Category Archives: Green Initiatives / Environment

Tree Lovers Club Plants 700 Saplings At Vijayanagar

Agriculture, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Green Initiatives / Environment, Leaders, Nature

Urban greening initiative…

TreeLoversKF14jul2018

Mysuru:

The newly-floated Tree Lovers Club, Vijayanagar, planted around 700 saplings including fruit-bearing indigenous trees in Vijayanagar 3rd Stage on Sunday last.

The Club, an offshoot of Vekare Ex-Servicemen Trust (VKET), will take up urban greening and promote it by example and through public campaigns.

Speaking to SOM, VKET and Tree Lovers Club President Mandetira N. Subramani said that it is the responsibility of every citizen to take care of the ecology and environment around their neighbourhood, first by planting a couple of fruit-bearing saplings in places wherever it is feasible. Subsequently, it should be the individual’s responsibility to nurture them after their maintenance for five years till they grow at least 15 feet in height.

He said, it is the collective responsibility of the residents and NGOs to take the initiative to impress upon the Forest Department to plant more saplings.

He further mentioned that the Tree Lovers Club will accomplish its mission of apprising the Chief Conservator of Forests in Mysuru to plant over 5,000 different species of saplings including fruit-bearing trees in Vijayanagar 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th Stages.

Vice-President Shakunthala Subramani, Gen. Secretary A.B. Bojappa, Jt. Secretary Poornima Raghu, Treasurer S. Somashekara and Hon. Advisor P.S. Bose Subramani led the morning walkers and residents of Vijayanagar 3rd Stage, numbering over 150, in planting the saplings.

Addressing the gathering after planting over 25 fruit-bearing trees in the Park opposite Heritage Club, the Tree Lovers Club President thanked the participants, members of Brahmagiri Kodava Association and Heritage Club for giving moral support to the Club in accomplishing the greening initiative. Tree Lovers Club intends to adopt the Park in Vijayanagar 3rd Stage for development and maintenance after obtaining the consent of authorities concerned.

Speaking on the occasion, A.B. Bojappa said that the Club would form a Committee of Tree Lovers to look after the saplings already planted in Vijayanagar 3rd Stage in the past one week.

The Secretary also requested those present to give their suggestions to improve the ecology of Vijayanagar 3rd Stage via e-mail: tree.lovers@yahoo.com or infowicket@gmail.com

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / July 10th, 2018

Voice of The Reader : A Mysurean’s Tryst With Kodagu

About Kodagu / Coorg, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Records, All

KodaguKF12jul2018

Sir,

I should consider it treason on my part if I don’t respond now to KBG’s Abracadabra titled “Will Kodagu, heaven on earth, cease to exist ?” (SOM dated June 23). Yes, I consider Kodagu my second homeland, if KBG calls Mysuru his homeland.

Ever since KBG advised me to go to Tadiyandamol in 1984 to enjoy a good trekking experience, my tryst with the land has been, probably, more significant than that of anybody else living outside Kodagu. During the first six years thereon (1984), one could find me wandering around seldom tread remotest and wildest paths of the district, along with my students. During 1990 and 1995 people could very regularly find me around Talacauvery, measuring rainfall and monitoring flows in small streams, including Cauvery and Kannike at their origin, and developing theories on ‘Pipeflow’ for my Ph.D.

Later, for about a decade, one could find my students working on data we collected from the region and me coming out with significant publications telling the world about the thrills of my work in the Western Ghats. Ever since I was awarded a Funded Project by ISRO in 2006, my association with Kodagu started expanding in multiples. Innumerable number of our (NIE) students started getting benefited from the project, and enjoyed working in the wet areas of the Watershed of Kumaradhara, which originates on the eastern slopes of Pushpagiri.

We instrumented streams, installed rain gauges and collected precious data. The project culminated in me setting up a very unique “Field Hydrological Laboratory” which now caters to teaching PG students of NIE practical Hydrology. The Annual Survey Camp for UG students was also being held for a few years in Garwale, exposing students to real-life problems.

Recently, I have got funds to the tune of Rs. 30 lakh from MoES, for continuing my work in Kodagu — this means I can work with freedom in the Ghats till my retirement from service at NIE. I hope, people will understand how formidable my emotional attachment with Kodagu is.

For this very reason, I oppose all forces working towards the fall of Kodagu. I assure you that my ‘alilu seve’ continues to be available for purposes that will do good to Kodagu. To add to my earlier write-ups, I now have a point to emphasise on.

During the over seven decades of independence and democratic rule in the country, very sadly, Kodagu has had the opportunity of sending only one of its own sons to the Parliament. People of Kodagu have cast votes 16 times and have seen their representative (C.M. Poonacha) becoming an MP only once. During the last four decades, which I have seen, no MP has ever done anything favourable to Kodagu, except for shedding crocodile tears. Hence, I strongly feel that the people of Kodagu take up the challenge of installing their own representative.

A true representative of the people is of utmost importance in shaping political decisions and a strong lobby which alone can bear fruits. No doubt that a long-lasting battle is required to achieve this goal.

– Prof. Yadupathi Putty, Krishnamurthypuram, 1.7.2018

You can also mail us your views, opinions, and stories to voice@starofmysore.com

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Voice of the Reader / July 11th, 2018

Cauvery Gallery may soon become a reality

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Nature, Records, All, World Opinion

CauveryKF30jun2018

The Cauvery River Gallery, which was proposed to be established in the city, five years back, may finally be a reality with Chairman of the Karnataka Knowledge Commission and former chairman of ISRO K Kasturirangan announcing that he has spoken about the project with Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, in Bengaluru, recently.

The formation of the Cauvery Tourism Development Authority was mooted in March 2015 and the idea of the Cauvery River Gallery was discussed in the first meeting of the authority, chaired by then Tourism minister R V Deshpande, in June 2015. Neither of them materialised so far, even though the previous chief minister was a native of Mysuru district, the nucleus of the Cauvery River basin.

According to the annual report (April 2016 – March 2017) of the National Academy of Sciences of India (NASI), River Cauvery is among the most sacred rivers in the southern region of India and is thought to be the Dakshina Ganga, on account of its diverse characteristics and attributes.

“Originating from the Brahmagiri Hill in the Western Ghats and flowing towards the Bay of Bengal, the river travels along Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in the southeastern direction. River Cauvery is well inscribed in Tamil and Kannada literature because of its sacredness. Bathing in waters of Cauvery is a traditional belief. The striking Shivanasamudram falls of Cauvery River is the second biggest waterfalls in the country.

At the request of Minister for Higher Education and Tourism, Government of Karnataka, K Kasturirangan, Chairman of Karnataka Knowledge Commission, requested Manju Sharma, former president of NASI, to establish a Cauvery Gallery on the lines of Ganga Gallery and Brahmaputra Gallery.

Manju Sharma, with the consent of the NASI Council, sent a preliminary intent proposal to establish a high-quality gallery that captures the etymological, ecological, cultural, heritage and social characters of River Cauvery,” the report states.

The Cauvery Gallery can be established with the help of the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), Kolkata, and the financial support of the department of Tourism, Government of Karnataka. Interactive multimedia with diorama, animation, graphics and the 3-D display will be used to make the gallery interactive and interesting for visitors, the report states. At present, there is a gallery for River Brahmaputra in Guwahati, in Assam, and a gallery for River Ganga at Allahabad, in Uttar Pradesh .

The gallery is expected to showcase the life, culture and biodiversity along the Cauvery River from its birth in Talacauvery of Kodagu district till it reaches the Bay of Bengal at Poompuhar (now Pombuhar) in Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu. It splits into two, twice, and forms the islands of Srirangapatna and Sivanasamudra in Karnataka.

Kasturirangan has said that he held talks with Chief Minister Kumaraswamy on setting up of the gallery on the Karnataka Exhibition Authority Grounds (Dasara Exhibition Grounds) in Mysuru and a detailed project report would be prepared soon.

In 2016 itself, Karnataka’s Tourism department and the NASI had signed a memorandum of understanding to set up the gallery at Mysuru. Then, the Tourism department officials and NASI experts had decided to establish the gallery on the premises of the Karnataka Exhibition Authority (KEA) complex. The project was scheduled to be completed in six to nine months and was expected to be a major tourist attraction in the city. The KEA complex is also yet to be constructed.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Mysuru / by T.R. Sathish Kumar, DH News Service, Mysuru / June 28th, 2018

Opinion divided on private sanctuaries next to reserves

Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature

Majority of those who attended stakeholders’ meeting sceptical of the concept

The stakeholders’ meeting on the State’s attempt to permit private sanctuaries adjoining national parks and tiger reserves, held in Bengaluru on Monday, elicited conflicting opinions. This only served to underline the division between the conservationists and officials on the initiative.

It also brings to the fore the imperatives of a thorough discussion on the subject given the sensitivity of the issue and the environmental and social ramifications.

Vandita Sharma, Additional Chief Secretary, Forests, Ecology and Environment, who chaired the meeting, said she has been flooded with views on why the private conservancy rules should or should not be introduced. Hence this calls for a comprehensive discussion on wide-ranging aspects before taking the initiative forward.

Some of the speakers cautioned that the concept of private conservancy was non-existent in the Indian laws or the Wildlife Protection Act. Hence the very legality of framing a policy on private conservancies in Karnataka has to be examined because the Wildlife Protection Act, being a Central Act, overrides the State laws if it is at variance or conflict with the former.

There were also views that one had to study the pros and cons that prevail in other countries where such a model is in place and wondered whether such a law should be proposed at all in the first place.

Sanjay Gubbi, wildlife biologist, said one should consider ecological and social aspects, the economic incentives local communities derive etc., and then go ahead with the experimentation.

“I am not sure how many promoters would be willing to invest as the area has to be first notified as a Private Forest under the existing legal provisions. Once it is declared as a Private Forest, then the laws governing the Forest Conservation Act, Supreme Court order of WP 202/1995, etc. will all become applicable,” he said.

Col. C.P. Muthanna ((retd) of Coorg Wildlife Society was sceptical of the concept reducing the conflict situation by merely augmenting the sanctuary boundary with private conservancy.

He feared it would only bring animals closer to human habitation and escalate human-animal conflict, besides increasing local communities’ hostility against the Forest Department and wildlife.

However, Sudheer, of Voice for Wildlife, opined that the proposal provided a legal framework for genuinely interested people keen to promote conservation and forests.

Allaying fears of commercial exploitation, he argued that the draft rules make it clear that only 5% of the private conservancy area can be utilised for tourism and no change of land use would be permitted for the remaining 95%. This itself was a disincentive to keep investors who are not conservation-minded, out of the picture, he added.

D. Rajkumar of Wildlife Conservation Foundation, said there was no rationale to suggest that by merely declaring a portion of land outside forest boundary as “private sanctuary” it would mitigate conflict situations. The general drift of the argument against the concept was that it cannot be pushed merely to promote tourism and one had to look at the ecological and social aspects as well.

P. Sridhar, head of Forest Force; Jayaram, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF); former Forest Department officials; wildlife conservationists; NGOs; and representatives of the hospitality sector were among those present.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / June 26th, 2018

Coffee sector seeks govt support for re-plantation

Agriculture, Coffee News, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Records, All

City: Chennai

With a large majority of coffee plantations having turned old and unproductive, coffee sector is seeking a Colombian-model re-plantation support from the government.

Abysmally low yield, lower price realisation and high levels of debt have been restraining the sector from taking up re-plantation on its own.

Re-plantation is long overdue for 65-70 per cent of India’s coffee farms. About 65 per cent of plants are more than 40 years old and for those varieties, the maximum yielding age of the plants is 35-40 years. Some of the better-yielding newer varieties have a shorter life of around 25 years and a good number of these newer varieties are also due for re-plantation, said AL RN Nagappan, coffee committee chairman of UPASI.

By retaining the older plants, both production and yield has been coming down. Coffee production, especially arabica production has been falling year-after-year in the past five years. From 120,000 tonnes, it has dropped below 90,000 tonnes.

The yield too is abysmally low. “We cannot even compare our yield with that of Brazil or Colombia. If an acre of coffee plantation provides 1.5 tonnes of coffee in Brazil, it would hardly produce 300 kg in India,’ said Nagappan. Inability to mechanise the plantations due to the hilly and rocky terrain also has been affecting the yield. According to Ramesh Rajah, president of the Coffee Exporters Association, coffee growers in the India are not in a position to take up the task of such large-scale re-plantation as most of the growers are incurring losses due to lesser price realisation and higher input cost.

“If the input cost on an acre is around Rs 70,000, the income would be around Rs 40,000 to Rs 45,000. The grower is incurring a loss of around Rs 30,000 on an acre of coffee plantation,” said Boje Gowda, chairman, Coffee Board of India.

The growers have been relying on the pepper vines to make up for the losses. “But the pepper prices too are down this year,’ added Nagappan.

According Gowda, almost 80 per cent of the growers have defaulted on their loans and the non-performing assets of the coffee plantation have become a burden for the banks.

In such a scenario, the sector is looking forward for support from the part of the central and state governments. “The government should take a leaf out of the re-plantation scheme being provided for growers in Columbia. The government has been providing financial support for the past few years and now the country has been able to enhance its production significantly,” said Rajah.

Since 2009, Colombia has been replanting around 85,000 hectares of coffee plantations every year. The government has been providing subsidy for the every replanted coffee.

“We have been requesting both central and state government to provide subsidies on the inputs like fertilizer electricity and machines,’ said Gowda.

As the grower has to forego the income during re-plantation, he also wants financial support during that critical period. “We are also expecting an interest waiver for the loans so that the growers can pay back at least the principal,” said Nagappan.

source: http://www.mydigitalfc.com / mydigitalfc.com / Home> Miscellany / by Sangeetha G

Karnataka: Now, permission from Forest Department necessary to enter Mandalpatti

About Kodagu / Coorg, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment, Records, All, Sports

The pleasures of visiting these popular spots were taken away due to the aggressive nature of locals who charged up to Rs. 1500 to ferry tourists to Mandalpatti.

Madikeri :

In order to curb exploitation of tourists by locals who were charging exorbitant charges to ferry them to Mandalpatti, the State Government has now made it mandatory for tourists to obtain permission from the forest department for entry to the Pushpagiri belt of Mandalpatti.

The pleasures of visiting these popular spots were taken away due to the aggressive nature of locals who charged up to Rs. 1500 to ferry tourists to Mandalpatti. While bus routes were drawn to this spot, it was not seen as a convenient option by many tourists who paid over Rs 1,500/- per jeep to reach Mandalpatti from nearly 14 kms away.

Be it one passenger or eight passengers, the charges per jeep remained the same.

This overcharging by locals had been brought to the notice of DC Sreevidya P I, who has laid down strict rules to control the menace.

A meeting was recently held by Sreevidya along with SP Rajendra Prasad who concluded that permissions need to be sought to enter the Pushpagiri belt of Mandalpatti. The DC has also ordered that the jeeps ferrying tourists will be brought under the scanner and Galibeedu village panchayat has been asked to install CCTV cameras at the premises.

No public or private vehicles will be allowed beyond the gates installed by the forest department at Mandalpatti; pedestrians and tourists could trek to the spot (after receiving permission) from the gate instead of travelling in vehicles.

The district administration has also drawn a maximum ferry charge of Rs 300/- per jeep and anyone demanding more money would not be allowed to function in the area.

The forest department is ordered to make sure that no plastic, liquour or other items are carried to the spot by the tourists. Offenders of these rules will be penalized by the Police Department’s Road Transport Authority.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Express News Service / June 05th, 2018

Karnataka: God’s own forests watch over Kodagu

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Nature, Records, All

Devara Kadu, or sacred groves, are a binding force between families and different communities of Kodagu district. Of late, encroachments are depleting this forest cover

Rituals being conducted during a Devara Kadu festival
Rituals being conducted during a Devara Kadu festival

Mangaluru :

Rumbustious, uncut, proud, magnificent trees; a plinth on which idols of folk deities sit alongside miniature terracotta sculptures of cattle, a harmless silence taken over by tweets of birds and insects – welcome to Devara Kadu temples situated amidst thick, unkempt forests of Kodagu. Ecological havens in every village of the district, Devara Kadu or the sacred groves are a binding force between families and different communities of the district.

The Malnad region is dotted with such sacred grooves. While Devara Kadu fall under the protected forests, they are treated as sacrosanct by the people resulting in the prohibition of felling, lopping or clearing of trees and even weeds. Light, water, air, earth, wind – the five elements — are glorified at these abodes of nature and paganism (nature worship) is revered and celebrated once a year at these groves.

‘Kadu Aiyappa’ is one of the ancient deities worshiped at Devara Kadu. “He (Kadu Aiyappa) chose solitude and a simplistic life in the wild, which is why he is till date worshiped amidst the virgin forests,” explains historian Bacharaniyanda Appanna.

Kottialu Eshwara Devara Kadu at Garakeri
Kottialu Eshwara Devara Kadu at Garakeri

Bhadrakali, Bhagavathi, Naga, Aiyappa, Eshwara, Ajappa are the common deities worshipped in Devara Kadu and each deity has a folk story connecting them closely to the villagers. The folk deities are revered as protectors and guardians of villages they are nestled at. “The place of Hathur, which is on Gonikoppal-Mysuru highway, has been a witness to many accidents. But these accidents have not killed a single person as Goddess Vana Bhadrakali of Hathur Devara Kadu, has protected them all,” says Kokkanda Belliappa, a villager of Hathur who like others here believes in the power of the Goddess.

Currently, there are nearly 1,214 Devara Kadu in Kodagu covering an area of 4,614 hectares and, 18 native communities are involved in worshiping 165 folk deities. “There have been a lot of encroachments. The deities are not as feared as before leading to these encroachments. However, the forest department is vigilant towards these offenders and we have taken several measures against such encroaches,” explains DFO Manjunath.

Nevertheless, in the past decade, Devara Kadu have been reduced to less than 9,000 acres from the original 15,000 acres, according to a survey on Devara Kadu.The ‘Devara Kadu Habba’ or the sacred grove festival, which takes place mostly between April and July (some annually and others biannually), is helping preserve the groves. “The ‘Eeroli Bana’ at Thaaka village of Cherambane is a Devara Kadu of Lord Aiyappa and is spread over 800 acres. It is believed that Kadu Aiyappa Swamy had stayed at this grove for two days. The grove is highly revered by the villagers and the fear of god is still existent, which has prevented encroachments. During the annual Devara Kadu festival, the villagers take a holy dip at the stream flowing in the grove. Entry to this grove is banned otherwise. A team of medical students had visited the grove in 1982 to conduct some research, but they could not proceed into the grove after a certain point,” says Appanna, a villager.

During the Devara Kadu festivals, the virgin groves echo with the praise of the deities. The spirit dance, sacrifices, ex-voto offerings (an offering given in order to fulfil a vow), grandeur god dance are just a few highlights. Prema, a resident of Hathur village, enters the Devara Kadu of Vana Bhadrakali with a trident. She explains, “I am offering the trident to the goddess as a thanks-giving for granting my wishes. People offer cattle to the goddess too.” The spirits of the folk deities are invited into the human body and these spirits listen to the problems of the villagers and provide solutions. The spirits also offer guidance to the village heads to help lead the village towards betterment, the villagers believe.

Even though Kodagu has one sacred grove for every 300 acres, the highest in the state, the groves are still depleting. The pressure of economic returns from plantations has resulted in their depletion. Yet, to some extent, the spiritual connections with these ecological havens are keeping them alive.

History
Granting of sacrosanct status to forests dates back to the Indus Valley civilisation. In Kodagu, kings considered a stretch of forest sacred and cared for the folk deity who in return protected his land. Devara Kadu of Kodagu falls under the tropical evergreen forest belt

Beliefs
Felling, lopping, clearing of fallen branches, plucking of weeds, pruning or burning of trees is prohibited in Devara Kadus. It is believed that offenders will be punished with death by the folk deity. Spirit dance, sacrifice, ex-voto offerings are common practices followed during Devara Kadu festivals.

Depletion
In all, 15,000 acres of Devara Kadu have today reduced to less than 9,000 acres due to continuous encroachments reported in the past decade. Immigration and economic returns are seen as major causes for encroachments.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / June 17th, 2018

Rampant land conversion in Kodagu leads to reduced flow of water in Cauvery

About Kodagu / Coorg, Agriculture, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature

Kodagu district is the major watershed and catchment for the Cauvery and has witnessed rampant conversion of not just forest land but also wetlands and coffee plantations.

Water flowing from a dam across the Cauvery river. (File | EPS)
Water flowing from a dam across the Cauvery river. (File | EPS)

Bengaluru :

With 2,800 acres of land converted for commercial purposes in the last decade in Kodagu district, environmentalists decry the continuing change in land use and say it has decreased the annual flow of water in the Cauvery.

Kodagu district is the major watershed and catchment for the Cauvery and has witnessed rampant conversion of not just forest land but also wetlands and coffee plantations.

The statistics revealed by the district authorities are shocking as between 2005 and 2015, more than 2,800 acres of paddy field, coffee plantations and highlands were converted to residential layouts, sites, commercial complexes and resorts.

Col C P Muthanna, president, Coorg Wildlife Society said, “We have received this data from the district authorities as a reply to our RTI application. This is a matter of grave concern as the tiny district is the lifeline of not only south Karnataka but also Tamil Nadu. The river’s catchment areas have made way for buildings … the district has also been losing its tree cover to infrastructure projects, high tension power lines and railway lines.”

The Coorg Wildlife Society has met the district authorities in this regard and submitted a memorandum highlighting how large scale conversion of wetlands/highlands without even getting a NoC from the gram panchayats have taken off and legalised later by paying bribes. They have requested the authorities concerned to carry out a site inspection in the three taluks and a proper assessment on conversions. Col Muthanna adds, “The DC has tentatively agreed to our request. Further, we have requested for a study on carrying capacity of tourism in Kodagu that may finally result in policy measures for sustainable tourism.”

Environmental activist Sundar Muthanna, who has started an online petition ‘Stop the two railway tracks to Kodagu and Save Cauvery River’ and addressed it to PM and 14 others says, “Implementing the two railway lines will involve cutting of lakhs of trees in the catchment region. Kodagu has already lost 54,000 trees for a high tension power line to Kerala and now hundreds of fresh applications for conversions are pending with the department. Land conversion seems to be the government term for ‘ecological suicide’.”

Railways and highways are being planned to promote tourism and business. “When tree-holding agricultural land is converted for commercial purposes, the trees are cut for construction activities. In river catchment area, less trees is … simply put … less river. The Cauvery went completely dry in Kodagu in March this year … we don’t seem capable of understanding the many warnings that nature is giving us,” Muthanna says.

Environmentalists say a study done by researchers of Indian Institute of Science has already revealed the decreasing water flows to the Cauvery from the catchment areas of the district. Prof T V Ramachandra, head of Wetland and Energy Research Group, IISc headed this study — Modelling Hydrologic Regime of Lakshmanthirtha Watershed, River Cauvery. The study outlines how change in land use in Kodagu has decreased the flows into Cauvery. The assessment showed that out of five watersheds, four had high deficiency of water for over three months.

Kodagu DC was not available for her comments.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / June 13th, 2018

Codavas On A Mission To Nourish Cauvery Back To Health

About Kodagu / Coorg, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Green Initiatives / Environment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Leaders, Nature, Records, All

Snapshot

Codavas are seeking living entity status for Cauvery – the lifeline of South Karnataka-Tamil Nadu.
______________________________________________________

As politicians try to gain political mileage out of the controversy over the sharing of Cauvery river water between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, Codavas – the original inhabitants of Kodagu – have embarked on a novel journey. This could one day give Cauvery river, the lifeline of South Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the ‘living entity status’ like Ganga, Yamuna and Narmada. It will be also on the lines of the special status that Whanganhi River of New Zealand, which is very dear to the original inhabitants Maori tribe, enjoys.

Called “Codavas separatists”, these inhabitants have been demanding a separate state since 1957. In fact, Kodagu enjoyed ‘C’ Grade statehood before Independence. Consecutive state governments in Karnataka have not protected the antiquity of Codavas and did nothing to give them special status despite being a miniscule minority in terms of population, allege the Codava National Council (CNC) activists.

Several times they had objected to the way river Cauvery is being abused and overexploited for socio-political and economic reasons. “We have been pointing out to the government that Cauvery river is not in her full health and we need to take corrective measures, but none of the governments did anything. Which is why we have organised a vehicular jatha, a convoy of vehicles with Codavas and Codavathis (women Codavas) from Talacauvery (birthplace) of Cauvery river to the last point of the river in Poompuhar in Tamil Nadu. This is an awareness campaign to let people know how the Cauvery is shrinking and how to nourish her back to her pristine beauty and girth,” said CNC president N U Nachappa.

River Cauvery is one among seven sacred (sapta nadi) rivers of the Vedic period and they are Ganga, Yamuna, Sindhu, Saraswati, Narmada, Godavari and Cauvery. Thankfully, other rivers are now under rejuvenation process with Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledging his full support to the rejuvenation and cleansing of Ganga. This has motivated the states like Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Goa and Maharashtra to take up rejuvenation of their rivers seriously.

However, Karnataka has not done anything to protect Cauvery river despite the river losing girth and inflow steadily. At many places, it is being polluted. “This apathy has hurt us, and after many failed appeals we have decided to kickstart a people’s movement to save Cauvery. She takes birth in our district and nourishes several lakhs of hectares of land and quenches the thirst of the crores of people. It becomes our responsibility to let the people know her condition. She nourishes our crops and has two southern rice bowls for India, one in Mandya in Karnataka another in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. She is the lifeline of the south,” says Nachappa.

There are already instances where the governments in Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and even New Zealand are giving rivers a new lease of life by according “living entity” status. River Saraswati disappeared centuries ago and such a thing should not happen to Cauvery, say Codavas, who took part in the expedition.

The CNC has urged the governments of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the United Nations Organisation and the International Water Dispute Tribunal to accord special status to the Cauvery river. The five-day jatha to Poompuhar from Talacauvery also witnessed visits to temples of Tamil Nadu that are built along the course of the Cauvery river. “It was not just evoking the divine grace for the river’s welfare but we also talked and engaged with the local people on the importance at Salem, Rasipuram, Tiruchirapalli, Thanjavur and Myiladuthurai.”

As per the legends, great Sage Agastya had his seat of learning in Kodagu on the banks of Cauvery. Until 1956, Kodagu was politically a powerful C grade state of the Indian Union. Codavas consider the reorganisation of states under the State Re-organisation Act, 1956 a great geo-political catastrophe of the 20th century for them. Cauvery and Kodagu were synonymous with each other.

R Sridhar, a scholar on Cauvery in Bengaluru, analysed why Cauvery is losing girth. “In the name of development, we have reduced the value of our rivers, which is a general situation. In the Cauvery basin, we have killed many tributaries like Arkavathi and Kanva rivers. While Arkavathi was killed at its source in Bengaluru by drying the river and creating housing projects, Kanva river has been reduced to a rivulet, and most part of the year except in monsoons, it is dry. I remember the Tamil Nadu government making a case with the Supreme Court stating that the Cauvery river was contaminated with sewage and industrial effluents and chemicals. But I still think the Cauvery river gets an inflow of 740 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) water during a typical monsoon season. But the utilisation of river water has trebled in the last 20 years, which is why Cauvery has slendered down in girth. Check dams have been constructed in many districts along the Cauvery’s course in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to store water, another reason for it to become slender. But it is never too late for taking up a drive like the CNC has taken up, which is laudable.”

However, things are presently fluid as the governments have demanded constitution of a Cauvery river water management board of which shape of things to come is not certain, Sridhar said.

President of the Delta Farmers Forum at Tiruchirapalli, Pandit Ramdas, hailed the expedition. “This is the first effort that has kindled hopes of better future for the river Cauvery and also to the users of her waters. I am sure the governments will take notice of it. Codavas are not only martial heroes but also die-hard conservationists of their heritage land, their efforts to conserve the river Cauvery was a heroic event just like their innumerable wars with invaders which they won”.

*Route Map of the Mission on Cauvery was Talacauvery in Kodagu – Mysore, Hogenakkal, Dharmapuri, Mettur Dam, Salem, Rasipuram, Namakkal, Paramathiveleur, Mohnaur, Tottiyam, Musiri, Mukkombu, Srirangam, Tiruchirapalli, Thanjavur, Ayyampettai, Papanasam, Kumbakonam, Mayiladuthurai, Sempanarkoil, Mudikandanallur, Melayur and Poomphar (Cauvery Pattinam) the final destination.

*Cauvery jatha as they called it was fascinated by the site where world’s first dam built over sand by the legendary Tamil emperor Karikala Cholan during 1st century AD. This grand Anekat, dam is built across river Cauvery Vennar at Kallanai and still stands.

*With this expedition the Codavas have begun a new people to people friendship with Tamil Nadu, while the politicos on both states choose to take the political route to the Cauvery water sharing and in the bargain foment and fuel inter-state unrest.

*What is living entity?

The concept of river being given the same rights and duties as a human being is new to India, the first to do was Equador in South America its constitution provided this right to many rivers within in its geographical area, recently New Zealand gave such rights to Whanganui River. The river will have all the rights and duties that a citizen has. The rivers endowed with such status will not be treated as property of the state or a nation but will have right to exist, persist, maintain and regenerate its vital cycles. The river will have its own identity and will get the same protection that the human beings get.

Raghuram hails from coastal Karnataka and writes on communal politics.

source: http://www.swarajyamag.com / Swarajya / Home> Ideas / by M Raghuram / June 03rd, 2018

Signature campaign against smoking zones begins

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The Consortium for Tobacco Free Karnataka (CFTFK) launched the ‘One million signature campaign’ as part of the World No Tobacco Day on Thursday.

Bengaluru :

The Consortium for Tobacco-Free Karnataka (CFTFK) launched the ‘One million signature campaign’ as part of the World No Tobacco Day on Thursday. The campaign will demand strict regulation policy on the sale of tobacco products and removal of ‘smoking zones’ in restaurants and bars across the state to safeguard non-smoker’s health.

A memorandum with 10 lakh signatories will also be submitted to the state government demanding appropriate measures to protect children from easy access to tobacco products and exposure to tobacco advertisement and to protect the health of non-smokers.

International athlete and Arjuna awardee Arjun Devaiah launched the campaign which is likely to continue for next eight months.To spread more awareness about the risks associated with tobacco use, CFTFK also launched information kiosks at crowded public places.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / May 31st, 2018