Kodagu Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer K Lakshmi Priya has directed the concerned officials to dispose of the wet waste from Gonikoppa Gram Panchayat limits, at a landfill site in Halligattu village, under police protection.
Conducting a special meeting at Gonikoppa Gram Panchayat on Wednesday, the ZP CEO sought details on the current condition of the landfill site.
The government grants should be utilised towards the unit, which is meant for the collection of waste generated from Gonikoppa, Ponnampet and Aruvattoklu villages, she added.
As the local residents have been opposing the waste disposal unit, police protection should be taken during waste disposal at the site, said the ZP CEO.
Lakshmi Priya meanwhile told Panchayat Development Officer Chandramauli to segregate dry and wet waste.
The wet waste should be collected at the Halligattu waste disposal unit and the dry waste should be collected at the dry waste collection unit near Gonikoppa market.
Three workers should be deployed at each ward for the door to door waste collection. The attendance of workers should be recorded through the biometric system, she said.
PDO Chandramauli said that there is no provision to invite tenders for waste management under the Panchayat Raj Act. Therefore, no tenders have been invited in this regard.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Mangaluru / by DH News Service, Ponnampet / July 17th, 2019
A day after a Bandipur ranger was attacked by a tiger, wildlife experts have asked foresters working in tiger reserves and national parks to exercise caution.
Hubballi :
A day after a Bandipur ranger was attacked by a tiger, wildlife experts have asked foresters working in tiger reserves and national parks to exercise caution. They suggest that field-level officers develop the instinct to sense danger when in the wild, so that animal-human conflicts can be checked.
Four cases of animals attacking forest officials have been reported from various reserves of Karnataka in the last one year, and two people have died in different incidents. While IFS officer Manikantan heading Nagarhole Tiger Reserve was trampled to death by an elephant, a temporary forest watcher from Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary met with the same fate.
After a tiger attacked Range Forest Officer Raghavendra in Bandipur, experts are asking why the officer ventured into the tiger area, that too unarmed. “The officer should have been aware of surprises the wild can throw up. Before being deputed at Bandipur, Raghavendra had worked in BRT Tiger Reserve. It was wrong of him to venture out to check the presence of a tiger without precautions. Field officers must be made aware of negative aspects of forest protection and use this knowledge to avoid dangerous situations,” a wildlife expert told TNIE.
K M Chinnappa, a senior wildlife conservationist, revealed that from his observation, most wild attacks occur when animals are chased. “The unfortunate death of a forester near river Cauvery happened when a team was driving away elephants. When foresters are transferred to different forests, they must be trained to cope with the different conditions they are likely to encounter, for some could be very dangerous,” he said.
“We have been asking the government to appoint local guards, who would know the terrain and dangers involved,” he added.
A retired forester admitted that there is no specific training given to field officers to deal with surprise wild attacks. “Sloth bears and elephants (tuskers) are most unpredictable in the wild. It is important that a forest team is made aware of possible dangers to expect, and be in a position to take precautionary measures,” he said.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Amit S. Upadhaye / Express News Service / July 03rd, 2019
A narration of experiences of retired Forest Officer K.M Chinnappa
Mysuru:
Wildlife First and Bharathi Prakashana, Mysuru, had organised a programme at Hotel Roost on Hunsur Road here this morning for the release of the book Kaadinolagondu Jeeva, based on the first-hand experiences of retired Forest Ranger K.M. Chinnappa, written by T.S. Gopal, retired Principal of Srimangala Junior College.
Releasing the book, Tejaswini Ananth Kumar, President of Adamya Chetana Trust and wife of late former Union Minister H.N. Ananth Kumar, observed that humans to prove their greatness were going against nature and inviting problems. She regretted that people were unaware of safe disposal of waste materials leading to environmental pollution. She commended Chinnappa for his experiences as a Forest Officer.
Speaking on the book, Dr. S.V. Narasimhan heaped praises on the ‘Hero’ of the book Chinnappa and the author of the book Gopal in evolving a great study volume. He appreciated the enthusiasm of the 80-year-old Chinnappa in narrating the experiences in the forest vividly.
Addressing the gathering, Chinnappa asked people to be aware of animal behaviour in forests. He warned that rampant deforestation would invite more drought. He commended Gopal in putting his (Chinnappa) experiences beautifully through words.
Author Gopal was present.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / July 03rd, 2019
A scene from last year’s huge landslides in Kodagu. | Photo Credit: File photo
Kodagu is safe and tourists can visit their favourite destination without any fear – is the message that the hospitality sector in the land of coffee is circulating in various platforms, including social media, after some tourists gave up the idea of holidaying in Kodagu following reports on travel advisory issued ahead of the monsoon.
The directive from a village panchayat for halting homestay bookings was restricted to one particular area and not to entire Kodagu. Yet, misinformation led to cancellation of bookings in other places, according to the stakeholders.
The directive from the PDO of Makkandur Gram Panchayat perturbed the stakeholders of tourism, which, after a gap of many months, is returning to normalcy. Tourism had taken a beating after the devastating floods and landslides last year.
Out of 13 “highly vulnerable” locations identified on the possibility of landslides during the monsoon, seven come under the limits of Makkandur GP. Therefore, as a precautionary measure, the owners of the homestays coming in the GP limits were asked not to take reservations for the next three months. The order applied only to homestays in Makkandur.
“But what was being projected is that the entire Kodagu is unsafe and therefore tourists must stay away from visiting the hill station. This misinformation affected the tourism industry as the occupancy rate in hotels and resorts decreased suddenly with unease among visitors,” said B.R. Nagendra Prasad, President, Kodagu Hotels, Resorts and Restaurants’ Association. The PDO’s order was misinterpreted. The directive is limited to the GP limits but it was being generalised and created a feeling that it is risky to visit Kodagu now, he told The Hindu.
Tourists cancel bookings
Mr. Prasad, who met Deputy Commissioner Annies Kanmani Joy along with other members of the association on Monday over problems plaguing the tourism sector, said many tourists cancelled their bookings and returned to their destinations apparently over the fear being spread over their safety in Kodagu.
“The occupancy in hotels and resorts which was around 80 per cent during weekdays and 100 per cent during the weekends since the second week of April went down suddenly. If negative propaganda about Kodagu continues, tourism will be badly affected,” he observed.
Mr. Prasad said “it took us many months to restore confidence in tourists and bring them back.If such negative campaigns continue, it will hit Kodagu’s economy.”
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Shankar Bennur / Mysuru – June 04th, 2019
On Monday from 7 to 8:30 p.m. is the next program in the Sanctuary Lecture Series, “Sinkholes to Stars: Diving into Lake Huron’s Sinkholes while Reaching for the Heavens.”
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for this free program at Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center, 500 West Fletcher St., Alpena.
Grand Valley State University Professor Bopi Biddanda will share the excitement of over a decade of exploration of life in Lake Huron’s sinkholes carried out in collaboration with Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, and ponder the relevance of these findings to major issues of both scientific and societal interest such as Earth’s current biologic and physiologic diversity, oxygenation of early Earth in the distant past, and humanity’s ongoing search for extra-terrestrial life.
Biddanda is an aquatic microbial ecologist studying the movement of carbon driven by microbes at the Annis Water Resources Institute at GVSU. He grew up in the lush subtropical mountains of Southwest India, and came to the U.S. in the 1980s to obtain a Ph.D. in ecology from the University of Georgia. Subsequently, he went on research and teaching adventures at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (Germany), National Institute of Oceanography (India), University of Texas Marine Science Institute, University of Rio Grande (Brazil) and University of Minnesota.
For the last decade and a half at GVSU, he has been studying the microbial cycling of elements in the Laurentian Great Lakes — exploring life in extreme environments such as Lake Huron’s sinkholes and operating a world-class time-series buoy observatory in Muskegon Lake.
Courtesy Photo A diver navigates a sink hole in Lake Huron.
He teaches classes in marine biology and aquatic ecology, and directs NASA’s Michigan Space Grant Consortium programs at GVSU. He hopes to continue to study Earth’s lakes — one of our most vital freshwater commons — as sentinels of change.
For more information, contact Stephanie Gandulla at steph.gandulla@noaa.gov or 989-884-6200.
source: http://www.thealpenanews.com / The Alpena News / Home> Life / June 06th, 2019
App-solutely smart: In the case of white stem borer, growers and the Board have validated 90% accuracy. | Photo Credit: Reuters
Apps fed with data help forecast weather, predict leaf rust
For the 3.5 lakh coffee growers in India, 98% of whom are small-scale, challenges affecting production include labour shortage, climate change and pest attacks.
One way to manage these is by adopting technology, which the Coffee Board is trying to bring about for the growers.
Last year, Eka Software Solutions took up a pilot project for the Coffee Board of India on machine-learning based applications. According to Shuchi Nijhawan, vice president – agri business for Eka Software, the Board and the company took up three areas to try machine learning based apps. One was addressing the white stem borer problem, another was weather forecasting, and the third, predicting leaf rust.
Machine-learning
“Based on the data, photos provided, we created a machine learning algorithm to forecast each of these issues (for a grower). We worked with 20 liaison officers of the Board and they coordinated with the growers.
“The success of the app depends on the data fed in. In the case of white stem borer, the growers and the Board have validated 90% accuracy,” she says. Eka’s digital platform for agriculture aggregates data from different sources and applies the algorithm to provide insight to the coffee growers.
Srivatsa Krishna, chairman of the Coffee Board, adds that though there is no exact data, it is learnt that in the last 10 to 15 years white stem borer would have brought down Arabica production by 25-30%. “The growers do need solutions for such issues.”
“Despite the Coffee Act having been around for more than seven decades, farmers have zero technology. The only way to increase productivity is by bringing in technology,” he says. Even before smartphones became popular, coffee growers had checked prices on the London and New York exchanges almost on a daily basis.
Hence, adopting technology should not be difficult for them. The Board has plans to scale up the analytics technology for adoption by more farmers.
Currently, 90% of the estates depend on labourers for most of the work and there is not much technology adoption among coffee growers in cultivation or to increase production.
“If someone is ready to do it [technology] for us, we will adopt it. It will help increase yield,” says Sundar Subramanium, executive director of Mother Mirra Coffee Plantations. Ms. Nijhawan says the company is exploring partnerships for other crops too. “Indian farmers want such technology services. There are several agriculture institutes and cooperatives in the country that have a lot of data. I see a huge potential for these technologies.”
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Business> Industry> Green Shoots / by M Soundariya Preetha / June 02nd, 2019
New beginnings: The houses built for the displaced tribal people of Diddahalli forest in Kodagu district.
Each house has been built on a 30×40 sq. ft plot at a cost of ₹4.70 lakh; total cost of the project is ₹39.27 crore
Residential colonies coming up in Kodagu for displaced tribals of Diddahalli forests are being developed as ‘model settlements’, putting across facilities usually found in layouts developed in cities, such as well-laid roads, piped water supply, and CCTV surveillance.
The tribals relocated from Diddahalli forests in Virajpet taluk in the district have been provided shelter in the newly-constructed settlements at Basavanahalli and Byadagotta villages in Somawarpet taluk, with the State government coming forward to build individual houses for the families. Each house has been built on 30×40 sq.ft. plot and the project is nearing completion with only a few houses remaining to be built besides establishing essential facilities.
Out of 528 houses proposed for construction, 338 houses had been completed and some families have already shifted to their new dwelling. The construction began two years ago, according to C. Shivakumar, Project Coordinator, Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP).
Kodagu Nirmithi Kendra has built each house at a cost of ₹4.70 lakh. The total cost of the project is ₹39.27 crore. So far, ₹21.76 crore had been released to the Nirmithi Kendra for having completed the construction of 338 houses, he told The Hindu.
The Nirmithi Kendra has taken up works like the installation of water tanks for each house, laying of pipelines, covering drainages with stone slabs, construction of parks and fencing, and installation of surveillance cameras at a cost of ₹2.72 crore.
At both Basavanahalli and Byadagotta, a sum of ₹8 crore was being spent on construction of roads, drainages, septic tanks, UGD lines, culverts, overhead tank, and anganwadi kendras besides establishing electricity connection and water distribution lines to every house.
Out of 174 houses in Basavanahalli, 138 houses had been completed. Byadagotta will have about 354 houses. There are about 84 temporary dwellings which will be making way for the construction of permanent houses consisting of a living room, a bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and other facilities.
Survey identifies 3,000 tribal families
A joint survey by the authorities of various departments in Kodagu has identified around 3,000 tribal families, mostly Yeravas and Jenukurubas, living in various plantations in the district.
The survey was done to collate information on the number of tribal families living outside the forests and working in plantations, which are in need of dwelling.
The survey was done by a committee comprising representatives from the Departments of Revenue, Police, Labour, Tribal Welfare and Public Instruction.
Children admitted to residential schools
Away from the accustomed schooling in government-run ashram schools, tribal children in Kodagu have an opportunity to pursue an education in government-run residential schools – Morarji Desai Residential School and Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya.
The authorities of Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP) persuaded the tribal families in the district and their children appeared for the entrance examination to these schools.
As many as 53 tribal children have been selected for Morarji Desai Schools in Madikeri, Somwarpet and Virajpet areas. Two children from tribal settlements have made it to the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in Madikeri.
“This is perhaps the first time that tribal children from the areas wrote the entrance examination and a few of them got selected. Now the challenge is to persuade their parents to complete the admission process since many are reluctant to send their wards to schools outside their settlement,” said C. Shivakumar, Project Coordinator, ITDP.
Most of the children selected for the residential schools belong to the primitive tribes. There are 11 ashram schools in the district.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Mysuru – June 02nd, 2019
A file photo of the houses being constructed in Kodagu as part of the rehabilitation efforts. Some families are keen to build houses at their place of choice or the original site. | Photo Credit: SpecialArrangement
Kodagu administration holds interaction with families that are not keen to move into houses being built by government.
Residents, whose houses were destroyed in last year’s landslips in Kodagu and are keen to reconstruct on the original site or a place of their choice, have been advised to ascertain if the place is safe for reconstruction.
The Kodagu district administration on Thursday held an interactive meeting with 54 such families who were not keen to move into the houses constructed by the government as part of its rehabilitation efforts.
The families were keen to build the houses at their place of choice or the original site. The government is chipping in with ₹9.85 lakh per house which is also the cost of each unit constructed by the government.
Additional Deputy Commissioner P. Shivaraj said many families had lost their houses during the calamity last year, all of whom were being rehabilitated. “But there are 54 families who wanted to build the houses on their own for which ₹2 lakh per family had been released in the first phase.”
He said the construction should be as per the specifications of the government and the beneficiaries should first ascertain if the site was suitable for construction. The balance amount would be released in a phase-wise manner based on the progress of work.
Assistant Commissioner T. Javare Gowda said the house should be at least 5.75 squares and the plot should be in the name of the beneficiary. He said the construction should follow the specified quality norms and clearance from the respective gram panchayats would be procured within a week.
However, the residents seeking to construct their own houses categorically stated that it would not be possible to complete the construction within the next four months as sought by the officials. With the onset of monsoon just a week away construction work was bound to be affected and hence the residents sought additional time for completing the construction.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Corrrespondent / Mysuru – May 31st, 2019
Kodagu Deputy Commissioner Annies Kanmani Joy checks the applications received during the Parihara Adalat in Madikeri on Monday.
Hundreds of people affected by the natural calamity in Kodagu last year took part in the Parihara Adalat and submitted their pleas to the district administration on Monday.
The Parihara Adalat was organised by the district administration to respond to the grievances of natural calamity victims.
The adalat will be held for three days on the second floor of the assistant commissioner’s office auditorium in the district administration complex in Madikeri.
On Monday, hundreds of people enrolled their names.
Deputy Commissioner Annies Kanmani Joy said that the district administration has dispensed 90% compensation to those who have lost their livestock, crops and homes. If anyone is left out, they will be provided with the compensation through the adalat.
The details of compensation have been put up on the website http://parihara.karnataka.gov.in
If the compensation amount has not reached the beneficiaries, such people may furnish their grievances to the district administration during the adalat to be held till May 29.
Many fields and plantations were filled with silt as a result of the natural calamity. A large number of crops were also damaged. Owners of the fields can also claim compensation during the Parihara Adalat.
The compensation amount provided by the government will be credited to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. The owners of the houses which were completely damaged were added in the first list and the names of those whose houses are found in vulnerable areas were added in the second list, the DC said and added that the rent allowance for the victims who lost their houses, from November 2018 has been directly credited to the bank accounts of the victims.
Assistant Commissioner T Jawaregowda and Tahsildar Natesh were present.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Mangaluru / by Adithya K A / DH News Service, Madikeri / May 27th, 2019
Thousands of km of roads were damaged and connectivity was also hit. A file photo of a major landslide which occurred in Kodagu last year.
Mysuru:
With hardly a week left for the South West Monsoon to hit Karnataka, the Geographical Survey of India (GIS) has identified 105 sensitive/vulnerable places in Kodagu including 98 villages and five layouts in Madikeri town and the entire Virajpet and Kushalnagar towns which are likely to be affected by heavy rains.
The Kodagu district administration has appointed 25 nodal officers and each nodal officer has been assigned the responsibility of a few areas to take elaborate precautionary measures to handle any emergency and ensure the safety of people, according to Kodagu DC Ms Annies Kanmani Joy.
She said the nodal officers are inspecting their areas and checking if emergency work has to be taken up. They are also identifying locations for shelter camps and the vulnerable population including sick and pregnant woman and the elderly who may have to be shifted. They have set up village level committees and are training people to coordinate with the district administration in case of an emergency, the Deputy Commissioner said.
She added that, special task forces are being formed by the police, fire and emergency services, CHESCOM, PWD, panchayatraj engineering department, NHAI, Pradhan Manthri Gram Sadak Yojana, minor and major irrigation dept, health, veterinary and forest departments to deal with any emergency.
During the South-West Monsoon last year, Kodagu was hit by floods and landslides due to the highest rains in 118 years. As many as 20 people died, 829 people lost their homes and 7,594 people were rescued and housed at 51 relief centres. A total 160 villages were affected and thousands of hectares of plantations and agricultural land were destroyed.
Thousands of km of roads were damaged and connectivity was also hit.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / by Shilpa P, Deccan Chronicle / May 27th, 2019
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