Category Archives: Business & Economy

Forest Department Red Flags Thalassery-Mysuru Rail Line

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Records, All

State Government applies brakes on project citing irreparable damage to the ecology

Mysore/Mysuru:

Following an adverse report by the Karnataka Forest Department that pristine forests of Western Ghats (in South Kodagu and Mysuru) will be destroyed if the proposed Thalassery-Mysuru project is implemented, the State Government has stalled the project and has conveyed the same to the Centre, reports said. 

The ambitious project, costing more than Rs. 5,000 crore, has been identified by Kerala State Government and it has entrusted it to Kerala Rail Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL). The survey work for the projects was entrusted to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) for preparing the Detailed Project Report (DPR). The KRDCL has submitted the Pre-Feasibility Report by proposing the alignment via Kutta (Kodagu district in Karnataka) to the Railway Board. 

The survey was, however, not permitted in Karnataka due to stiff opposition by the Forest Department officials who reasoned that the project will spell doom for rich biodiversity of South Kodagu as the Railway line will pass through the lush green areas of Nagarahole National Park and Tiger Reserve, Kutta, Kanoor, Balele, Thithimathi before entering Mysuru. 

The proposed Railway line passes through nearly 84-km of thick forests covering 49-km in Kerala and 35 km in Karnataka that are rich repositories of biological diversity having large chunks of tropical evergreen forest, the Forest Department said. 

Following the opposition, the Kerala Government proposed an alternative route that has Thalassery in Kerala and Kadakola in Karnataka near Mysuru as starting and ending points and the route is via Sultan Batheri from Thalassery to Kadakola that does not cut through forests. Instead, the line will pass through H.D. Kote, Antharasanthe border, and reach Bavali village from where the line proceeds towards Kerala. 

This alternative line, however, envisages a 22-kilometre tunnel at Antharasanthe Range of Nagarahole Tiger Reserve (Kabini area), Bavali and surrounding forests to avoid the rail line cutting through the forests. The proposed alignment passes through the tunnel between corridor of Nagarahole and Bandipur from Pulpally Taluk of Kerala to H.D. Kote Taluk of Karnataka. 

Even this route has been shot down by the Forest Department and officials have said that tunnels are bound to affect water recharge underneath the forests thereby causing severe ecological damage to the habitat system.

Sources said that the Forest Department has also stalled the Nilambur-Nanjangud Railway line for which the DMRC has prepared a DPR. Department officials did not accept the project since the lines were passing through Bandipur and Nagarahole Tiger Reserves. 

Though this Nilambur-Nanjangud line had been included in the Pink Book of Railways and Rs. 8 crore set apart for the DPR, the Kerala Government kept the project in abeyance following strong objection from the Karnataka Forest Department, sources said.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / May 08th, 2021

Karnataka: Negative RTPCR mandatory for shopkeepers in Madikeri limits

Business & Economy, Records, All

The shops have to display the negative RTPCR reports to offer service to the residents on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 6 am to 10 am.

Representational Image. (Photo | PTI)

Madikeri :

The Madikeri City Municipal Council mandates negative RTPCR reports for the shopkeepers to function during relaxation hours.

The order has been passed by the City Municipal Council commissioner Ramdas with immediate effect. All the shopkeepers including essential shops can function only if all the employees possess negative RTPCR report.

The shops have to display the negative RTPCR reports to offer service to the residents on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 6 am to 10 am.

The KSRTC Bus Stand in Madikeri has been established as the swab collecting center to enable the COVID tests on shopkeepers on Monday between 7 am and 10 am. 

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Pragna GR, Express News Service / May 23rd, 2021

Nanjappa Palekanda named VP – Talent Experience and Operations at Netflix

Business & Economy, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Leaders, Records, All

Prior to joining Netflix, he was with Uber and has also worked for Google and Infosys

netflix

Streaming giant Netflix has announced the appointment of Nanjappa Palekanda as Vice President, Experience and Operations.

With 18 years of experience, Nanjappa has worked with big names, including Infosys, Uber and Google. His expertise lies in HR Service Delivery, M&A, Risk & Compliance and Portfolio Management for the People function.

On his appointment, he wrote, “I am grateful for the incredible professionals and amazing well-wishers I have come across throughout my career – Infosys, Google and Uber.

I now head into an exciting new adventure at Netflix, with the same drive to work with amazing people.

During this special personal moment, I would like to urge all my well-wishers to spare a positive thought/action in support of all those in India (or those who have loved ones in India), who are braving the heart-breaking situation brought upon by the pandemic.

There’s loss and suffering for sure, but there are also numerous everyday heroes, going out of their way to support others, many of whom they have never met before.” 

source: http://www.exchange4media.com / Exchange4Media / Home> Internet Announcement News / by exchange4media.com Staff / May 20th, 2021

Free COVID Healthcare Centre Opens At Gonikoppal

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Leaders, Nri's / Pio's, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Lopamudra Medical Centre, Karuna Trust, donors and volunteers make the much-needed facility a reality

Mysore/Mysuru:

A 30-bed dedicated COVID Healthcare Centre has begun functioning at Lopamudra Medical Centre (LMC) at Gonikoppal in South Kodagu. COVID patients will be treated here free of cost. This Hospital will prove a boon to patients in South Kodagu who were earlier forced to travel either to Mysuru or Bengaluru that are already under pressure due to mounting infections. 

The facility was inaugurated last evening by Kodagu District Minister V. Somanna who holds the Housing portfolio. He assured the Hospital authorities that he would take measures to give 30 oxygen cylinders to 30 beds and an additional stock of 60 cylinders as a back-up. 

The COVID Healthcare Centre has been established by Karuna Trust, a Charitable Trust that has enabled integrated rural development and empowered the masses, Kodava Koota in the US, Kodava Deenabandhu Charitable Trust, Kodava Samajas and a dedicated team of volunteers, donors and various organisations, who have spared no efforts in making the COVID Centre a reality. 

Businessman Jammada Aiyanna, Dr. Kalyatanda Gautham Subbaiah from University of Florida, Brigadier (Retd.) Maletira Devaiah, Kokkanda Pavan Aiyappa, Cheppudira Geetha Chengappa, Karuna Trust Joint Secretary Venkat Chekuri, Ponnampet Kodava Samaja President Chottekmada Rajeev Bopaiah and several others have made invaluable contribution to the facility. 

They have raised funds alongside the Karuna Trust for infrastructure and also equipment and even many residents of Kodagu have contributed to the noble cause. The centre officially began functioning on May 15 under the leadership of Mukkatira Amrit Nanaiah, Consultant Physician and Diabetologist, and is located on the third floor of the LMC at Athur village, two kilometres from Gonikoppal. 

Minister Somanna, MLA K.G. Bopaiah, Dr. Amrit Nanaiah, Dr. Sudarshan and hospital staff during the inauguration last evening.

Apart from Madikeri District Hospital and the Kodagu Institute of Medical Sciences there is no hospital in Kodagu to treat COVID patients. Thanks to the negligence of the Government and elected representatives who did not bother all these years to set up an advanced hospital. In this direction, the COVID Healthcare Centre at LMC will help save lives at the time of crisis. 

The COVID Healthcare Centre will have 15 beds with piped oxygen, five beds with oxygen concentrators and 10 beds with BiPAP machines, a sort of a ventilator that is used to treat chronic conditions that affect breathing. The centre will have a pharmacy and lab facility and will be a high dependency unit. Separate entrances have been made to facilitate the entry of COVID patients so that other patients who come to the LMC are not affected in any way. 

The LMC administration and the Karuna Trust will take care of providing doctors and nurses including consultations from doctors who are working in foreign shores. Donors are contributing to purchase oxygen, medicines including life-saving ones and also free food to the patients. On an average, a COVID patient has to spend lakhs of rupees for treatment and this healthcare centre provides free treatment and quality care. 

The centre will treat moderate COVID patients, who will be referred by the Kodagu District Administration and Deputy Commissioner Charulata Somal has assured full support. The authorities are providing ambulance facility to the centre and the administration has assured to provide hassle-free oxygen supply from Mysuru. 

A 200 Kilo Litre oxygen unit will be installed at the LMC facility by Karuna Trust. Well-known social worker and tribal activist recognised for his work with the Soligas in B.R. Hills Dr. H. Sudarshan is a guiding force behind the COVID Healthcare Centre and he is also the founder and Honorary Secretary of the Karuna Trust.

Dr. Mukkatira Amrit Nanaiah

‘Committed to treat patients’

The hospital has become a reality, thanks to the efforts of Karuna Trust. We have an aim to provide the finest care and are committed to treat patients in complete transparency and the centre is a zero-billing facility. Our intention is to come to the rescue of patients who are in need of medical care. The COVID Healthcare Centre has been created in such a way that it is bifurcated from the other treatment units of the hospital. 

Dr. Kalyatanda Gautham Subbaiah, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Florida, who has treated over 1,000 COVID patients in the US, will guide doctors at the facility. — Dr. Mukkatira Amrit Nanaiah, head of Lopamudra Medical Centre

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / May 16th, 2021

Now, a 30-bed centre in Kodagu to treat COVID-19 patients free of cost

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Leaders, Nri's / Pio's, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

“The facility will have 15 beds with pipelined oxygen, five beds with oxygen concentrators and 10 beds with Bipap machines (a type of ventilator),” said Venkat Chekuri, joint secretary of Karuna Trust.

The COVID care centre in Kodagu (Photo | Special arrangement)

Madikeri :

A 30-bed Dedicated Covid Healthcare Centre (DCHC) will be inaugurated at a private hospital in Gonikoppal to provide improved treatment to COVID patients free of cost. The DCHC has been established following efforts by the Karuna Trust – a charitable trust that has enabled integrated rural development.

The facility will start functioning from May 15 at Lopamudra Private Hospital in Gonikoppal. “The facility will have 15 beds with pipelined oxygen, five beds with oxygen concentrators and 10 beds with Bipap machines (a type of ventilator),” explained Venkat Chekuri, joint secretary of Karuna Trust.

He explained that the facility has seen the light of day following efforts from Kodava Koota members in the US, Concerned Citizens of Coorg organization members and members of Kodava Samaj who have raised funds alongside Karuna Turst to establish the DCHC. The centre will have a pharmacy and lab facility and will be a high dependency unit.

“The centre will treat moderate COVID patients who will be referred by the district administration. The centre will provide free treatment to the patients alongside three meals a day and snacks. The administration of Kodagu alongside DC Charulata Somal has offered complete support and the ambulance facility to the centre is being provided by the district administration. The administration has also assured to provide hassle-free oxygen supply to the centre from Mysuru,” explained Venkat. He further added that a 200-litre oxygen unit will shortly be installed at the centre by the trust.  

The trust will bear the rent charges for the place provided at the private hospital and will have doctors and nurses appointed by the trust itself. “Dr Sudarshan, the founding member of the trust, is guiding the entire project. Also, Dr Gautham Subbaiah, assistant professor at the University of Florida – who has treated over 1000 COVID patients in the US – will guide local doctors in treating the patients. Experts from the University of Florida will review the ground work at the centre,” added Venkat.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Prajna GR, Express News Service / May 14th, 2021

Obituary – Palecanda Yogesh

Business & Economy, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Records, All

Palecanda Yogesh (49), owner of Bhagavathi Bus Service, passed away on Thursday night at Virajpet, Kodagu. He was also running a cold storage and a medical shop in the town.

He leaves behind his mother, wife, two children and a host of relatives and friends.

Cremation took place at Kodava Samaja crematorium in Virajpet yesterday, according to family sources.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Obituary / May 08th, 2021

This Coorg coffee cultivator wants to grab a slice of India’s packaged coffee market

Business & Economy, Coffee News, Coffee, Kodagu (Coorg), World Opinion

Launched 3 years ago, Levista is eyeing expansion in south India, Mumbai and Delhi

S. Shriram, vice-president-sales and marketing at Levista

Coorg in Karnataka, is among the foremost coffee growing regions in India. SLN, a three-decade old coffee plantation company in the region is now aiming to grab a slice of the Rs 2,200-crore annual packaged coffee market, which is dominated by big players like Nestle (Nescafe), Hindustan Unilever (Bru) and Tata Coffee.

SLN launched its own brand of coffee called Levista three years ago and has ever since expanded to 40,000 retail outlets, predominantly in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. It has now set its sights on expanding across other markets, starting with the rest of south India.

“Of the Rs 2,200 crore market annually, over 80 per cent of the coffee consumption happens in the five southern states and Union territories. Therefore, we aim to reach a significant market share here rather than being sparsely spread all over the place,”  S. Shriram, vice-president sales and marketing at Levista, told THE WEEK.

“At the moment, we have a deep presence in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. We launched our coffee in Goa in February and business is growing steadily. We will be entering the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana market by Sankranti and will penetrate deeper in there. Kerala will follow next.”

The company has the markets of Mumbai and Delhi-National Capital Region on the radar, too, however, it has not finalised a launch date yet, added Shriram.

Levista is also available on online platforms, including Amazon and it is also scaling up on other e-commerce platforms to reach a wider audience.

“Players like Big Basket have also aided our brand coverage, as has Flipkart. We have been recently on boarded through Udaan that reaches small retailers as well as hyperlocal players MilkBasket,” said Shriram.

While south India has a strong tradition of filter coffee, the rest of the country has largely been a tea drinking market. However, things have started changing with penetration of cafes like Cafe Coffee Day and Starbucks in the last decade. International coffee brands like Lavazza are also expanding in the country, buoyed by rising coffee consumption here.

“There is a huge scope for us to grow. The coffee market has been growing steadily. Out of home coffee consumption through cafes has already hit a pan-India presence and thanks to this familiarity, more new consumers are sipping coffee at home, through packaged coffee,” noted Shriram.

Levista’s parent SLN currently has a capacity upwards of 50,000 metric tonne per annum, and Shriram says the company will be able to produce enough coffee for the domestic market as well as for exports.

Talking of exports, the brand is already present in Singapore, Malaysia, Middle East, Maldives and Sri Lanka, reaching out to the south Indian consumers in these markets. The company intends to have a larger international presence next year, added Shriram.

source: http://www.theweek.in / The Week / Home> News> Business / by Nachiket Kelkar / November 20th, 2020

SP Launches Emergency Response Vehicles

Business & Economy, Records, All

Madikeri: 

Kodagu SP Khsama Mishra launched 7 ‘Emergency Rapid Response’ vehicles at the District Parade Grounds here yesterday.

Speaking after flagging off the vehicles, Kshama Mishra said that Emergency Rapid Response vehicles are meant for the benefit of public. Pointing out that the public can call the National Helpline No.112  in case of emergencies or any crisis or criticality, she said that ERSS (Emergency Response Support System) Helpline -112 service is an ambitious initiative of the Government of India.

Noting that the earlier Police Helpline No.100 and Fire Emergency Helpline No.101, have been merged with 112 Helpline number, she said that the people of Kodagu can call 112 in case of accidents, crimes, rescue, natural disasters, illegal and unlawful activities etc., 

Explaining the working of the helpline, the SP said that this service will respond quickly to emergency and frantic calls made by the public from anywhere in the district.

Dy.SP Dinesh Kumar, DSB Inspector Medappa, City Police Inspector Anup Madappa, Rural Police Inspector Ravikiran, Reserve Police Inspector Rachaiah and others were present.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / May 05th, 2021

Madikeri municipal council urges volunteers to join battle against COVID-19 as cases surge

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology

The CMC has requested volunteers with medical and non-medical background to register and the council will soon assign responsibilities to them within the city limits.

Madikeri :

Following the increase in the number of active COVID-19 cases across Madikeri, the City Municipal Council has urged residents to join in voluntary work to help handle the pandemic. The CMC has requested volunteers with medical and non-medical background to register and the council will soon assign responsibilities to them within the city limits.

The call for volunteers was made by the CMC on Saturday evening and 25 people have already registered for the work. “Two people even called from Bengaluru to join the team. However, they required an accommodation facility and this is not feasible,” explained Soumya, AEE. She added that the state has released guidelines to the district to form ward committees of volunteers in city limits to help the administration in handling the pandemic situation.

The volunteers will first involve themselves in conducting surveys across their ward to identify inter-district, inter-state and international travellers. “The volunteers have to find out if these travellers are following the quarantine norms and also urge them to take RTPCR test if they have symptoms,” Soumya explained.

Further, the volunteers have to create awareness on the vaccination drive and provide correct information on government orders. Supplying essentials to people in home quarantine and home isolation and supplying rations to the needy will also be taken up by the volunteers.  

Currently, the CMC is readying the database of volunteers and the ward committees will shortly be formed to entrust COVID related work. Volunteers in Madikeri city limits can register after dropping a message with their names and ward details on WhatsApp to 9620383963.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Prajna GR / Express News Service / May 02nd, 2021

The couple showcasing coffee’s dark side

Business & Economy, Coffee News, World Opinion

Raghunath Rajaram and Namisha Parthasarathy are trying to simplify coffee with a radical approach that involves reinventing the flavour wheel and learning about coffee’s colonial hangover.

Ārāmse Coffee started out as a small in-person gathering organised by the duo in Mysuru in August 2019. (Cottonbro, Pexels)
Ārāmse Coffee started out as a small in-person gathering organised by the duo in Mysuru in August 2019. (Cottonbro, Pexels)

We enjoy coffee from around the world, but fail to see beyond labels and brand names into the world of cultural identity and the farms and roasteries that work behind the scenes to bring us our daily cup of joy. It’s a topic that Raghunath Rajaram and Namisha Parthasarathy, a couple that co-founded coffee subscription company Ārāmse Coffee, spoke eloquently on coffee’s best brand ambassador James Hoffmann’s YouTube channel a month ago when the latter opened his channel to content creators.

The Beginning

Ārāmse Coffee started out as a small in-person gathering organised by the duo with coffee lovers in Mysuru to understand the growing speciality coffee scene in August 2019. These were more informative for Rajaram who confesses that he used to drink filter coffee “with milk along with three spoons of sugar” before his wife introduced him to good coffee while they were staying in Shoreditch in East London. “That, along with an introductory class to the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) gifted by Namisha sent me down the coffee rabbit hole,” he says laughing.

When the couple came on a visit to India in 2019, the idea was to take up yoga but they landed up creating coffee workshops in Mysuru. “We started six-person workshops featuring two roasters and two different types of brewing. It was a tech-free way to spend half a Sunday and learn more about coffee,” Rajaram says about the beginning of Ārāmse Coffee.

Soon, the pandemic hit and the team had to quickly pivot from in-person meetings to something else. They went about it in two ways. First was to recreate the south Indian filter that Rajaram has grown up drinking since childhood and a prototype of which they are expecting to showcase at The London Coffee Festival later this year or in early 2022. The second was to create a community of coffee lovers online by starting coffee videos and later branching out to coffee products and a coffee subscription package to generate revenue. They are currently focussed on scaling up their subscription service and adding more content whilst in India.

Rajaram is especially happy with the direction of the coffee subscription model. “It’s a recommendation-based subscription that we offer through various roasters. We match the MRP so you are not overpaying for each subscription,” he explains. With a coffee experience tailored to individual palates and that can be further customised with ‘My Coffee Journey’ by the user, Rajaram says the system has been custom coded to scale, with the recommendation-based technology getting better with each order as it learns more about the user’s palate.

Raghunath Rajaram and Namisha Parthasarathy of Ārāmse Coffee.
Raghunath Rajaram and Namisha Parthasarathy of Ārāmse Coffee.

The Conundrums

Whilst creating content and working on their own filter, the couple were also keen on exploring the impact of colonialism on coffee in a producing nation like India.

The couple is flummoxed by the fact that despite being the seventh-largest producer of coffee in the world, we still bulk produce and send some of our best beans to Europe and other countries. “Historically, Indian coffee has largely been bulk processed, white labelled and exported to countries like Italy, Germany and Belgium,” they say.

Parthasarathy is, in fact, working on a project for her certification in the SCA Sustainability Program that explores the localisation of coffee flavour wheels as one small way of making coffee more inclusive, especially for producers in the Global South. It’s a topic that leads to the SCA Flavour Wheel.

The Flavour Wheel

Globally, the SCA has a flavour wheel that roasters, baristas and everyone in the business refers to while describing any coffee. Rajaram says, “The problem is that the flavour wheel was largely developed in the US and UK and this could lead to some implicit biases as to what flavours are desirable and which aren’t. Tasting notes like Earthy, which are very sought after in the subcontinent, would make coffee folks in the Global North cringe as this is considered a flaw amongst those circles.”

According to the couple, having a localised flavour wheel for each place would make coffee a lot more inclusive and accessible. “We have our own unique fruits and spices that could easily make their way into these wheels.”

It’s a topic that sounds familiar to Debabrat Mishra, founder of Koraput Coffee, that’s working with tribals in Odisha to make coffee beans. According to Mishra, the wheel needs new flavours that have not been considered until now. “Our coffees have notes of green chilli, white pepper and even gooseberry because of cross microbe activity between the trees and coffee plants in Koraput. The SCA flavour wheel and way of scoring coffees that prioritises automation over traditional methods needs to change,” he says.

The SCA needs to acknowledge the shortcomings in its flavour wheel and adopt a country-specific approach, which is unlikely; or, every country could create a flavour wheel that best represents the coffee flavours found in its beans, which is too ambitious. So technically nothing can be done at the moment, except more education amongst coffee lovers.

source: http://www.lifestyle.livemint.com / The Mint / Home> Mint Lounge> Food> Drink / by Priyanko Sarkar / May 03rd, 2021