An ECG machine being handed over to a remote Primary Health Centre in Kodagu district.
The PHCs in Guthigar, Bellare and Aranthodu in Sullia taluk can now boast of well-equipped ECG machines thanks to the efforts of like-minded doctors led by Dr Padmanabh Kamath, HoD of Cardiology and professor at KMC, Mangaluru.
Dr Kamath, who started CAD (Cardiology at doorsteps), a crusade against coronary artery disease initiative— a WhatsApp network of over 450 like-minded doctors across eight doctors in Coastal Karnataka and Malnad region, is engaged in screening poor patients for cardiac problems in remote areas for free. The group was set up in February 2018 and has installed 100 ECG machines in the PHCs of interior villages with the help of donors. “When a patient visits with a symptom of a heart attack, an ECG is immediately carried out and the results are shared on WhatsApp. If it’s a heart attack, then the patient is referred to the nearest hospital for treatment,” Kamath told DH.
He said, “We want to instal 250 ECG machines by 2020 and cover three more districts including Hassan and Kasargod. The PHCs in Humcha, Koppa, Muniyala, Shikaripura, Sajipanadu will get ECG machines next week. In fact, one of the pilgrims who suffered a cardiac arrest, supported the CAD initiative to instal ECG machine at Humcha,” Kamath added.
ECG machines are already installed at PHCs in Gonikoppa, Suntikoppa and Siddapura in Kodagu. The CAD initiative wanted to instal it in 15 places in Kodagu. Owing to natural calamities that wreaked havoc in Kodagu district, the initiative saw a setback, he said.
So far, cardiac diagnosis was achieved in more than 1,000 patients and 985 cases of ischaemic heart disease and 345 of unstable angina have been detected. About 124 heart attack patients were picked up and 95 angioplasties have been conducted, said Dr Kamath.
Dr Kamath said 71-year-old Leelavathi, a resident of Sullia and a heart patient, responded to Kamath’s mission of installing ECG machines and donated money from her pension to instal the ECG machine at Guthigaru. Sri Veera Venkatesh Charitable Trust has paid for five ECGs to be installed in village PHCs recently.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> States> Mangaluru / by Naina J A / DH News Service / Mangaluru / June 05th, 2018
Three young scientists from two schools in Kodagu have been selected for National Children’s Science Congress (NCSC), to be organised by National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC), at Bhubaneswar from December 27 to 31.
Tejana
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Kodagu Vidyalaya students Lekhana Muthakka (Senior category) and N N Niruth (Junior category) and H S Tejana (Rural senior category) of Angela Vidyanikethana School, Koodige, have been selected to attend the National Children’s Science Congress. The three students from Kodagu will be a part of 30 young scientists who will represent Karnataka at the Science Congress.
The three students had presented their scientific papers on innovations in science and technology for healthy nation.
Lekhana had presented an essay on how the disappearance of small water bodies have affected nature in Kodagu.
Tejana had presented a paper on use of bio plastic.
Niruth has presented a paper on modern life style affecting the health of an individual.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Mangaluru / by Naina J A / DH News Service / Mangaluru – December 22nd, 2018
Parents and guardians take part in the inaugural function of Newborn Children’s Week at the district hospital in Madikeri.
District RCH Officer Dr Nilesh said parents should take special care of their children’s health because each and every child is an asset to the country.
He was speaking at the inaugural function of Newborn Children’s Week organised by Kodagu Institute of Medical Sciences at the maternity and children’s ward at the district hospital.
Healthy children are an integral part of a healthy society, said Dr Nilesh.
District surgeon Dr Jagadish said special care should be taken while feeding newborns. “It is important for the mothers to know the food requirement of children according to their age,” he advised.
District Hospital senior paediatrician Dr Krishnananda felt for a need to take necessary steps to bring down infant mortality rate.
Kodagu Institute of Medical Sciences Paediatrics Department Head Dr Purushottam, Dr Shivraj and Dr Kiran were present at the function.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Districts / by Adithya KA, DH News Service, Madikeri / November 24th, 2018
The hanging bride built across Cauvery River near Sri Ramalingeshwara Temple at Kanive close to Kushalnagar in Somwarpet taluk of Kodagu District has been severely damaged by recent floods that devastated Kodagu.
The hanging bridge connects villages along the border between Kodagu and Mysuru Districts. It also acted as a bond between villagers. The bridge with its unique nature, also attracted thousands of tourists. But heavy rains resulting in the flooding of Cauvery and Harangi Rivers, has caused huge damages to the bridge, which is on the verge of collapsing.
The Steel-Suspension Bridge supported by piers on both the banks of the river, has been so devastated by floods, that even pedestrians too are scared to walk on this bridge.
The steel rods that hold the bridge have broken and the wooden planks meant for pedestrian commute, have come apart. Thousands of people who depended on this bridge for their daily commute to work, are now scared about their future, with the bridge no longer safe for commuting.
Entry to the bridge has been banned by the Police.
This hanging bridge was built eight years ago at a cost of Rs. 45 lakh, funded by Malnad Area Development Board (MADB), Shivamogga. Sullai’s renowned suspension bridge expert Girish and his team constructed the bridge using the latest technology. The bridge had been the dream of thousands of people living in villages along Kodagu’s border with Mysuru District. The bridge connects many villages of Periyapatna taluk in Mysuru District, including Dodda Kammanahalli, Shanubhoganahalli, Dindigadu, Muttina Mulluroge, Kanagalu, Hanumanthapura and Karadi Lakkanakere with Kodagu villages such as Kanive, Bhuvanagiri, Huluse, Hakke, Kudige, Mararu and Hebbale. Before the construction of this hanging bridges, the villagers had to cross the river on boats and on the dangerous bridge along the aqueduct built at a height of over 50ft. This dangerous and risky bridge was a bane to hundreds of students and labourers who used to commute daily. The authorities taking note of the daily hardship of the people, built this bridge at Kanive.
As flooding waters submerged this bridge and caused considerable damage to it, pedestrian movement on the bridge has been banned. The Police have erected barricades across the bridge. With the closure of his hanging bridge, villagers along the border are forced to take a detour of about 20kms via Avarti to reach Kushalnagar and other places.
With the recent floods weakening the bridge, the villagers have urged the Kodagu District Administration to repair this bridge at the earliest and throw it open once again for the benefit of villagers, who consider this bridge as a very important part of their life.
Unfortunately, for the people who depended on the bridge, the District Administration has not yet announced any funds to repair the bridge.
The bridge is crucial for the devotees to go to the historic Ramalingeshwara Temple and as the bridge is unsafe now, many people are robbed off the opportunity to go to the temple, said Bharadhwaj K. Anandatheertha, a writer from Kanive.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News /
September 16th, 2018
Raj Bhagat Palanichamy of WRI India is preparing open source free online tools and maps to deal with floods.
As Bengaluru and Chennai stare into a future which is likely to be dotted with more floods, Raj Bhagat Palanichamy is busy working on a defence strategy. He is preparing an online tool and maps for Chennai and Bengaluru. Raj works as a GIS and remote sensing analyst with WRI Ross Cities program at WRI (World Resources Institute) India. A not-for-profit global research organisation, WRI works on ideas to create sustainable cities.
During the recent floods, he had released maps of Kodagu and Kerala that aimed at helping authorities and people involved in rescue work by sharing information. On whether his maps could achieve their objective, the young researcher says, “I got an SOS call from the disaster management wing of the Revenue Department of Karnataka, one morning asking for these maps. I shared with them an interactive website which gave them access to these maps. I think drone surveys were commissioned in Kodagu after consulting our maps. With Kerala, there was no direct channel of communication between us and its government. Also, the authorities in Kerala were right in the thick of action so we couldn’t really interact. The idea was to tell the governments that there are ways to seek information. Social media was interested. My tweets had 40,000 impressions.”
With high possibilities of flooding occurring in Bengaluru and Chennai in the coming months, Raj is now working on maps for both the cities and plans to release it five days before the meteorological department predict heavy downpours. Raj reveals that one can extract more accurate data closer to the date. An hour of observation is needed to generate maps. “Our mandate was never to deal with a crisis on a short-term basis. The 2015 Chennai floods made us realise that there is a need to have a structure for a short-term solution to save lives. We are now working on an open source online tool that will predict the areas to be most affected and also monitor those areas. The online tool will be ready sometime in 2019 as it is stuck right now due to paucity of funds but the maps will be there soon, though.”
Raj feels the conversations should be on handling the climate change. “Like how to diversify our cities so they don’t get overburdened. While the government looks at flooding with an engineering perspective — building and clearing canals, the main thing is rainwater harvesting. We could use parks to hold rainfall and avoid constructions on flood plains.”
He says the flood tool can send out a warning. The findings can be integrated into the planning to identify critical areas and avoid construction there. The tool will help in identifying critical buildings such as hospitals and schools to come up with a proper defence mechanism against floods.
Raj feels too much dependence on dams is not recommended. “Traditional ways of water conservation and improvement of water efficiency and productivity need to be the focus. The government shouldn’t focus on mega projects.” He also feels that the gap between analytics and planning should be bridged. “There are 100 of research projects about the flooding in Mahanadi river but these have not been integrated into planning because researchers probably don’t know how to reach out and publicise their work. The Amaravati floods very often not just because of the infrastructure but also due to lack of planning.”
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Society / by Shailaja Tripathi / September 18th, 2018
The board has launched on pilot basis a number of tech measures to help the 3.66 lakh coffee growers in the country.
Suresh Prabhu (C) at the Naya Bharat event | @CoffeeboardI/Twitter
New Delhi:
Drones, geo-tagging and a number of mobile apps are among the technological measures the government-run Coffee Board is set to introduce to improve productivity and revenue.
The board, which is under the commerce ministry, set the process in motion last week, when Suresh Prabhu, the Commerce and Industries Minister, formally launched the ‘Coffee Connect’ app.
The app will collect data from coffee plantations in the country through inbuilt geo-tagging which will help generate information about plantation location, plant material and age.
“For the first time in the 75 years of India’s Coffee Act, 1942, we are trying to infuse new technologies that will enhance productivity and yield for farmers,” said Coffee Board Secretary and CEO, Srivasta Krishna.
Krishna emphasised on the need to grow “smart coffee”, using concepts such precision agriculture and smart agriculture to maximise yields from the existing coffee growing regions.
The board hopes that these technological measures will help increase profits of farmers, particularly in the export markets.
‘Way to hike profits’
According to Krishna, a cup of Indian coffee sells for $3 to $4 in the US, of which an Indian farmer gets only 5 cents. With technology, he said, this could rise to 10 cents.
The move comes amid fears that the next season could see the coffee output drop to its lowest in two decades due to the unprecedented rains in the two top crop producing regions in the country – Kodagu in Karnataka and Wayanad in Kerala.
According to a Bloomberg report, output in the year starting October 1 may be about 25 per cent lower than the 3,16,000 metric tons estimated by the Coffee Board for 2017-18.
Coffee is cultivated by 3.66 lakh coffee farmers in the country, 98 per cent of whom are small farmers. Typically, a small farmer is one who owns less than 25 acres.
Apps galore and a call centre
The ‘Coffee Connect’ app is among a number of apps that the board has already launched on a pilot basis.
The app allows users to get in touch with the coffee board’s extension officers, who provide services to coffee farmers.
At present, there are 170 Coffee Board extension personnel — or one extension officer per 2,153 farmers.
The app, officials hope, will enable better information exchange between Coffee Board personnel and those on the ground.
The board has also launched, on a pilot basis, a suite of apps to provide solutions to challenges in rainfall, pests and diseases.
Some of the app features are hyper-local weather forecasting, early detection of coffee crop pests such as the White Stem Borer and predicting the probability of Leaf Rust disease.
This app also has a blockchain-based market-place that allows coffee growers and farmers to directly deal with customers, including multinational firms.
“These are all wonderful efforts. These tech solutions, however, need more effort, and push from all stakeholders to make them really effective,” said Mohan Alwares, a coffee grower from Mudigere in Karnataka.
Alwares lauded the blockchain-based market but urged the board to increase awareness of it.
Rajeev Chaudhary, general manager and the chief risk officer, Agriculture Insurance Company of India, said such measures will hold the board in good stead.
“The Coffee Board’s various tech implementations including the pilot blockchain-based marketplace would make it a frontrunner among the other boards for crops in India. Other boards, however, will most likely follow suit”.
Drones Used
Another proposal that the board is exploring promoting is the use of drones in agriculture.
At the board’s event last Tuesday, several drone start-ups presented proposals, arguing that their use will improve the efficiency of pesticide use and spray.
“A farmer might take 2-3 hours to spray an acre with pesticide; a drone will do this in less than 10 minutes,” said Rahat Kulshreshtha, the CEO of the drone start-up Quidich Innovation Labs. “Using drones we found that 30 per cent less pesticide can be used and since it can be done remotely, farmers are saved from the harmful effects of direct contact with pesticides”.
Alwares, however, isn’t sure that drones will help in coffee plantations in India. “Unlike in Brazil where coffee is grown in open cultivation, in India coffee is largely a crop grown in shade,” he said. “If a coffee plant is 5 feet tall, there are trees as tall as 50 to 100 feet growing over it to provide shade. So I’m not entirely sure how drones can be used.”
Chaudhary of the Agriculture Insurance India foresees drones being increasingly used in other crops. He says drones for aerial surveillance will be especially helpful in monitoring high-value and high-risk crops such as cotton, groundnut, soybean and plantation crops like tea. Agri insurance companies will likely make more drone purchases he said, adding that Maharashtra leads the pack in this sector.
source: http://www.theprint.in / The Print / Home> Governance / by Regina Nihindukulasuriya / September 13th, 2018
A house constructed using composite material near Chikkapetehalli near Yelahanka in Bengaluru
A former scientist from the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Bengaluru, has come up with a proposal to construct light-weight, flood-resistant houses made of composite material in Kodagu district.
The material used in lightweight combat aircraft will be employed to build the houses, to replace brick and mortar as construction material.
Dr R Gopalan, the retired scientist from NAL, also the executive director and CEO of Society for Development of Composites, says structures constructed using brick and cement increases the load on the soil, which is not good for houses prone to natural disasters.
“Across the world, people are building houses using composite materials, which have high durability compared to traditional brick and cement. The weight of these houses is 1/100th of the traditional structures. Houses built using composite material can be constructed in just a few hours,” Gopalan said.
Referring to Home Minister G Parameshwara, who said pre-fabricated houses like Indira canteens will be promoted by the government, Gopalan said pre-cast cement slabs used in Indira canteens are very heavy and require use of cranes to construct homes. Knowing the soil condition of the flooded areas, it is advisable not to use heavy structures in Kodagu, the scientist said.
Light-weight material gives excellent thermal insulation unlike Indira canteens, which will be like a hot oven.
Gopalan, along with other scientists, travelled across the ravaged areas of Kodagu to assess the situation. The team met the incharge secretary and the incharge minister for Kodagu in this regard. The team has constructed 65 taluk hospitals in North Karnataka in a span of five months and has built houses in flood-affected areas of the region.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Top Karnataka Stories / by Poornima Nataraj, DH News Services,Bengaluru / September 08th, 2018
Your cup of joe just got a digital twist, with the launch of some new apps to help coffee farmers in the country stay on top of the game.
Commerce minister Suresh Prabhu at the launch of the digital initiatives in Delhi
The affair between coffee and India started 400 years ago when the legendary Sufi saint Baba Budan brought seven magical beans from Yemen and sowed them in the Chandragiri hills of Karnataka. But Indians have been known to love tea since the days of British colonisation, with coffee being more of a social lubricant. We are no coffee connoisseurs and most Indians have little idea about French press coffee makers, as they are content with ready-to-make coffees. A majority may be familiar with terms like ‘latte’ and ‘cappuccino’ (thanks to the coffee chains), but ask them about Arabica or Robusta, and their clueless faces will give them away.
These perceptions are what the Coffee Board of India aims to change. “Everyone drinks tea. I have to make them drink coffee… make them taste coffee. People have to understand coffee’s taste. They have to realise the benefits of coffee. There are a lot of myths regarding coffee. We think green tea is good and coffee isn’t. We are trying to break those myths and make you taste it,” says Srivasta Krishna, secretary and CEO, Coffee Board.
For this purpose, the board has undertaken many initiatives, the latest of which was the launch of some apps to help coffee farmers across the country. From helping them know weather patterns to identifying crop diseases, these apps, which will be pilot-tested in 10 panchayats in Karnataka and Kerala, aim to provide timely technological help to farmers. For the initiative, the board has joined forces with EKA Software Solutions, a digital commodity management platform.
The Coffee Board further intends to bridge the gap between the farmer who produces coffee and his consumer. In fact, the statutory organisation, which functions under the administrative control of the ministry of commerce and industry, aims to do away completely with the middleman, doubling or tripling the income of farmers who currently get only 5% of the profits.
The primary reason for launching the apps—Coffee Connect, Coffee Krishi Tharanga, Hyper Local Weather Forecast, Blockchain-Based Marketplace, etc—is to make sure there is ample exchange of information between the Coffee Board and those responsible for growing and selling coffee. Currently, 170 Coffee Board extension personnel offer services to 3.66 lakh coffee farmers in India—or one extension officer per 2,153 farmers.
With the help of these apps, information (such as plantation details, plant material, age, production, infrastructure, machinery available, etc) will also be provided to field functionaries, using a combination of digitisation technologies like geo-tagging.
Shuchi Nijhawan, vice-president, agribusiness, EKA Software Solutions, says, “For the past 14 years, EKA has been working with a lot of coffee trading companies outside India. So when our co-founder said we should do something in India, we thought of the Coffee Board because it is a forward-looking organisation. The Blockchain-Based Marketplace app, for instance, looks at eliminating middlemen and helping farmers connect directly with coffee giants like Starbucks and Tata.”
At the launch of the mobile apps, the utility of drone technology in agriculture was also demonstrated. “Agriculture and horticulture are growing in a big way. But despite the growth, challenges remain. One of these challenges is productivity. India is the highest irrigated land in the world… technology is the only way we can address the issue of productivity,” said commerce minister Suresh Prabhu. “Giving the right quantity of nutrients and ensuring proper control is very important for agricultural productivity,” he added.
source: http://www.financialexpress.com / Financial Express / Hoem> Lifestyle / by Indrani Bose, FE Bureau / New Delhi – September 09th, 2018
Far beyond social-friendly drone footage, here’s a noble use of drones by an Indian company during flood rescue.
As the state of Kerala is observing its popular festival of Onam, the restrained celebration is a testament to the recent deluge witnessed by the state over the past week. Rehabilitation, rather than celebration, seems to be top priority of the people of Kerala. After a heartbreaking loss of over 300 lives, the state has come to a halt. But while, most of the world’s attention has been targeted at Kerala, the situation was equally grave in the neighboring state of Karnataka. The district of Kodagu, earlier known as Coorg, has been at the receiving end of heavy rains and resulting floods as well.
____________________________________
Highlights
August witnessed heavy rainfall in the Kodagu district of Karnataka, as well as Kerala
Although Kerala suffered loss of over 300 lives, the situation in Karnataka was equally sombre
A Mumbai-based company that works with DRDO coordinated surveillance efforts with its indigenous drones
____________________________________
The relief operation
The crisis began immediately after Independence Day. On the 17th and 18th August, ideaForge reached out to the Governments of Kerala and Karnataka, respectively. The company had already begun internal efforts on August 16 to prepare for operations when needed
ideaForge team carrying out checks before embarking on its mission. Image: ideaForge
Since the situation in Kerala was worsening, the machinery was focussing on getting the defense forces active. Immediate need from Kerala was surveillance and supply drops. Typically in such disaster relief missions, surveillance refers to identifying and locating people stranded in inaccessible areas. Similarly, supply drops refer to airdropping medicines, food packets and other critical needs over inaccessible areas. For the mission, the company identified two of its products – Netra Pro and Q series.
Transporting drone batteries is a critical component of the whole operation. Since civil aviation rules do not currently allow transporting drone batteries, the company requested the two governments to allow transporting them through the military sorties that were being carried out from Mumbai.
The team reached Kodagu the next day on August 20. The team had received a request from the Kodagu district collector for drone surveillance to identify people stranded in remote places. The company sourced the relevant products, carried out necessary testing procedures and safety checks before embarking on the surveillance and airdrop mission.
Meanwhile, the District Collector in Madikeri needed help with post damage assessment. The team reached Coorg on Monday, and sought permissions to fly. The team did a recce while on standby. After receiving permissions, they carried out their first surveillance and mapping operation on Wednesday, August 22. The Q Series and Netra Pro drones were used for this purpose.
The Netra Pro Drone Image: ideaForge
In less than a day, the report was submitted to the District Collector. Currently, the Karnataka State Police Department, Commissioner’s Office, National Highway Authority of India, Tribal Welfare Department and the local PWD are collectively using the images for rebuilding and rehabilitation operations. Over Friday, August 24 and as of writing this report, drones are carrying out operations in the deeper tribal areas to survey and rescue any stranded victims.
The Netra Q Series Image: ideaForge
According to Ankit Mehta, co-founder of ideaForge, “Being at the forefront of UAV technology, we will do our best to leverage this tech in times of need. For us it is about saving one life or at least helping one family in whatever way to recover from this natural disaster”
There’s more to drones than toying around
ideaForge develops drones that has been used by DRDO for its unmanned aerial vehicle program. It is led by Ankit Mehta alongwith Ashish Bhat and Rahul Singh who are alumnis of IIT Bombay. As students, they were part of the Innovation Cell at IIT Bombay, and took a special interest in foraging broken down bikes and scooters to create a hovercraft. The idea back then was to fly over the Powai lake situated near the IIT Bombay campus. After a couple of failures, and some significant mishaps that included connection cables getting chopped by the propeller, they finally managed to get a working prototype up and running.
Mehta is glad he didn’t cease his efforts there. After the initial disappointments, they got an opportunity to build a data loggers for UAVs from the Department of Aerospace at IIT Bombay. One thing led to the other, and the initial idea of flying over Powai lake gave birth to the company ideaForge, which was created at the Innovation Hub of IIT Bombay. Years later, ideaForge built and handed over the world’s smallest and lightest autopilot to DRDO. After an agreement was signed with the DRDO, ideaForge has worked with DRDO and NDRF for collaborating in rescue efforts during natural calamities. During the 2015 earthquake that rocked Nepal, drones made by the company aided with rescue efforts, relaying critical geographical and infrastructure status reports and information to the rescue team to plan out operations.
Far beyond viral video footage, we’re used to seeing on Facebook and YouTube, this is one novel use of drones that has resulted in saving critical human lives. The relaying of valuable information despite ground level challenges has been invaluable. The company has also mentioned its channel partner Arista Risk and Corporate Solutions in enabling necessary connections with government bodies and law enforcement authorities to seek necessary permissions.
source: http://www.bgr.in / BGR / Home> Features / by Nash David / August 25th, 2018
Technical experts from the Mines and Geology Department, Bengaluru, paid a visit to Virajpet on Monday and inspected the condition of Perumbadi-Makutta-Kootupole Road, which was damaged due to rains.
Experts from the National Institute of Technology, Karnataka, along with the officials of Public Works Department will visit Virajpet on August 7, to inspect the condition of Perumbadi-Makutta-Kootupole Link Road, which was damaged due to the recent rains in the district.
The expert team will give suggestions towards the maintenance of the road and also on safeguarding the passengers plying on the road.
The concerned department will be guided by the team in preparing a scientific design for road construction.
The Karnataka government has sanctioned Rs 6 crore for the permanent maintenance of the road, which connects Kodagu with Kerala. A proposal in this regard was sent by the PWD to the government, along with the submission of an estimate.
A team of technical experts from the Mines and Geology Department, Bengaluru had recently visited the place to inspect the road. The soil from the spot has been collected as a sample for scientific tests and the report on the same is expected.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Districts / by DH News Service, Virajpet / August 06th, 2018
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