Rainfall abated further in all other places in Kodagu district except Madikeri on Sunday and the rivers that were in spate receded. The average rainfall in Kodagu district from 8 a.m. on Saturday and 8 a.m. on Sunday was 39.41 mm.
Madikeri city received 123 mm rainfall in the period between 8 a.m. on Saturday and 8 a.m. on Sunday.
Sampaje hobli in Madikeri taluk continued to receive heavy rainfall in the district with 140.8 mm. Bhagamandala hobli recorded 76 mm rainfall followed by Shantalli hobli receiving 51.2 mm rainfall.
HARANGI FULL
The inflow into the Harangi reservoir was at the rate of 11,600 cusecs on Sunday and the outflow was at the rate of 8,050 cusecs.
The water-level in the Harangi reservoir stood at 2,855.40 ft as against the maximum reservoir level of 2,859 ft. The water-level during the corresponding period last year was 2,820.06 ft.
AVERAGE RAINFALL
The average rainfall in Kodagu district from January 2013 till July 7 at 8 a.m. is 1,312.76 mm as against 643.47 mm rainfall during the same period last year.
Madikeri taluk received an average rainfall of 1,951.10 mm from January till July 7 at 8 a.m. It was 894.22 mm in the corresponding period last year.
Madikeri taluk recorded an average rainfall of 91.10 mm in the period between 8 a.m. on Saturday and 8 a.m. on Sunday.
Virajpet taluk recorded an average rainfall of 968.90 mm from January till July 7 as against 551.03 mm in the same period last year. Somwarpet taluk recorded an average rainfall of 1,017.07 mm from January till July 7 as against 485.16 mm rainfall in the corresponding period last year, according to meteorological department sources.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Mysore – July 08th, 2013
IRRESISTIBLE It is not every day that a player like Jwala comes and asks you to partner her, says Ashwini Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P. Badminton ace Ashwini Ponappa tells Kalyan Ashok enjoying yourself on court is important for winning
There is no full stop on court for Ashwini Ponnappa. The 23-year-old who nowadays lives out of a suitcase, jetting across the world for tournaments and returning for national camps at Hyderabad and practice sessions at home in Bangalore. It is the kind of schedule that might drain out any young player, but Ashwini seems to enjoy every bit of it.. After a long stint on court at the Nest Sports Club, under the watchful eye of her coach, Tom John, Ashwini steps out to say: “Hi, sorry to keep you waiting can you give me a few more minutes? I will play one more game and get back.”
Ashwini is to Bangalore, what Saina Nehwal is to Hyderabad. If Saina is the undisputed queen of Indian badminton in singles, Ashwini is the rising star of the doubles. With her partner, Jwala Gutta, Ashwini brought India glory in the 2010 Commonwealth Games with a gold and a year later, won a bronze in the World championship and a string of title triumphs in the South Asian Games besides junior and senior National championships. IRRESISTIBLE It is not every day that a player like Jwala comes and asks you to partner her, says Ashwini Photos: Sampath Kumar G.P.
Success rests lightly on her slender shoulders, and there is no air of being a star. “Me a star! I have lot to achieve and I don’t think I have reached a stage where I can call myself a star!” says Ashwini modestly.
With Jwala no longer by her side on court, Ashwini has found a new team mate, Pradnya Gadre to play on the international circuit. Currently Ashwini and Pradnya duo are ranked 28th in the world.
“The season has been good so far with Pradnya. We have been playing together since September last year. I have also started playing mixed doubles with Tarun Kona and we are getting better with every tournament. Yes, it is quite a change. Jwala was far more experienced than me and Pradnya. I have been playing at the world level for past three years and Pradnya has been there for the past two years. We are focusing and gelling very well.”
When Ashwini took up playing doubles, after a stint as a singles players at the State and National level as a junior, her partner was another Bangalore girl, Nitya Sosale. “I was playing with Nitya and we had won lot of tournaments at state, national junior and senior levels. We had a good time, we were friends, and hung out together off court as well. But playing with Jwala was different. When she approached me to partner her, I was reluctant, because I had been partnering Nitya for so long. It is not every day, that a player like Jwala comes and asks you to partner her, so I said yes. It was an offer I could not refuse as she is the best doubles player in the country. When I teamed with her, her positive approach rubbed off on me. She was very encouraging. She was very good at the net and all I had to do play well at the back court. I would smash and she would finish it off — virtually no shuttle could get past her. I had a wonderful time, I learnt a lot and she was good fun, an extrovert and very outspoken. With Pradnya, it is different, both of us are a little introverted, but we are getting along well, we are enjoying ourselves on court and that is important for winning.”
The Coorgi girl thanks her coaches for where she is today. I had wonderful coaches to guide me. First it was Umpathy, at the State Youth Centre. When I moved to Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy, it was a big leap forward. Prakash Sir, Vimal Sir and Vinod all have been a great help. At the national camps in Hyderabad, Gopi Chand and Indonesian coaches trained me further. Before the last Olympics, I also had the opportunity to train under S. M. Arif, a great coach. Now I am with Tom John, who is working really hard on my game. Coaches like Arif and Tom, never give up on players; they make sure each one reaches his/her potential.”
Ashwini’s big success came at New Delhi Commonwealth Games in 2010, when she and Jwala bagged the doubles gold. “It was our first big win together, in front of a great crowd, they cheered our every point and there was a huge buzz whenever we played. It was a heady stuff. The World Championship bronze also ranks high on my best moments. What made them more special was the fact that we enjoyed ourselves on and off the court. After the matches, we used to interact with members of the other teams and have fun. We’d get back to the court later for the matches and focus on the game. The performances at both the events, gave me a lot of confidence.”
On areas which she would like to improve, Ashwini says: “I would like to improve my defence. Offence is good and playing with Tarun in mixed doubles, has improved my net game and it has also helped me in women’s doubles.”
“Ashwini has loads of confidence after the Commonwealth Games and World championship show and she has the ability to make her new partnership with Pradnya work,” says coach Tom John. “They are already stretching top pairs and it should be matter of time, before they get into top ten. Earlier she was playing with Jwala who took care of the front court while she took care of the back court. With Pradyna, it has to be all court game.”
Ashwini believes she can learn from every player. “I don’t have an idol as such, I love watching others and learn from them. In doubles, I love to watch Jawala Gutta and V.Diju when they played the mixed doubles. They were a great pair and reached the highest level in the game.”
She has been playing since she was eight and badminton has been an integral part of life. On whether she missed anything due to her passion for the game, Ashwini says: “I don’t think I am missing anything because of badminton. I have gained from badminton thanks to wonderful support of my parents, my coaches, school (St. Francis Xavier) and college (Mount Carmel).”
Looking back at her initiation into the game, Ashwini says, “I was a hyperactive kid and my parents put me into YMCA camp so that I could burn up my energy. The coaches there thought I had a promise and put me in that direction.”
An eye for fashion
Besides badminton, Ashwini loves tennis. “I like following the game. It is nice to watch what the women players are wearing and follow their fashion statements!”
On what players should wear on court, Ashwini says: “One should not enforce a dress code. Players should wear what they are comfortable in.”
On hobbies, the feisty shuttler says: “I love listening to music of mixed genre. Earlier I was reading romantic novels and now it is non-fiction, right now I am reading a biography of Muhammad Ali.” An animal lover, Ashwini says: “We had a dog at home, now we have lots of pigeons!”
Her favourite city in the world is London. “I like London, it is so nice, there is a buzz, lot of places to go and see. In terms of badminton, I love playing in Indonesia. There’s always a huge and knowledgeable crowd at the stadium. They make so much of din, but playing in such an atmosphere gets you high.”
When she is home, Ashwini loves to chill at home visiting friends and relatives. “All these, after my practice, of course.”
Looking ahead, Ashwini sets her sights on winning a gold in the Olympics at Rio, winning at the Commonwealth Games and the World Championship. It’s a long and tough road ahead, but Ashwini has what it takes and key to achieving those goals, is to relax and enjoy herself on the court. “I think that’s an important element, whenever I feel tense or nervous on court, I tell myself, Ashwini let go, have fun, and it works.”
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Kalyan Ashok / Bangalore – July 04th, 2013
The high court has recently directed the Kodagu administration to conduct a survey to find out about the encroachment of a canal and to send a report to the high court for further action. PuggeraRevathiChengappa of T Shettigeri village in South Kodagu had filed a petition requesting the authorities to evict the encroachers.
In response to the court direction, deputy commissioner N V Prasad, along with assistant commissioner G Prabhu, Virajpet taluk tahasildar Arogya Meri, visited the spot. They have identified the encroached area with the help of surveyors.
The canal was formed 60 years back. Recently some persons have encroached on the canal, adding it to their land. They have closed the canal which was formed to use by farmers for farming activities. The encroachers have built a commercial complex, houses and also have formed sites for business purpose. All these issues were mentioned in the petition.
The officers said that a detailed survey report along with the identification sketches will be submitted to the high court.
source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Mysore / TNN / July 06th, 2013
India’s Rohan Bopanna and Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin, the 14th-seeds, delivered another knockout out blow to the Wimbledon men’s doubles draw, when they bundled out sixth-seeds Daniel Nestor of Canada and Robert Lindstedt of Sweden in a long-drawn, rain-interrupted clash.
Bopanna and Vasselin were leading the fifth set 5-2 with Vasselin to serve for the match when the Swede objected to the dank, dismal conditions. As the skies opened up, the players left the court.
After 90-minutes, when they returned, the Frenchman served out the match at 40-15, needing only a couple of minutes on the lawns. The 7-5, 7-6 (3-7), 6-7 (4-7), 6-7 (3-7), 6-2 result put the 33-year-old Bopanna in his first Wimbledon semifinal.
In the last four, Bopanna and Vasselin will play the winner of the other quarterfinal between top-seeded American twins Bob and Mike Bryan and India’s Mahesh Bhupathi and Julian Knowle of Austria.
Bopanna and Vasselin made a solid start, but were rocked back in the 11th game of the opening set when the Frenchman faced two breakpoints on his serve.
Aided by a mix of some strong serving as well as an error from Lindstedt, the Indian-French pair held. They then broke the Nestor serve in the 12th game when a Vasselin forehand whistled past the opposition, to wrest the early advantage.
The 14th-seeds then quickly wrapped up the second set tie-break. Nestor and Lindstedt won two tie-breaks to level scores and push the match into the decider.
This time the Indo-French duo broke as early as the third game and though Vasselin’s serve was tested in the fourth game, they held firm to break again in the fifth game.
In a late evening encounter on Monday, fourth seeds India’s Leander Paes and Czech Radek Stepanek put out the 15th seeded Pols Lukasz Kubot and Marcin Matkowski 6-2, 6-2, 6-4, to move into the quarterfinals.
source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Sports> Tennis / by Prajwal Hegde, TNN / July 03rd, 2013
Listen to Flash of Light, you will like it,” suggests Nikhil Chinappa. The sound is a modernised version of retro-disco, which in Electronic Dance Music (EDM) jargon would be called nu disco. A forlorn female voice utters ‘flash’ in a gasp and then sings You won’t be coming down. The song is such that one wouldn’t mind showering to it or just grooving to it on the dance floor.
Flash of Light is one of the 32 songs Chinappa has compiled under the album Defected in the House India 2013 for Defected Records, which was recently released by Sony Music. This is Chinappa’s first compilation and comes in two CDs. On being asked how he’d describe the sound, Chinappa says, “CD 1 could be bifurcated into deep house and nu disco. These songs are languid and soulful. CD 2 could be described as main room house and as the name suggests, sounds better on a larger sound system.”
But Chinappa does not believe in labelling music. To him there are only two genres “good music and rubbish”. Digressing from saying what the music is, he says what the music is not, and that is the foot-tapping kind. “These are songs which make me happy. The sound is groovy and sexy. It puts a smile on my face and I hope it does the same to the listener,” says Chinappa, who has been in the entertainment business for over 13 years, during which he has stepped into the shoes of an MTV India mascot, a VJ, an actor and has had a successful stint as a DJ. He is also the festival director of the Sunburn music festival, Asia’s biggest EDM festival. Yet, he feels that it is not too late to put together his own compilation. “People have now woken up to EDM, although it has been around in this country for over two decades, but only in underground scenes,” says Chinappa, who sees himself as a “dance music evangelist”. His evangelism comes with a vision, “I want people to discover new sounds, which are out there but were not taken to them. This music is not mainstream. I would want non-EDM listeners and also mainstream music listeners to pick up these sounds,” he adds.
Chinappa said that he has been curating this section of the Indian music scene and would want to do a documentary on EDM in India. “EDM is enjoying great popularity here but we must carve an identity for ourselves in dance music history,” he says. “This is my philosophical and soulful purpose,” adds Chinappa. With a compilation out in the market, Chinappa has no plans of coming up with an album containing original compositions in the near future because he believes, “Music should be made by musicians and not by people sitting on keyboards and machines.”
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home / by Rushil Dutta / Pune, Sunday – June 30th, 2013
The Coffee Board of India, an autonomous body under the commerce ministry, has signed an agreement with the National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) to launch a warehouse receipt-based electronic spot market for coffee beans. This is a first-of-its-kind initiative by the Board to provide an opportunity for better price realisation and educate growers about quality assessment. Currently, Rs 2,000 crore worth of is traded in physical form at the farm gate. Agents of exporters collect the beans at estates and transport it for curing (drying and de-husking of coffee beans). Earlier, ABN Amro and ITC had tried to provide online trading platforms for coffee, which did not work well, said growers.
According to the agreement, NSEL will conduct online trading beans for both raw and cleaned coffee. It has tied up with companies for curing after the online transaction. NSEL has set up two warehouses at Kushalnagar in Kodagu district and Chikmagalur in Chikmagalur district for storing coffee on behalf of the growers.
“The aim of this partnership is to ensure that small and medium coffee growers get an opportunity to sell their coffee online. We will provide them quality assessment and grading facilities at their farm gate with the help of the Coffee Board. The growers are free to fix their own prices. There will be no fee for the growers for online trading. We will charge the buyers a small commission,” said an NSEL official.
The partnership between the Board and NSEL is also aimed at providing market linkages and relevant back-end infrastructure, education, training and technical advice to growers. The Coffee Board will carry a mobile laboratory to conduct the grading of coffee beans at the farm gate. The price will be discovered based on transparent electronic bidding. After the online trading is carried out, NSEL will deliver the beans at the doorstep of buyers or curing works through its transport network, the official added. The NSEL is also in the process of providing finance. Federal Bank, Standard Chartered and ICICI Bank, among others, have approached NSEL for providing finance on the warehouse receipts.
Ramesh Rajah, president of Coffee Exporters’ Association of India, said: “It is an excellent idea. The seller will know how much price he will get for his coffee. However, there are many glitches involved in online trading.” He said issues such as Rule 7B, VAT and transaction costs will have to be sorted. As the sale of cured coffee attracts taxation, growers will not come forward to sell through online platform. NSEL and the Board will have to sort out these issues, said Rajah.
source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> Markets> Commodities> Food & Edible Oils / by BS Reporter / Bangalore – June 28th, 2013
What better way to introduce something new than with a fashion show! That’s exactly what Samsung did when it launched the new Galaxy Mega at Fun Cinemas, Cunnigham Road, Bangalore.
The event, which was attended by the company’s channel partners, retailers and select consumers, witnessed the launch at an exclusive show that was choreographed by Prasad Bidappa. (Uday Kiran, Vishal Kaul…)
Speaking on the occasion, Prasad said, “Samsung Galaxy Mega is the future of communication. Sleek, smart and sophisticated, this is the must-have mobile of the moment.”
This new addition to the Galaxy family balances optimal viewing experience on a large screen, but is ultra-thin and portable as one can carry it in the pocket or even hold it comfortably in one hand. It offers a mix of popular smartphone and tablet features, as it combines the portability and convenience of a smartphone with the power, multitasking capabilities and extensive viewing experience of a tablet. Two models of the Samsung Galaxy Mega, with 14.7 cms and 16 cms screen sizes, are now available at stores.
We spotted well-known models of the city walking the ramp at the show. The first sequence was a tribute to 100 years of Indian cinema and the second sequence saw the models sporting the red carpet look as they showed cased the new phones.
source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Life & Style> Parties / TNN / June 23rd, 2013
Monday is a special day: it marks the golden jubilee of the Coffee Board of India’s move to the building opposite Visveswaraya Towers on Vidhana Veedhi.
It was shifted on July 1, 1963 from Prithvi Buildings on Kempe Gowda Road. The board will hold the celebrations in October.
Autonomous body
The Coffee Board of India is an autonomous body set up under an Act of Parliament in 1942 and serving the coffee industry in the country. Its basic focus is on research, development, extension and quality upgrading in addition to consolidating market information and the domestic and external promotion of coffee.
In addition to encouraging consumption of the beverage in the country and abroad, the board also runs 12 India Coffee Houses, including the one on its premises and depots across the country.
According to A.N. Balaram, who was the secretary of the board when the new building was constructed, K. Srinivasan, who was chairperson of the board, was determined to make sure the board had a building to function from. He persuaded the then Chief Minister Kengal Hanumanthaiya to sanction land and succeeded in getting land from City Improvement Trust Board. Lal Bahadur Shastri, the then Union Minister for Commerce and Industries, laid the foundation stone for the building on February 21, 1959.
T.S. Narayana Rao was the chief architect of the building and Purushottam and Company executed the project. Approximately Rs. 35 lakh was spent on the construction. “Though the building was unofficially occupied on July 1, 1963, it was formally inaugurated by the then President S. Radhakrishnan on October 9, 1963,” he told The Hindu .
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Bangalore – July 01st, 2013
The Harangi reservoir in the taluk is just two feet away from reaching its maximum level. On Monday, the level stood at 2,857.14 feet, against a maximum level of 2,859 feet.
A total of 400 cusecs of water is being released from the dam since morning. The inflow into the reservoir stood at 3,600 cusecs at 8.30 am. The present storage in the reservoir is 7.65 tmc feet against the total capacity of eight tmc feet.
The reservoir had reached its brim in August last year. But this time, the rainy season has begun a month early, facilitating good inflow into the dam. Engineers manning the dam said that the irrigation consultative committee would meet on July 15, after which water would be released to the canals for irrigation. Releasing water to the canals would irrigate 1.37 lakh acres of land.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State / DHNS – Kushalnagar (Kodagu Dist.) / July 01st, 2013
This is the first initiative taken by the Board to provide an opportunity for better price realisation
Coffee Board of India, an autonomous body under the ministry of commerce, has signed a memorandum of understanding with National Spot Exchange (NSEL) to launch a warehouse receipt based electronic spot market for coffee beans. This is the first of its kind initiative taken by the Board to provide an opportunity for better price realization and educate them about quality assessment.
Currently, over Rs 2,000 crore worth of coffee is traded in physical form at the farm gate level. Agents of exporters collect the beans at the estates and transport it for curing. Earlier, ABN AMRO and ITC had tried to provide online trading platforms for coffee, which did not work well, the coffee growers said.
As per the MoU, the NSEL will conduct online trading of coffee beans for both raw and cleaned coffee. It has tied up with coffee curing companies for curing of coffee post the online transaction. NSEL has set up two warehouses at Kushalnagar in Kodagu district and Chikmagalur in Chikmagalur district for storing coffee on behalf of the growers.
“The aim of this partnership is to ensure that small and medium coffee growers get an opportunity to sell their coffee online. We will provide them quality assessment and grading facilities at their farm gate with the help of Coffee Board. The growers are free to fix their own prices. There will be no fee to the growers for online trading. We will charge the buyers a small commission,” an official of NSEL said.
The partnership between Coffee Board and NSEL is also aimed at providing market linkages and relevant back-end infrastructure, education, training and technical advice to growers. The Coffee Board will carry a mobile laboratory to conduct the grading of coffee beans at the farm gate. The price will be discovered based on transparent electronic bidding. After the online trading is carried out, NSEL will deliver the beans at the doorstep of buyers or curing works through its transport network, he said.
The NSEL is also in the process of providing finance. Federal Bank, Standard Chartered and ICICI Bank among others have approached NSEL for providing finance on the warehouse receipts.
Ramesh Rajah, president, Coffee Exporters’ Association of India said, “It is an excellent idea. The seller will know how much price he will get for his coffee. However, there are many glitches involved in online trading.”
He said issues like Rule 7B, VAT and transaction costs would have to be sorted out properly. As the sale of cured coffee attracts taxation, the growers will not come forward to sell through online platform. The NSEL and Coffee Board will have to sort out these issues, he said.
NSEL has till now added 54 commodities on its online spot-trading platform.
source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> Companies> News / by Mahesh Kulkarni / Bangalore – June 28th, 2013
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