After a tepid launch earlier this year, the Coffee Board of India‘s (CBoI) blockchain coffee marketplace is seeing rising demand. The platform now has about 30,000 farmers registered compared to just 23 when the platform was launched, reported Down To Earth.
CBoI is one of the first government agencies in the country to have an in a production blockchain platform. The Coffee Board has developed a mobile app and a web portal with support from Eka Software Solutions.
The coffee supply chain is highly fragmented, with intermediaries such as farmers, traders, roasters, curers and other processors. In the past few years, global coffee prices have also stumbled. To remedy the situation, the Coffee Board has turned to blockchain and its ability to immutably track and trace products in supply chains.
“Blockchain offers unmatched traceability and increases the transparency, accountability and efficiency of the coffee supply chain,” Shuchi Nijhawan, vice-president, New Business and Global Human Relations, Eka Software Solutions told Down to Earth.
The platform aims to enable farmers to get better prices for their produce by eliminating agents and other intermediaries.
Based on Ethereum distributed ledger technology, the marketplace employs smart contracts to capture information regarding the product and ensure settlement. The Coffee Board is also training its staff to provide certificates to guarantee the quality of coffee, which can be uploaded to the marketplace.
Food traceability is in high demand due to conscious consumers who want to know what they are buying. Blockchain for coffee traceability is being trialed elsewhere in the world as well. Two months ago, blockchain firm GrainChain signed agreements with the Honduras coffee industry participants to unite them on its platform.
Another project is being led by blockchain startup Farmer Connect which has onboard coffee companies such as The J.M. Smucker Company and Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE) for coffee traceability. Farmer Connect’s platform is planned to go live in 2020.
Meanwhile, the coffee brand Starbucks is working with Microsoft Azure Blockchain for coffee traceability.
source: http://www.legderinsights.com / Ledger Insights / Home> News> Supply Chain / by Ledger Insights / November 21st, 2019
Foresters Anil and Pamela Malhotra have found peace among the coffee plantations of Coorg. Embracing nature has been their passion.
PHOTOGRAPH BY AJAY SUKUMARAN
Around four in the evening, after a late lunch, Pamela Gale Malhotra is standing at a bay window of her living room looking out at a picture-perfect landscape—a gushing stream in a rain-soaked forest with the abutting Brahmagiri hills framing the backdrop. It was about 25 years ago that she first stumbled onto this view. At the time, she was out scouting for a site for their home and had been hurrying up a hill trying to escape the rain and leeches when it struck her speechless.
The place is now more wooded than it was in 1995 when Pamela, 67, and husband Anil Malhotra, 78, built their home in south Coorg—in a coffee estate that had been listed. How they got here is quite a story, told amidst a primordial symphony—the burble of the stream and the call of the crickets.
Their first port of call in India was in the Himalayas in Uttarkashi along the Assi Ganga, where they stayed for nearly a decade before deciding to move south. After scouting through a few states, they finally found what they were looking for at the Brahmagiri foothills in Theralu—a remote plantation where they could raise a forest, as bizarre as it sounded to the folks around back then.
It might still sound like a nutty proposition, until you drive past the gates of the Save Animals Initiative (SAI) Sanctuary. Suddenly, you are in a thicket with a narrow driveway that meanders some distance to a garage and beyond that the dark peach walls of the Malhotra home. Around you is a 300-acre native rainforest through which the elephant and tiger freely saunter.
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“When you are away from Nature you aren’t thinking clearly…This is our passion.”
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Every morning, in more hospitable weather, Pamela and Anil set forth into this grove—their walks take an hour-and-a-half usually unless she’s checking on the dozen or so camera traps dotting the landscape, replacing batteries, swapping memory cards or switching locations. Over the years, Pamela has collected a mountain of data—otter, porcupine, leopard, sambhar, all kinds of species on video. Since it’s a wilderness—whatever remained of the coffee plants became humus for the trees—the couple merely follow the paths the elephants have cleared.
“We’ve set up this private model,” Anil tells Outlook. “We want other Indians who can afford it, we need even those who can’t, to join together to build this.”
The hills get covered up and the rain comes down. It’s been bucketing down all through the south-west monsoon this year, casting a gloomy outlook for coffee growers in Coorg. “When we came here, it was normal to have 350 inches of rain a year. Even if it was buckets of it, we had this,” says Pamela, pointing to the woods. “This is what the forest canopy is for. It’s like using an umbrella with pores in it, it’s going to break it up and slow it down.” But over the decades, Coorg’s forest cover has been dwindling. “The coffee plant is useless when it comes to retaining moisture…they have extremely small, shallow roots. We’ve warned people again and again, “don’t cut down your big native trees.””
The Malhotras put together their 300-acre sanctuary piece by piece, starting 1991, first by purchasing a 55-acre coffee estate. “Patches were cleared for coffee. So what we did was to fill up the patches with native trees,” says Anil. They planted jackfruit, Nandi, Rosewood, Matti and hundreds of fruit trees. “And, of course, the native trees come out way on top in absorbing carbon,” adds Pamela, pointing to sequestration studies which show that SAI Sanctuary acts as a carbon sink, helping the neighbourhood as well as providing a haven for the wildlife moving between the Brahmagiri reserve forests and Nagarahole national park, an hour away by road.
Down by the stream, a snake slithers away as we approach the water. Most days, the couple crosses over onto two rocks on a small island to meditate. “We were sitting on these rocks once and a matriarch elephant came up,” says Anil. It didn’t sound pleased, he recalls. “We kept sitting and mentally saying we have come in peace. They may not speak English but they know vibrations. She started eating the bamboo and then 8-10 members of the family came. They surrounded us for 45 minutes. It was such a beautiful experience.” Frequently, local people and the forest department bring them injured animals—dogs, cats, parakeets—which find a ready home.
Anil says it is possible for others to do what they did—buy land and restore forests—even if it’s difficult. “It can be done. People tell us “we haven’t made the money you made in America”. We bought at the right time. I can’t afford it today.”
Pamela and Anil met in the US in the early 1970s at her hometown, Red Bank, New Jersey, where he ran an Indian restaurant. She worked at an all-night cafe at Asbury Park, where a young Bruce Springsteen (then playing in a band called Steel Mill) would drop in to play sometimes during breaks from the music club upstairs.
“But Anil and I were on complete opposite sides of the political spectrum then,” she laughs. “I’ve always described it as fire and petrol…explosive encounters.” Mostly over the Nixon presidency and the anti-war movement. Soon after, she went back to college to study political science—the breaking-out of her conservative mindset of ‘materialistic Americana’ happened then. He sold up and followed her to Colorado, where they stayed for a few years, she working as a sales rep in a pharma company and he with a mortgage firm. The commissions he got were reinvested in real estate in Colorado and then in a forested patch in Hawaii, which they fell in love with on their honeymoon. The couple moved to India in 1986 to visit Anil’s ailing father and eventually settled in Uttarkashi where they wanted to recreate their wooded Hawaii home. The land ceiling regulations prompted the decision to look at plantation land in the south.
“I could have continued the real estate and all that in America, but what is the point of life then. I can’t take it after me,” says Anil. “I’d rather drink pure water and breathe fresh air than breathe carbon dioxide and be ill half the time and give all my money to doctors and hospitals.” Adds Pamela: “Being in Nature helps us physically. Kids today are being hot-wired by not having time out in Nature to play.”
Pamela, who received the Nari Shakti awards for her efforts in afforestation in 2016, has given numerous presentations across the country—including a recent one at the Apple facility in Cupertino while on her first visit to the US in 20 years—to raise awareness. She’s currently working on an autobiography titled From the Heart of Nature, slated for publication next year. “When you are away from Nature you aren’t thinking clearly,” says Anil. “Grow fruit trees, grow organic food…the demand far outstrips supply. We have planted thousands of native fruit trees now. Last year, we distributed thousands of saplings at schools and colleges telling them this is the future.”
The Malhotras, like successful permaculturalists, are mostly self-sufficient for most of the year. They rely on roof-top solar panels, installed in 1997—a year after the house was built. The patch next to the house is an organic food garden where most of their vegetables and salads come from. Pamela prefers cooking on biogas.
“Everything comes out of our pockets, except approximately two per cent in the form of donations if we are lucky,” says Pamela. Eco-tourism—they have four rooms for guests—helps meet expenses. “This is our passion, our life. So we have to keep things going. But there are things we’d love to do, like Payment for Ecosystem Services. We’d like to sponsor more organic farming,” says Pamela. “I cannot tell you how frustrating it has been trying to raise money for any of these programmes.”
The rain lets up for a bit, but the clouds hang low. Pamela and Anil climb up a wet, metal ladder to the rooftop for a sweeping view of their sanctuary. Pamela recalls a dream she once woke up with, years earlier. “I had seen a house on a small hill, overlooking a pond with the river flowing past in the middle of a wooded valley with white-capped mountains all the way around and a lot of wildlife. This was that view…those mountains are white-capped from the mist.” This was before they bought this place in Coorg. “I thought we’d find that in the Himalayas. But it wasn’t in the Himalayas, it was here. So, you never know.”
By Ajay Sukumaran in Coorg
source: http://www.outlookindia.com / Outlook / Home> Magazine> National> Cover Stories / by Ajay Sukumaran / November 21st, 2019
Virajpet MLA K G Bopaiah performs the ground-breaking ceremony for the widening of Ammatti-Meenupete Road on Wednesday
MLA K G Bopaiah performed the ground-breaking ceremony for the much-discussed Ammatti–Meenupete Road widening project.
The work has been subjected to discussion and protests too have been carried out against the work.
Bopaiah, who spoke on the occasion, said that undertaking the road-widening work has become inevitable, following the increase in traffic density.
“The people must cooperate with the authorities. Citizens who are affected will be recompensed on humanitarian grounds,” he promised.
The legislator also directed the officials to complete the work within the speculated time.
Zilla Panchayat member Mookonda Shashi Subramani, Taluk Panchayat member B M Ganesh and PWD engineer Suresh were present on the occasion
Court stay
The work on the widening of the 10-km stretch is being undertaken at a cost of Rs 14.5 crore.
Thirty-two people have approached the court and brought a stay on the work. The buildings owned by the petitioners will not be demolished till the stay is vacated.
Another group, however, demanded that the road-widening work be taken up in public interest.
Kodagu Deputy Commissioner (DC) Annies Kanmani Joy, who chaired the White Water River Rafting review meeting at her office on Nov.1, has decided to issue licences to 60 raft operators in the district next season.
The meeting also decided to continue those who were issued licences this year based on the recommendations of a Technical Committee.
Though river rafting is popular among tourists visiting Kodagu, the District Administration had temporarily banned it in early 2018 due to allegations of irregularities and the death of a tourist.
Razi Ahmed, a 21-year-old tourist from Hyderabad, died after he was assaulted with a wooden oar by some rafting crew at Dubare Rafting Camp coming under Nanjarayapatna Gram Panchayat near Kushalnagar.
The ban was imposed in the wake of several complaints from tourists and villagers that adventure activity organisers have no expertise in river rafting and some of them are organising such events just to make money. The ban was imposed as mandatory safety measures were not followed by organisers and lives were at stake. The ban, however, was subsequently revoked.
The DC directed the officials of Public Works Department (PWD), Fire and Emergency Services, Tourism and other Departments to conduct surprise spot inspections and assess the number of rafters operating at various rafting in the district.
A few members of the River Rafting Committee raised objections over the delay in issue of Fitness Certificates for boats following which the DC said that the certificates will be issued within a day from next year.
Tourism Department representatives were instructed to issue an advisory on the terms and conditions necessary to operate rafting including fixing of prices. The DC warned the guides of initiating legal action if they are found levying higher rates.
She instructed the Assistant Director of Tourism Department to issue press release and give publicity about the information pertaining to necessary guidelines. The DC also instructed the officials to put up a board containing the prescribed rates for rafting at Dubare and Barapole for the benefit of tourists.
Superintendent of Police Dr. Suman D. Pennekar instructed the officials to implement the rules that are in force at Barapole at Dubare too. Assistant Commissioner T. Javaregowda, PWD Executive Engineer Ibrahim, District Fire Officer P. Chandan, Tourism Department Assistant Director Raghavendra, River Rafting Committee Members Ritesh, Vishwa, Manjunath and others were present.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / November 04th, 2019
Surendra Varma, a scientist at Indian Institution of Science, said he was happy to see the turnout during the festive season.
Bengaluru :
Heavy rain and Deepavali celebrations didn’t stop corporate communication professional, Danielle S, to attend an event organised by Friends of Elephants, an informal group dedicated to promote wildlife diversity. “I have attended previous events of this group. I was out of town and came back soon to attend it. These are good knowledge-sharing platforms,” she said, adding that she and her friends believe in celebrating festivals in meaningful ways like this.
Friends of Elephants conducts panel discussions and art and cultural activities on every fourth Sunday. Titled Elephants, Tigers and Lions (conservation and conflict), their last event on October 27 included movie screenings like Shanti Samsara by Ricky Kej, talks by Manoj Kumar, chief conservator of forests, Kodagu Circle, and Ravi Chellam, wildlife expert, and panel discussion with speakers and villagers from Bandipur. The forest officers shared their experiences of tackling wild animal attacks in estates and their translocation, while villagers shared how difficult their day-to-day life is because of animal attacks.
Surendra Varma, a scientist at Indian Institution of Science, said he was happy to see the turnout during the festive season. “We had organised one event during an IPL match in the city. There was no drop in the number of participants,” he added.Prabha Ramakrishnan, a resident of Indiranagar, said she always tries to attend the events. “We are a small group of women who are interested in nature and wildlife. We go for trekking, visit wildlife sanctuaries and attend events. Why should one miss such events in the name of festival?,” she asked.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Lesly Joseph / Express News Service / October 29th, 2019
– Swamy said that it was about a year ago that he had the discussion
with BJP leaders to set up a development council for the ethnic
group in Karnataka
– The ethnic race can be found at Kodagu, a a rich coffee- and
pepper-growing district of the southern state
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Bengaluru:
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy on Tuesday wrote to the Karnataka government requesting it to grant an autonomous development council for the Kodavas, a small race native to Kodagu, a rich coffee- and pepper-growing district in the southern part of the state.
Swamy said that it was about a year ago that he had the discussion to set up a development council for the ethnic group in Karnataka with BJP leaders like Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and the late Anant Kumar.
“Shri Anant Kumar then said that if the council is not being separated from Karnataka, he would welcome the Codava Development Council with certain financial autonomy,” Swamy said in his letter. Using the colonial spelling, Coorg and Codava, to refer to the ethnic group, Swamy’s request reflects the sentiments of a section of Kodava’s, who have long since demanded a special status and a separate state.
The district that measures over 4,100 square kilometers and known for its coffee and spices growing regions spread across hilly terrains, has a population of over 5.54 lakhs and according to the 2011 census. The people of this race have excelled in the armed forces and in the field of sports, especially hockey among other areas.
“I think it will be good if you now take up this matter with the centre and see that this idea of Development Council as asked for by the Codavas is implemented at the earliest,” Swamy said.
Though there have been earlier proposals to include Kodava’s into the list of Scheduled Tribes and other categories of special status, this has not yet been implemented. Swamy mentioned the contribution of Kodavas in the Indian armed forces. The first Commander-in-Chief of the Indian army was Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa and was conferred the rank of Field Marshal on 28 April 1986. General K.S. Thimayya was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1954 and took over as Chief of the Indian Army on 07 May 1957. There have been several people from this district who have joined the army. Swamy goes on to say that the race has been exploited by politicians with black money purchasing their coffee estates.
Currently, the Kalyana-Karnataka (formerly known as Hyderabad-Karnataka) region has been accorded special status to help overcome the regional disparity as these parts are home to some of the most backward regions in the country.
source: http://www.livemint.com / LiveMint / Home> Explore / by Sharan Poovanna / October 29th, 2019
Indian and European bees are the most sought after while stingless bees are slowly catching our attention for its medicinal properties.
(Photo | Meghana Sastry, EPS)
Your favourite mango will definitely become dearer if not extinct, if we don’t act now. Pollinators, which include bees, need a major protection boost.
There are 2,00,000 pollinators of which honeybees are the most sought after, why?
There’s a popular saying ‘as busy as a bee’. That term comes from the fact that honey bees are the only species who identify a flower and make multiple visits to the same flower until they get all the nectar and pollen out of it. They are the best pollinators and work in the most methodical fashion. From identifying to communicating and dividing work. Their social structure is fascinating and one that we can learn a lot from. There are 20,000 types of bee species of which the ones mentioned below are the most popular types in India. Indian and European bees are the most sought after while stingless bees are slowly catching our attention for its medicinal properties.
Common Name Scientific Name Natural Nesting Site Honey Yield
(KG)
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Indian Bees Apis Cerena Cavity, Termite Mounds, Tree Hollow etc. 8-10
European Bees Apis Mellifera Cavity 25-30
Rock Bees Apis Dorsata Tree Branches, Buildings etc 30-35
Dwarf Bees Apis Florea Twig in a bush <1
Himalayan Rock Bees Apis Laboriosa Underside of rock cliffs 40-45
Indian Stingless Bees/Dammer Bees Tetragonula Iridipennis Cavities, Hollows in tree trunks and walls <500 grams
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There’s been a lot of buzz about bees going extinct and people have been trying to find a way around it.
Here is a story from beekeepers who have found it very lucrative to harvest them.
There are multiple beekeepers like Apoorva - the bee man of India and organisations like the University of Agricultural Sciences in GKVK, Bangalore who conduct workshops and help people understand the importance of bees, train them on beekeeping and provide them with bee boxes.
Apoorva visits his bee farm in Bidadi regularly to check the health of the bees. He is a mechanical engineer but a beekeeper by profession. He found his passion for bees even before he graduated and took it up soon after. He’s been working on bees for over 10 years and works closely with farmers across the country. He travels, meets farmers, trains them, gives them bee boxes, follows up with them on the progress and reviews the health of the bees regularly. He also helps them sell their produce. While Apoorva works with a lot of people across the country, this is a story close to home where he’s been working with flood victims in Coorg.
He is involved in multiple activities such as honey production, bee breeding, manufacturing beekeeping equipment, selling honey and beehive by-products, mainly wax. His company’s annual turnover is over 2 crores. He has both Indian and Italian bees.
He initially collected bees from hives and then started breeding them in his apiary during the natural division season of bees. He also buys colonies from farmers when they multiply. This bee farm is near a cornfield which is rich in pollen. It is important to understand your demography he says. Having bee flora next to an apiary is very beneficial to harvest more honey and keep bees in good health. He harvests Indian bees in forests and hilly regions and also promotes only Indian bees to farmers as it’s easier since most of them cannot handle migratory beekeeping.
European bees which in India are Italian bees requires 4-7 migrations in a year for which, he travels around 1,200 kms pollinating thousands of acres in North Karnataka mainly Sunflowers, Til, Niger, Coconuts, Arecanuts, Banana, Avacado, Litchi and more. Honey yielding fields for Italian bees are Sunflowers, Eucalyptus, Til and Niger. He has more than 200 colonies now and will split them to make about 800 during the breeding season. A farmer keeps anywhere between 4-25 boxes. He needs about 3 boxes per acre and has to distance each colony by at least 10 feet.
Bee Harvesting has helped Coorg flood victims make a livelihood
Vijay Panduranga talks about the effects of the flood and the rehabilitation work in Coorg.
After the floods in 2018 that hit Coorg, a lot of farmers lost their land in turn livelihood and haven’t received much relief from the government. There were rescue operations but then not much is being done on the rehabilitation front.
With paltry compensation from the govt. Coorg flood victims are finding solace in the new beekeeping venture. Nectar flow is an initiative/program started by a few local people, spearheaded by Retd. Brigadier Devaiah to help provide a steady income to people interested in beekeeping. People have seen returns in the 1st few months. They say that the money that comes in lets them breathe. While beekeeping in an age-old tradition in Coorg, the methods are ancient. Devaiah was on the lookout for someone with a scientific approach to help them and that’s when he found Apoorva and sought help. Apoorva readily agreed and continues to work closely with the farmers. He has helped the farmers understand the species better, eventually getting them better yields. At Coorg, each farmer makes a minimum of 5 kgs of honey per year and each box sells at Rs. 600/- per kg. They also make money by selling colonies at Rs. 1,500/- per colony. Farmers produce about 2-3 kgs of beeswax per year which is approximately Rs. 350/ kg
Farmers from the North East, Chhattisgarh, Coorg and other parts of India find it difficult to sell the honey and wax that they produce. Apoorva helps them by buying the whole lot from them, filters them further if there’s moisture and sells them as and when he gets enquires. Honey is labeled as per the flowering season such as litchi, cardamom, clover, mustard, chilli, etc., the honey tastes different too.
The by-products such as beeswax, royal jelly and bees venom are other sources of income and, used in pharmaceuticals and beauty products.
The below-mentioned statistics are only an example of how bee pollination increases the yield anywhere between15% – 80%. These are scientifically proven numbers in ideal conditions (these are underestimated values).
Estimated global economic value of pollination is 217 billion USD in 2005
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Crop Increase in yield per acre (%) Increase in yield per acre Income generation by pollination per acre
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Coffee 15% 5 Bags 15,000/-
Aracanut 25% 2 Quintals 64,000/-
Coconut 20% 3,000 nuts 36,000/-
Banana 20% 5 Quintals 10,000/-
Watermelon 80% 4 Tonnes 20,000/-
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Farmers tell us their personal stories of how beekeeping has helped increase their yield with pollination in crops such as coffee, fruits and spices. They also make a good livelihood but extracting honey and wax. What they make is pure and unadulterated making the quality far more superior than the ones available off the shelves at supermarkets.
This is what a bee box looks like. This is one bee colony. They come on top to feed. There are multiple wooden frames inside quoted with wax, which help them construct combs.
Every bee box has an opening at the bottom which allows the bees to move in and out of it, to go out and collect nectar and pollen. Some farmers who have these bee boxes are also given out on rent for pollination to seed producers or other farmers who are in need of pollination.
Naganna (Saachi) Kalappa lives 3 kms away from the main Madhapur town in Somwarpet Taluk. He has been harvesting bees for 18-20 years. Bees were available in abundance then as the ecology was healthy and rich, and filled with plants that the bees needed to survive. However, the species has seen a massive decline in numbers as the human population has been increasing and trees are being cut down for personal benefits such as planting silver oak trees as it yields timber and in a short span of time. Since the decline in numbers, they now need to procure boxes and up their skills and knowledge. After adopting this scientific method, he has benefited as his crops are multiplying. He is making enough money to take care of the needs of his family. He also says I request people to stop destroying forests and help in sustaining them and grow trees that are required for agriculture instead of timber to improve the ecology.
Thammaiah CB (Dolly) lives 7 kilometers away from the main Madhapur town in Somwarpet taluk in the Coorg district. This part of Coorg witnessed the worst of nature’s fury in 2018. While he has been harvesting Indian Apis Cerena Bees in boxes he also harvests stingless bees in pots. The quantity of honey is way lesser than what is produced by other bees however, the quality is far more superior as it has a lot of medicinal properties and is sold at a much higher rate.
Thammaiah’s mother tends to her garden every day. She says it isn’t enough if you just harvest bees and have a coffee estate, it is very important to understand what kind of flowers and fruits attract them and cultivate them in your garden. This helps in increasing pollination and nectar production.
Fruit especially those with seeds are good pollinators.
Plants that one should cultivate to yield better results
Nectar: Plants such as Avocado, Litchi, Hibiscus etc.
Pollination: Plants such as Sunflower, Sesame, Mustard, Coriander, Niger, Coconut and more (bees are attracted to vibrant colours such as yellow and blue)
She also makes beeswax at home which is another income generator. She says that it is not a very laborious process and demonstrates. You first break the comb into a utensil with enough water and let it boil.
You let it boil until it reaches the required consistency.
You then squeeze out all the excess water and use the residue to make wax cakes.
This is the final product.
Apoorva pays regular visits to all the farmers across the country and conducts a health check.
It is very important to taste it as well. Every house he goes to gives him honey to taste. He jokes and says I am glad I don’t have diabetes. If I did, for the amount of honey I consume, I would be in a lot of trouble.
Bose Mandanna is the fourth generation coffee grower. He moved back to Coorg 53 years ago after completing a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics. He talks of how he has seen farming change in the years to come. Back in the day farming was done in a very environmentally friendly way. Over a period of time, when they found pests taking over the plantation, they used some chemicals to deal with the pest issue. However, they soon realised that they were not only harming humans but also the bees and other pollinators in the environment. These chemicals known as weed killers have cancer-causing properties. On realising this, they decided to go back to organic farming. However, a lot of farmers have been affected by this chemical especially in Punjab as they are one of the largest agriculturists, and the Punjab mail is popularly called the cancer express as a lot of them are coming to Bombay for treatment. Also to note the groundwater gets affected by these chemicals. People are saying that there are bee-friendly pesticides available. He jokes and says “there are all chemicals and they cannot be friendly, they might not kill you but make you unconscious”. Please avoid chemicals and use bio controlled agents.
White Stem Borer Problem: These pests are known to attack the coffee plants and wreak havock hence they wrap the plants with white cloths to avoid this menace. There is a mild chemical in it but it only
touches the trunk of the plant and does not reach the coffee flower thereby not harming humans or bees.
May 20th is International Bees Day. UAS in GKVK conducted a 2 day class for people interested in beekeeping. Urban beekeeping is also becoming popular as people from the cities have started showing
interest.
The staff showed them how to identify and dig out for a beehive as they can build hives anywhere. This has to be done with caution so as to not break the hive.
You then mildly sedate the bees with some smoke by burning dry cotton cloth and get the comb out
Once you get the comb out, you tie them tightly to a frame but not so tight that they break.
Students learn to tie the comb to the frame.
While they learn to make honey, a student observes the comb.
Santosh from the faculty shows the class how to peel the comb before you can put it into a vessel to churn honey. The peeling has to be very fine.
These are the machines in which you put the combs in to extract honey. These machines are also made by Apoorva and sold to the farmers. There is a particular way the combs have to be kept and then manually churned.
A small community of farmers can only do so much, the government needs to step up and help take this initiative forward, make this bigger and reach more people.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Specials / by Meghana Sastry / Express News Service / October 28th, 2019
Deputy Commissioner Annies Kanmani Joy has directed the assistant director of land records to shift the government offices from the Old Fort to the new building of Zilla Panchayat, before October 31, as per the court orders.
The Madikeri Fort, also known as Old Fort.
The orders by the deputy commissioner have come in the wake of the High Court direction towards taking up renovation work of the historic establishment. The work will be carried out by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
Annies Kanmani Joy said that the district administration had promised the Department of Archaeology of handing over the old building by October end.
As there are government offices inside the Old Fort, the department could not carry out the restoration work of the building. Also, there were demands to shift the government offices to the newly built Zilla Panchayat building.
As per the directions issued by the High Court, officials from the ASI visited the fort premises and inspected the condition of the Old Fort building.
The team of officials also furnished a report to the court, on the probable steps towards the repair of the building. Following the same, the officials from various government departments had agreed to vacate their offices.
While the repair work was going on in January, the roof of the palace in the Fort premises had suddenly collapsed.
The walls of the palace are discoloured and the soldiers’ quarters have totally collapsed.
The leaking roof of the main building was covered with plastic sheets as a temporary measure.
Glorious history
Mudduraja, a ruler of Haleri dynasty, had built the fort in the 17th century.
Tipu Sultan rebuilt the fort using stones later.
The fort was acquired by Dodda Veera Rajendra in 1790 and later came under the rule of British in 1834.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Mangaluru / by Adithya K A / DH News Service, Madikeri / October 23rd, 2019
Donors from various organisations and companies have donated a combined total of Rs 188.04 crore for the Chief Minister’s Natural Disaster Relief Fund. The donations were received following a public appeal by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa to contribute generously towards flood relief.
According to data, the donations came between August 13 and October 22, with officials expecting more funds in the coming days. The donations were by a total of 4,105 donors, with the highest number of donations on October 14. Highest in terms of donations received was on August 20, when a total of Rs 39.15 crore was contributed to the fund.
While the total amount available in the Natural Disaster Relief Fund was Rs 316.09 crore, Rs 97.17 crore of the said amount was the pending amount collected after the 2018 floods in Kodagu. “A total of 186 crore was collected from donors for Kodagu flood relief,” P A Gopal, joint secretary, Chief Minister’s Relief Fund, said. As on October 23, the amount of funds available was Rs 217 crore.
Donations were also received online for flood relief. Also, Rs 32.53 crore – one day salary of government employees – was handed over from the district treasuries for the relief, according to data.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Food Relief / by Akram Mohammed / DH News Service, Bengaluru / October 24th, 2019
The new building of Kodagu Zilla Panchayat in Madikeri.
Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister K S Eshwarappa and Housing and Kodagu In-charge Minister V Somanna inaugurated the new building of Kodagu Zilla Panchayat at K Badaga village, near Madikeri, on Friday.
The groundbreaking for the new building, constructed at a total cost of Rs 30 cr, was done in 2016.
Speaking on the occasion, Eshwarappa said that a grant of Rs 30 crore would be given to each Assembly constituency under Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana.
“Also, grants will be released for solving drinking water problem,” he added.
The minister meanwhile assured of providing Rs 20 lakh each to 28 gram panchayats towards solid waste management unit.
“Task Forces will be formed for ZP members and every task force will be granted a fund of Rs one crore”, he said.
“Floods have ravaged the state. The Central government has provided Rs 1,200 crore for relief measures and the state has already released Rs 1,500 crore. Another Rs 1,500 crore will be released soon. It has been decided in the Cabinet meeting to utilise Central government grants for compensating the loss of crops,” Eshwarappa said.
He also assured of providing integrated funds towards the rejuvenation of lakes in Kodagu.
Lauding the job done by top officials of the district — Deputy Commissioner Annies Kanmani Joy, Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer K Lakshmipriya and Superintendent of Police Dr Suman D Pennekar, the minister said the district was peaceful as women adored all the key posts in Kodagu.
He also mentioned that he has four daughters and a son.
District In-charge Minister V Somanna said there had been loss of life, both human and animals, in the district due to floods.
Agriculturists in the district have incurred a huge loss. A package of Rs 532 crore has been announced to Kodagu out of which Rs 100 crore has been released. The problems of flood victims will be duly addressed, he added. Somanna meanwhile added that Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa was supposed to be take part in the programmes of handing over houses to flood victims and the inauguration of new building of the ZP. But the chief minister could not attend due to unfavourable weather conditions.
MLA K G Bopaiah urged the state government to provide 350 acres of ‘C’ and ‘D’ (categories) land to those who have lost their agricultural land in Mudigere, owing to landslides.
MLA Appacchu Ranjan urged the government to release Rs 1 crore for the restoration of historic Old Fort in Madikeri.
MLC Veena Acchaiah said the government should construct houses for flood victims of 2019 at a cost of Rs 9.85 lakh each, instead of Rs 5 lakh.
