ramachandra said despite recurring disasters, as many as 55% people in Kodagu are for ‘development’, while 40% are for conservation measures, with a small minority undecided. “After the last floods, we managed to convince the Deputy Commissioner to impose restrictions against resorts mushrooming in the district, which used to occupy natural courses of water. Recently, the restrictions were lifted after political interference,” he said.
Virajpet MLA K G Bopaiah was of the view that climate change was responsible for the widespread devastation. “Save for the last three years, receiving 20 inches or more rainfall in less than a week is unprecedented,” he said. Disputing that change of land use was the major cause for landslides, he said that landslides were reported where thick forests were present. “Nobody has even considered interfering in such dense forest areas,” he said.
Noting that several areas of the district were susceptible to landslides following heavy rainfall, he said that measures will be taken to address the same.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Specials> Insight / by Akram Mohammed, DHNS, Bengaluru / August 15th, 2020
Anandatheertha lived a life of intense commitment to the Kaveri. He died in landslide in Talakaveri on August 6.
Regular trips to Talakaveri, located near Bhagamandala in Kodagu district, Karnataka, are fond for river Kaveri. A temple to Goddess Kaveri, also dedicated to Shiva as Agasthyeswara and Ganesha, overlooks the ancient tank that collects water from a nearby wild spring there.
For the devotees, the tank was the origin of the east-flowing river of peninsular India. According to the legends, the river disappears in its birthplace — only to take rebirth at Bhagamandala located a little away at the foothills.
I met Swami Anandatheertha (died at 76) for the first time one September evening about a decade ago. The meeting was followed by a long conversation about the mighty river, the lifeline of vast stretches of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Several conversations followed over time — and each one of them gave me the impression that he was no less than a living encyclopaedia — not just on the Kaveri but all the rivers on Earth.
It was this school teacher-turned-sage who showed me the exact origin of the river. Anandatheertha lived in Mumbai for long and taught at a school there, but returned to his native place three decades ago to become the traditional trustee and administrator of the temples in Talakaveri and Bhagamandala.
He lived a spartan life in a small house in Talakaveri, located in the Brahmagiri range of Western Ghats at an elevation of 1,341 metres. His brother-in-law was the chief priest of the temple. He lived with his sister and her husband.
A scholar with strong social and political concerns, Anandatheertha was a secular person. Between sacred and profane, he lived a life of intense commitment to the river and the surrounding forests.
In the 1980s, he was among the members of the Save Western Ghats March — a major environmental protection initiative involving scientists, anthropologists, sociologists, activists, journalists and local communities.
He marched together with others for 100 days along the length of the ghats, highlighting the socio-ecological challenges the area grappled with. He had actively engaged with almost all attempts to save the Western Ghats and the Kaveri from human encroachment and destruction.
He travelled extensively across the length and width of the river, urging local communities to save the river. He found comfort in the role of a low profile environmentalist with extreme devotion to the cause.
Journalist and filmmaker O K Johnny, who authored Kaveriyodoppam Ente Yathrakal (Journeys Along Kaveri), pointed out that Anandatheertha was always anxious about the fate of the Kaveri.
Except for the little stretch in his small locality, the river is on its deathbed. For Anandatheertha, Western Ghats and the river were integral to his existence. In a way, he always spoke in the river’s voice.
It was the place where sage Agasthya was blessed by Brahma, Vishnu and Ganesha while meditating under the ashwaththa tree. Saptarishis, or the seven great sages, had performed their yajna or ritual sacrifices at the Brahmagiri peak.
He also spoke about Lord Brahma’s daughter Lopamudra, who was rechristened as Kaveri later. Kaveri eventually turned herself into a river to serve the humankind.
Everything is a fond memory now. On August 6, 2020, Anandatheertha failed to turn up at Talakaveri temple along with the chief priest to conduct the morning rituals. One of the security guards at the temple went to check the priest and found the priest’s house buried in mud.
According to available information, the development officer of the local Grama Panchayat had issued a notice to Anandatheertha, directing him and the family of the head priest to move away from the place for the hill was prone to landslides; Anandatheertha was living at the foothills.
However, Anandatheertha refused to move away. Even the cowshed he had with over 20 bovines was buried deep in mounds of mud and rubble. The area surrounding the priests’ houses is now inaccessible, according to Kodagu district commissioner Anies Kanmani Joy.
A portion of the Brahmagiri Hill collapsed on the two houses where Anandatheertha and the priest were living. At least five people are missing as of August 7.
Other than Anandatheertha, his sister Shantha Narayana (68), her husband and temple’s head priest T S Narayanachar (70) and relatives Ravikiran Bhat and Pavan Bhat are missing.
Mud came crashing down on the two houses Wednesday midnight; around 30 acres of the mountain range collapsed. The Geological Survey of India (GSI) had predicted possibilities of landslides in Talakavery, in the close vicinity of the temple, after detecting surface cracks during last monsoon.
It had conducted extensive field study in Kodagu following the two subsequent floods since 2018 and discovered slope modification without proper precautions as the major cause of landslides.
Unbridled construction of houses by carving hill slopes resulted in land destabilisation in the region. Unsupported slope cuts for road widening also contributed to the tragedy.
A spiritual leader who always expressed concern over change in land use patterns in Brahmagiri hills and the mushrooming illegal constructions has now turned its victim.
He was always against large-scale capital investments to convert Talakaveri as a concrete jungle in the name of spiritual tourism. The encyclopaedia on rivers is no more.
source: http://www.downtoearth.org.in / Down To Earth / Home> Environment / by K A Shaji / August 07th, 2020
Following copious rains across Kodagu district, the Harangi reservoir is almost full. The dam is two feet short of reaching its maximum level of 2,859 feet at 2,857 feet this morning.
Before the crest gates were opened, Madikeri MLA M.P. Appachu Ranjan offered ‘Bagina’ to River Cauvery after performing puja to the statue of River Cauvery located at the base of the reservoir this morning.
Executive Engineer Rajendra, Harangi Reservoir Assistant Engineer Nagaraju and other BJP leaders were present on the occasion.
This reservoir is the main source of water for KRS dam in Mandya district. Irrigation Department Executive Engineer Rajendra said that water from the Harangi reservoir is now being released into the river.
Following heavy flow in recent days, water is also being released into irrigation canals.
The right bank cannals feeding irrigated lands in Hunsur and KR Nagar taluks of Mysuru district are getting 1,500 cusecs of water every day while 400 cusecs of water is being released to left-bank canals feeding lands towards Hassan district. The inflowing water is much clear compared to last year.
Experts opine that this is probably due to growth of vegetation at the areas of landslides, which had caused heavy damage in the region, last year.
Harangi Dam provides irrigation facility to thousands of acres of farmland in Periyapattana, Hunsur and KR Nagar of Mysuru district, Arkalgud taluk of Hassan district and Kodagu district.
The Harangi Dam can hold 8.5 TMC of water.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / July 31st, 2020
Even though coffee and pepper are the prominent commercial crops in Kodagu, several farmers have been growing both agricultural and horticultural crops in integrated farming method, thereby, contributing to food security.
Somengada Ganesh Thimmaiah from Nallur village of Ponnampet in Virajpet is one such agriculturist who has scripted success through his innovative methods in farming.
Somengada Ganesh Thimmaiah was felicitated by Virajpet MLA K G Bopaiah. DH Photos
He is the winner of the National-level Babu Jagjivan Ram Krishi Samman award this year. Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, conferred the prestigious award on Thimmaiah during a function held recently on the occasion of its 92nd Foundation Day.
Thimmaiah has been following the integrated method in agriculture where he grows areca, coffee and paddy as main crops and a variety of vegetables and fruits and sub-crops.
Along with agriculture, he is also into apiculture, poultry and pisciculture, which gives him additional income. Thimmaiah has also been growing the ‘Beth’ plants required for honey bees.
He has successfully experimented with more than 60 paddy varieties and has implemented a mechanised system in agriculture and his paddy field is tech-savvy.
The annual produce of paddy on his farm is 350 to 400 quintal while that of coffee is about 200 bags. He said that pepper also is one of his main sources of income. He has also been cultivating butter fruit, sapota, mango, jackfruit, orange, egg fruit and rambutan as well.
A lot of youth have been visiting Thimmaiah’s farm and seeking his guidance in farming to which he says youth showing interest in agriculture and horticulture is a good sign.
Virajpet MLA K G Bopaiah visited Thimmaiah’s farm and felicitated him for winning the much-coveted award.
Forestry College, Ponnampet, too, honoured Thimmaiah. College Dean Dr Cheppudira G Kushalappa, Extension Unit Head Dr R N Kenchareddy, Agricultural Officer Teetamada Meera were present on the occasion.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Karnataka Districts / by Aditya K A, DHNS, Madikeri / July 22nd, 2020
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