Category Archives: Business & Economy

All set for second phase of Gram Panchayat polls

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Deputy Commissioner Annies Kanmani Joy

The district administration has made all preparations for the smooth conduct of the second phase of Gram Panchayat elections on December 27.

In the second phase, elections will be held in 35 Gram Panchayats in Virajpet taluk. As many as 54 candidates have been elected unopposed. The elections will be held in 183 polling booths from 7 am to 5 pm, said Deputy Commissioner Annies Kanmani Joy.

The taluk has 50 sensitive, 18 hypersensitive, four Maoist infected and 111 general polling booths.

A total of 54 buses, 24 maxi cabs and 29 jeeps will be utilised to ferry polling officials to the polling booths. The mustering will be held at St Annamma PU College in Virajpet on December 26, she the deputy commissioner.

Each polling booth will have a presiding officer and three other polling officials. A total of 220 PROs, 220 APROs and 440 polling officials have been deployed.

The district has 128 polling booths in the areas affected by the wild animals’ menace.

Owing to the model code of conduct, the shandy markets and fairs have been banned from midnight of December 26 to midnight of December 27. Section 144 has been clamped within a 200-meter radius of the polling booths.

The use of sound system is banned in the restricted area. The candidates cannot engage in wooing the voters within a 100-meter radius of the polling booths.

In the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, the State Election Commission has issued a Standard Operating Procedure. Arrangements will be made for the Covid-19 infected to exercise his/her franchise at the polling booths.

Ban on liquor

The deputy commissioner said that the district administration has imposed a ban on the sale of liquor in the Gram Panchayat jurisdiction where elections will be held, till 5 pm of December 27.

The sale and transportation of liquor have been banned. Bars, liquor outlets, clubs and hotels cannot supply liquor during the period.

Annies Kanmani Joy said that candidates can only visit houses for campaigning on Saturday. They cannot hold rallies or public meetings in connection with the elections.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Mangaluru / by DHNS, Madikeri / December 15th, 2020

Tourists start visiting Kodagu for New Year celebrations

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy
There was an increased density of vehicles in Madikeri on Saturday.

Amid the scare of Covid-19 pandemic, tourists have slowly started visiting Kodagu district for Christmas and New Year celebrations. The density of vehicles has increased on the roads leading to various destinations in the district.

A large number of vehicles from Kushalnagar are arriving in Madikeri. The tourist spots are filled with visitors. 

Some people, having already celebrated Christmas, have left for their native, while some of the visitors who have come for Christmas have stayed back in the district. 

Many have booked homestays and resorts to celebrate the arrival of the new year.

Some have booked rooms to arrive in Kodagu either the coming Wednesday or on Thursday, said, resort owners.

The tourism sector was hit hard following the Covid-19 pandemic, since March. Now, tourism activities are slowly picking up since October.

About 80% of the homestays in the district have been booked. After Covid-19, the demand for homestays within the city limits has declined. There is a demand for homestays situated in interior places, amid the coffee plantations.

The tourists are enjoying the close proximity with tamed elephants at Dubare Elephant Camp. With the decline in water level in River Cauvery, the tourists cross the river to reach the Camp. Many were seen enjoying playing in the water.

Even the visitors to Nisargadhama have increased. The shopkeepers who were dependent on tourists for a living are smiling, thanks to the arrival of tourists.

The tourists, who in the past left for foreign countries for new year celebrations, have selected Kodagu to ring in the new year. Some are leaving for Goa, Mangaluru, Karwar, Sakleshpura and Chikkamagaluru, said tourist agent Pradeep.

No large gathering

Meanwhile, the district administration has issued a few restrictions for hotels and resorts for the new year celebrations.

The police have warned them of initiating strict action if they fail to adhere to the Covid-19 guidelines.

DJ dance parties have been banned on January 31 night. There is also a ban on large gatherings on main roads and public places for new year celebrations.

Helicopter joyride

A private firm has been carrying out helicopter joyrides in Madikeri. There is a package of five minutes and seven minutes ride. A few local residents and tourists are enjoying an aerial view of Madikeri. The joyrides will be conducted till January 1.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Mangaluru / by Adithya K A, DHNS, Madikeri / December 26th, 2020

Kannada Vikasa Rathna award to Geetha Chengappa

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

Cheshire Homes India Coorg president Geetha Chengappa was presented the Kannada Vikasa Rathna award by Rajya Vokkaligara Vikasa Vedike recently.

The award was given away at a programme in Mysuru, after recognising her service towards the welfare of physically challenged people. 

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Mangaluru / by DHNS, Ponnampet / December 21st, 2020

Give Top Priority To Cultivate Coffee Naturally In Kodagu

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Coffee News, Coffee, Kodagu (Coorg), Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Green Initiatives / Environment, Leaders, Nature, Records, All

Ponnampet Forestry College Dean calls upon growers to maintain quality from estate to cuppa; 18th AGM of Kodagu Mahila Coffee Jagruthi Sangha held

Madikeri:

Coffee growers should give priority for cultivating tasty coffee naturally, said Ponnampet Forestry College Dean Dr. Cheppudira G. Kushalappa. 

He was speaking at the 18th Annual General Body meeting of Kodagu Mahila Coffee Jagruthi Sangha held at a private hotel in Madikeri recently. Though Vietnam and Brazil produces large quantity of coffee, they are unable to get back the amount invested in coffee cultivation. They use highest quality of fertilisers to cultivate the crop and most of the finances are drained out here. 

The growers of Kodagu must concentrate on cultivating coffee naturally by reducing the use of fertilisers. There are 360 species of trees inside the coffee estates in Kodagu. As a result, the ground gets good manure. This is the reason why Kodagu coffee is famous across the world. 

“The undeniable natural beauty and abundance in Kodagu — from rainfall to fertile soil and diverse water sources — has made the region a highly sought-after location to cultivate coffee. Coffee flourishes in a unique blend of climatic conditions that includes humidity, heat and rainfall. Kodagu is ideal for these conditions and the slopes of the Western Ghats ensure orthographic rainfall that measure between 60 to 80 inches,” he said. 

The abundant species of    shaded trees work together in a two-tier system to protect coffee plants. These trees also prevent soil erosion and provide mulch to act as fertiliser. “The soil of Kodagu is rich with nitrogenous material and has a good sub-surface drainage,” he said and called upon growers to maintain quality from the estate to the cuppa. 

Coffee Board quality expert Vikram Kuttaiah said that the prices of coffee have not increased drastically for the last 25 years. The maintenance of Arabica coffee was Rs. 25,000 per acre 25 years ago and now it has reached Rs. 80,000 per acre. The maintenance of Robusta variety has increased from   Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 60,000. 

 “The maintenance costs have increased manifold but the prices of coffee has remained stagnant. There is a huge disparity between production costs and end profits. There is a situation where the grower has to be satisfied with meagre income,”   he explained. 

Kodagu Mahila Coffee Jagruthi Sangha President Pandikuthira Chitra Subbaiah said that the Sangha has been creating awareness about Coorg Coffee since the last 18 years. Sangha Director Kumari Kunjappa has been provided permission by Kodagu District Administration to open an outlet at Coorg Village that is coming up near Raja’s Seat in Madikeri, she said.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / December 14th, 2020

Mysuru, Kodagu gearing up for gram panchayat elections

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

250 GPs in Mysuru, 101 in Kodagu will see two-phase polls

The gram panchayats in Mysuru and Kodagu are gearing up for the two-phase elections which were announced on Monday.

The GPs in Madikeri and Somwarpet taluks will go to polls in the first phase and the GPs coming under Virajpet taluk will have elections in the second phase.

In Mysuru district, 148 GPs in Hunsur, K.R. Nagar, Periyapatna, H.D. Kote and Sargur will go to polls in the first phase. A total of 102 GPs in Mysuru, Nanjangud and T. Narsipur will have elections in the second phase.

The election notification for the first phase will be issued on December 7 with the last date for filing nominations scheduled on December 11. The nominations will be scrutinised on December 12 and the last date to withdraw nominations would be December 14. The elections will be held on December 22 from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., said Deputy Commissioner Annies Kanmani Joy.

Elections will be held if necessary (if there was no unanimous election of the candidates in the fray). Any re-election will be held on December 24. The counting of votes will take place in the respective taluks on December 30.

In the second phase, the elections will take place on December 27. The Deputy Commissioner will issue the election notification for this phase on December 11 and December 16 will be the last date to file nominations. The last date to withdraw the nominations will be December 19. Any re-election will take place on December 29. Like in the first phase, the counting of votes will also take place on December 30 from 8 a.m. onwards.

Out of 104 GPs in Kodagu, elections will take place for 101 GPs as the tenure of GPs of Ponnampet, Gonikoppa and Channaiahyanakote will end in 2020-21.

The model code of conduct will be confined to the GP limits where the elections are scheduled from November 30 to December 31 and it won’t be applicable to the limits of town panchayats, city municipal councils and city corporations, the Deputy Commissioner told reporters on Monday.

Ballot papers will be used for the elections which will be apolitical in nature with no party symbols used by the candidates.

The total number of voters in all three taluks was 3,66,013, including 1,81,443 men and 1,74,570 women. Kodagu will have 562 polling booths and 110 polling officers and assistant polling officers had been identified.

The details on the GP-wise reservation had been published in the website www.kodagu.nic.in

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / December 01t, 2020

Ramesh Changappa elected as Kodagu Hopcoms prez

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Leaders, Records, All
Biddatanda Ramesh Changappa and Mallanda Madhu Devaiah were elected as the president and vice president of Kodagu district Hopcoms in Madikeri.

Biddatanda Ramesh Changappa has been elected as the president of Kodagu district Hopcoms, while Mallanda Madhu Devaiah has been elected as the vice president.

S P Ponnappa, Padiyammana V Mahesh, Leela Medappa, Sathish, Machimanda D Ganapathi, H M Sudheer, Baby Poovaiah, B A Harish, Nagesh Kundalpadi, Umesh Rao Urs, Poovappa Nayak and K M Manohar were elected as the directors.

The election was held in the office of the horticulture department.

Speaking on the occasion, the newly elected president said that various programmes will be organised through Hopcoms in the district in the coming days.

Measures will be taken to purchase the farm produce directly from farmers at a better price, he added.

Vice president Mallanda Madhu Devaiah said that it is a huge responsibility and he will strive for the betterment of Hopcoms.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Mangaluru / by DHNS, Madikeri / November 27th, 2020

Mirra’s filter coffee making in-roads in TN market

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

After focussing on institutional sales of the coffee bean for decades, Mother Mirra Group of Companies has forayed into the retail space with its filter coffee brand ‘Mirra’s’.

The company with coffee plantations located at Coorg in Karnataka is planning to leverage its brand presence at Coimbatore and Chennai in TN before expanding to other cities and States.

Sundar Subramaniam, Managing Director, Mother Mirra Group said online sales of Mirra’s coffee products recorded a huge surge between April and November, without quantifying the volume.

“Thanks to our online presence and tie-up with departmental stores and supermarkets, we saw the sales momentum pick-up during the lockdown phase. It (on-line sales volume) was around 5 tonnes a month. We are now looking to appoint distributors in Coimbatore and Chennai for our range of products, which primarily includes 12 variants of roasted filter coffee powder, pepper, cardamom, honey and wood-pressed oil to start with.

“We will soon be rolling out “Mirra’s Green Coffee”, Subramaniam told BusinessLine, highlighting some of the health benefits of Green Coffee. “The market is nascent in India; we foresee huge opportunities in this space. Further, we have an edge over other players as the bean is sourced from single estate.”

While gearing up to meet the demand on the retail front, the Group has in the last one-two months registered growth in institutional sales with the opening up of the hospitality industry and on the export front. “The Indian diaspora in Singapore and New Zealand have developed a taste for Mirra’s filter coffee powder. Our monthly export volume is around 20 tonnes.”

Notwithstanding these transitions, the Group, according to its MD is so looking to acquire coffee estates in the Coorg region. “Our estate is spread over 175 acres. We are looking to add another 100 acres,” Subramaniam said.

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> Agri-Business / by L N Revathy / Coimbatore / November 27th, 2020

It’s Official. Ponnampet Taluk Comes Into Existence

About Kodagu / Coorg, Business & Economy, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Records, All
  • Kushalnagar taluk to be inaugurated in a month: Minister
  • MLAs urge Govt. to release more funds for new taluks

Ponnampet:

The long-standing demand for the creation of Ponnampet taluk in Kodagu district was fulfilled today with Revenue Minister R. Ashok inaugurating the new taluk at a simple programme held at Ponnampet Taluk Office this morning. With the inauguration, Ponnampet taluk, which has been carved out of Virajpet taluk, has come into official existence, months after the Gazette notification in this regard was made on July 3, 2020. 

Ponnampet Taluk Action Committee, Citizens Action Committee and a host of other organisations had been demanding the formation of the new taluk ever since it was conceptualised 18 years ago in 2002.

Speaking after inauguration, Ashok said that he was virtuous to have got the opportunity to inaugurate the new taluk as Revenue Minister. 

Maintaining that he has a lot of affection, trust and respect for Kodagu district, he said that his Department has been working to expedite all pending initiatives. 

Revenue Minister R. Ashok, Horticulture Minister K.C. Narayana Gowda and MLA K.G. Bopaiah are seen lighting the lamp to mark the inauguration of new Ponnampet Taluk Office at Ponnampet this morning as MLC Veena Achaiah, MLA M.P. Appachu Ranjan and others look on.

Pointing out that the 18-year wait of the people has ended with the inauguration of the new taluk, Ashok declared that the Gazette notification on the formation of new Kushalnagar taluk, which has been carved out of Somwarpet taluk, will be issued shortly and all other official procedures will be completed in a month. He asserted that he was sure of inaugurating the new Kushalnagar taluk as well in a month.

The Minister further said that the formation of two new taluks (Ponnampet in South Kodagu and Kushalnagar in North Kodagu) in the district will geographically help the residents in their daily work and activities.

Highlighting the initiatives taken by the Revenue Department after he took charge of the Ministry 16 months ago, Ashok said that old age pension will now be credited directly to Aadhaar-linked Bank account of the beneficiaries, which he claimed was a revolutionary step in maintaining transparency in the delivery mechanism of Government benefits.

Virajpet MLA K.G. Bopaiah, in his address, wanted the Government to appoint a permanent Tahsildar for the new taluk and also sanction more funds to provide necessary infrastructure.

Madikeri MLA M.P. Appachu Ranjan urged the Govt. to release Rs. 10 crore for infrastructure development in the new taluks of Ponnampet and Kushalnagar.

MLCs Sunil Subramani and Veena Achaiah, Kodagu Deputy Commissioner Annies Kanmani Joy, ZP CEO Banwar Singh Meena, Assistant Commissioner Eshwar Kumar Khandu, Tahsildar Kusuma and a host of other officials were present.

However, Kodagu District Minister V. Somanna and Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha were conspicuous by  their absence.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / November 20th, 2020

Revenue department takes over 15.12 acres of gomala land

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Leaders, Nature, Records, All
Revenue department workers take over the gomala land at Arji village in Virajpet taluk and secure it by erecting fences. Credit: DH.

Revenue department workers took over 15.12 acres of gomala land identified through the survey at Arji village in Virajpet taluk on Tuesday and secured the land by erecting fences.

Thirty days ago, the taluk Gomala Samrakshana Horata Samiti had staged a protest and urged the local administration to preserve the gomala land in Arji.

Tahsildar Nandish, after holding a discussion with the committee, had ordered for a survey of the land. Accordingly, the survey department identified the 15.12 acres of land and handed over the map to the tahsildar.

The tahsildar, with the cooperation of the villagers of Arji, took over the land and installed fences.

The official meanwhile assured that all gomala land will be cleared of encroachments and the same will be protected.

Twenty-three acres of gomala land has been encroached upon. Notices will be served to 51 people to clear the encroachments within the next 30 days, he said.

Also, a five-acre land was reserved for the construction of KSRTC bus depot. Currently, the land is vacant. If the said land is taken over by the revenue department, 28 more acres of land will be recovered.

Including the land recovered on Tuesday, a total of 43.12 acres of land will be added to the gomala, he added.

Virajpet Taluk Panchayat president Smitha Prakash, Zilla Panchayat member Acchapanda Mahesh Ganapathy, Taluk Panchayat member B M Ganesh, district BJP unit former president Suja Kushalappa, Gomala Samrakshana Samiti convener M M Ravindra, members Purushottam, Ramaiah and others were present.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Mangaluru / by DHNS, Virajpet / November 25th, 2020

‘Install Pandyanda Belliappa’s statue in Kodagu’

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Achievers in the cooperative field were felicitated during the valedictory programmeof the Cooperative Week in Madikeri on Friday.

District Cooperative Union President A K Manu Muttappa demanded the installation of the statue of Pandyanda Belliappa, who has immensely contributed to the development of cooperative and education sectors in Kodagu district.

He was speaking during the valedictory programme of the 67th All India Cooperative Week in Madikeri on Friday.

“Pandyanda Belliappa was famously known as Gandhi of Kodagu. He was instrumental in the establishment of the senior college in Madikeri in 1950. He was also one of the pioneers of the cooperative movement in the district, along with Pandikuttira Changappa and M C Nanaiah,” he said.

Manu Muttappa further said that the District Cooperative Union has been bringing out a trimonthly magazine and the members of cooperative societies should utilise the same.

Various programmes are being organised by the District Central Cooperative Bank to strengthen the cooperative sector, he said.

Receiving Kodagu Sahakara Ratna award, M P Muttappa said that all people should acknowledge the contributions of the cooperative sector, which is run by the people and for the people.

He also felt the need to apply modern technology in the cooperative sector, to bring the sector closer to people, by sharing information about the same.

Kodagu Sahakara Ratna felicitation was offered to Matanda A Ramesh.

Kumbugowdana Uttappa was felicitated with Shrestha Sahakara Sanmana.

Macchamada Kanda Bhimaiah, Chotteyandamada Baby Poovaiah and KACM principal Dr R S Renuka were also felicitated on the occasion.

District Central Cooperative Bank vice president Kotolira Harish Poovaiah, District Cooperative Union vice president Pattada Manu Ramachandra, directors B D Manjunath, H M Ramesh, P B Raghu Nanaiah, Kannanda Sampath and others were present.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Karnataka Districts / by DHNS, Madikeri / November 20th, 2020