Category Archives: Green Initiatives / Environment

Report on ways to offset eco impact of power line in Kodagu taking shape

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Records, All

The State Forest department is preparing a report on ways to mitigate the impact on the environment in Kodagu, when the 400 KV high tension power line is laid.

The report on the environment mitigation plan comprises short-term and long-term measures.

The measures are being listed keeping in mind development and protection of green cover.

It will be sent to the government by the end of this week, which will then be forwarded to the Power Grid Corporation and the Union government for funds and approval, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (wildlife) Vinay Luthra told Deccan Herald.

Some of the listed measures include organising anti-depredation camps, building better barriers, not disrupting the existing waterholes, providing natural fodder spaces for animals, not using weapons against animals and if carrying weapons, getting them registered with the Forest department to ensure that animals are not harmed, not coming in contact with animals, not indulging in afforestation activities, not camping inside forest areas, reducing loss of green cover as much as possible and in regard to work in forest areas, ensuring that all permissions have been obtained and following rules like no-stay inside the forest during night hours, not hunting, not entering restricted forest area without permission and so on.

The report plans to ensure that no human or animal casualty is reported, but in the last 30 days two people have died due to man-elephant conflict and one person sustained injuries while working near coffee estates.

The power line from Mysuru to Kozhikode will pass through Kodagu. Of the 210-km line, 50 km will pass through coffee and paddy fields in Kodagu and the rest is through pristine Western Ghats regions – touching borders of Nagarahole Tiger Reserve, Dubare and Devamachi Reserve Forests.

This line is part of the central power grid project and will supply power to many southern regions, including Bengaluru.

Due to protests, this project been delayed by over five years. Lines have already been laid till Mysuru and Kerala, except some patches in Wyanad. It was to be completed in 2007, but was stalled. Work started again in November 2014.

During a meeting of agitators from Kodagu and power corporation companies last week, Energy Minister D K Shivakumar affirmed that the project would not be held back or delayed further. Shivakumar said that the project was important for Bengaluru and industries, to ensure 22-hour power supply daily, especially during summers. But agitators from Kodagu said that it was a scam. C P Muthanna, a retired colonel in the Army and president of the Coorg Wildlife Society, pointed out that there was already a 220-KV line in the region, which can be upgraded to 400 KV and used, instead of occupying fresh land and axing over 50,000 trees for the new line.
DH News Service

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State / by Bosky Khanna, Bengaluru / DHNS – February 17th, 2015

Whose garden is this in the heart of our city?

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

Bengaluru :

Brigadier who carved the 22-acre Cariappa park out of defence land near MG Road slams colleagues for barring entry to public The man who opened the Army’s doors to Bengalureans has slammed his colleagues for barring the city’s residents from entering the Cariappa Memorial Park in the heart of the city.

(The 22-acre park was meant…)
(The 22-acre park was meant…)

The 22-acre park was meant to be the Army’s gift to the city but has been closed since 1998, two years after it was inaugurated. A board next to the now-abandoned park’s gate reads: `Restricted area’. The present Army establishment in the state says the park area, categorized as A1 defence land, cannot be made available to the public under Ministry of Defense guidelines.

Brigadier (Retd) Ashok Nagpaul, who established the park on defence land to foster closer interaction between the Army and public, said the Army cannot block entry into the park. “The land not only belongs to the defence but also to the people of Bengaluru,” said the former Commanding Officer for Karnataka and Kerala.

“There was 57 acres of land lying wasted. There were illegal activities like prostitution and other things that used to happen in that area, so I decided to build a parade ground and the park,” Nagpaul, 72, said over the phone from Pune.

A top Army official said that with defence land being rampantly encroached on, the Army cannot afford to give its land for public use.”In 1994 maybe people were not conscious about utilization of defence land, but consequent to which in lots of places we started losing defence land, and … very stringent guidelines were framed that you cannot use defence land for public purposes,” the official told ET, declining to be identified.

Until 1994, the park area was part of a larger parcel of land between Cubbon Road and MG Road.

source:http://www.articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com / The Economic Times / Home> Collection> MG Road / by ET Bureau / February 17th, 2015

Move over coffee, Kodagu now looking at high-value vegetables

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature

IIHR is targeting 35,000 hectares of paddy land mostly left fallow for 6 months to grow vegetables

If things go according to plan, Kodagu, the land of coffee and pepper, may turn into one of the major destinations for high-value vegetable cultivation a few years from now.

A survey conducted by the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR) showed that paddy was being cultivated on about 35,000 hectares of plain land in the hilly district of Kodagu. Most of this is being left fallow for six months from October to March after the monsoon. Vegetable experts in the IIHR want to make best use of the land during the “off- season” by motivating people to take up vegetable cultivation.

“It is possible to cultivate vegetables during the off-season as their water requirement is not as huge as paddy,” says A.T. Sadashiva, Principal Scientist in the IIHR’s vegetable Crops’ Division. Also, the weather in Kodagu is similar to that of Ooty, where vegetables are in high demand, he said. Above all, vegetable farming fetches at least one-and-a-half times more returns than paddy, he says.

Preliminary work towards promotion of vegetable cultivation has already begun. The IIHR has developed model farms on about 50 hectares in different areas of Kodagu where high-value hybrid varieties developed by it are being cultivated. “We have also held four field days since 2012 in different areas such as Suntikoppa, where cultivation of different vegetables at the model farms has been showcased. Observing the overwhelming response to such events, we plan to have two more such field days shortly,” he says, while expressing confidence that it may be possible to encourage farmers to take up vegetable cultivation on a minimum of 100 hectares this year.

At present, vegetables like okra, tomato, beans, yard-long beans and chillies are being promoted, while other vegetables such as carrot will be introduced in the next phase, he says. Onion cultivation has also been introduced on an experimental basis.

The marketing network for the vegetables in Kodagu is not advanced. The IIHR is in talks with the State Horticulture Department, which has promised to provide facilities for sale of vegetables in different parts of the district, Mr. Sadashiva says, adding that plans are also afoot to sell the vegetables to other districts and States as and when the production increases.

It is possible to cultivate vegetables during the off-season as their water requirement is not as huge as paddy

A.T. Sadashiva Principal Scientist, IIHR

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by B.S. Satish Kumar / Bengaluru – February 22nd, 2015

‘Coorg’s Burma bamboo shoot is non-poisonous, good to eat’

Agriculture, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature

Though bitter in taste if eaten raw, Dendrocalamus brandisii in Coorg has been since slowly making it to the local menu

Till recently, it was like any other species of bamboo that dotted the vegetation. The locals have for long a fair penchant for the edible varieties of bamboo shoots but no liking for the abundantly available Burma bamboo. Nobody dared to give the bamboo shoot a try for fear of it being poisonous.

The turning point, however, came when a team of scientists from Institute of Wood Science and Technology (IWST) in Bangaluru visited Coorg to propagate the vegetarian properties of Dendrocalamus brandisii. Based on their over a decade long research on the Burma bamboo species, for the first time it was disclosed that bamboo shoot eschewed by the people of Coorg and adjoining areas for over a century in fact is considered among one of the top 10 edible bamboo species in the world.

Unlike the Chinese species, although bitter in taste if eaten raw, Dendrocalamus brandisii in Coorg has been since slowly making it to the local menu list.

“It is surprising that in Coorg, where this species was first introduced nearly a century back in 1913, the shoots have not been commercially exploited even though shoots of other species like B. bambos and D. strictus found in natural forests in Coorg have been utilised in some form or other. Pickles made from B. bambos are traditionally an important delicacy in Kogadu cuisine,” says senior scientist Dr Syam Viswanath (in pic), spearheading the research at IWST.

BambooKF11feb2015

Much of the ignorance about the high level of edible properties of Burma bamboo has to do with the fact that its value as an edible material has never been recognised in Coorg. The common perception has been that the shoots of the bamboo species are poisonous. Further, absence of any information about the nutritional benefits, processing and consumption of the bamboo shoot have been the main reason for underutilisation of D. brandisii or Burma bamboo.

In China, D. brandisii bamboo shoots species is cultivated in Hangzhou province. The emerging shoots are harvested and after removal of the sheath, it is sliced into thin pieces and consumed raw like salad. In case of D. brandisii in Coorg, the shoots are bitter due to higher content of cyanogenic glucosides and need to be processed before they are ready for consumption.

Sowmya C , Ph.D scholar working on edible bamboo shoots in Tree Improvement and Genetics Division at IWST has found out that the nutritional composition of some of the common bamboo species exploited for edible shoots like B. balcooa, B. nutans, B. polymorpha, Melocanna baccifera found in North-eastern states is on-par with D. brandisii grown in Coorg.

The protein and carbohydrates contents in 100 gm of fresh bamboo shoot are about 2.31gm and 4.90 gm, respectively. Consumption of 100 gm of fresh shoots will supply adequate amount of protein essential for the body. The D. brandisii shoots are also rich in dietary fibre, 4.03 gm/100gm, higher than other commonly available vegetables. Dietary fibres are proven to have beneficial effects on lipid profile. It also helps in management of hypertension and obesity.

Culinary experiments with the Burma bamboo shoots have revealed that simple cooking techniques like pressure cooking and steaming can remove the bitterness in the bamboo shoots in comparatively lesser time than traditional methods like 48-72 hours of soaking in water.

Besides, the newly found edible properties of Burma bamboo by people of Coorg, the culms ofthe bamboo species have long been used in construction works, making of furniture, farm implements, baskets, handicrafts and for making ‘chandraki’ in sericulture industry. The bamboo has also the potential of making incense sticks by the agarbatti industry.

Due to its good physical and mechanical properties and thorn less character, it can be introduced in suitable agro-climatic zones like Coorg for raising compact plantations, in landscaping and in homesteads. Moreover the vegetative propagation of this species using rhizomatous side branches from culms is a simple cost effective multiplication technique according to Dr T.S. Rathore, Head, Tree Improvement and Genetics Division, IWST, Bangalore. IWST has also developed techniques for macro and micro propagation of this species for large scale commercial exploitation.

Director IWST Dr Ramakanth says, “Dendrocalamus brandisii is among the 19 commercially viable bamboo species identified by the National Mission on Bamboo Application (NMBA). This is based on assessment of inherent characteristics of the bamboo found suitable for end users.”

The very fact that it is fast growing, makes Burma bamboo ideal for exploitation in farm forestry and agro forestry in humid tropics. Its good physical and mechanical properties makes it a much sought after species by locals for farm construction, making ladders, fencing, small furniture, basket making and sericulture industry.

“Though National Bamboo Mission (NBM) and NMBA have rightly prioritized Dendrocalamus brandisii, it is essential to ack-nowledge the commercial potential of this underexploited species and aspects of value addition to effectively utilize and popularise this natural bio-resource in other suitable agroclimatic zones of India,” underlines Dr Sunder Naik, retired Indian Forest Service officer and President of Bamboo Society of India.

source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Others> Sci-Tech / by Agencies / February 11th, 2015

‘Action plan being prepared to address water woes’

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature

District-in-Charge Minister K J George has directed the officials to prepare an action plan for multi village drinking water scheme to supply water to Gonikoppa, Ponnampet in Virajpet and Chettalli in Somwarpet.

Speaking to media persons on Friday, he said that the plan will be chalked out to mitigate drinking water woes.

Tender has been invited for sand extraction, and sand will be available for public use in the next 15 days, he said. Only those government lands with five acres and above encroachments, are being cleared in the district.

Notices issued
Notices are being issued to those parties who have encroached less than five acre of land to ascertain whether they have submitted applications for regularisation of land.

He said that the district administration had been receiving complaints pertaining to unauthorised home stays in the district, and that all the home stay owners should register.

An action plan of Rs 5.4 crore has been prepared for the development of Raja Seat.
Measures will be taken to release funds for the construction of General K S Thimmaiah Memorial and Kalabhavana in the district.

Five acres of land has been identified for the construction of Zilla Panchayat Bhavan on the outskirts of city at Vidyanagara, the minister added.

George added that the Cabinet sub-committee to collect public opinion on Kasturirangan report will visit the district on January 31.

Deputy Commissioner Anurag Tewari, MLC T John and others were present.
DH News Service

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> District / DHNS – Madikeri, January 17th, 2015

Greens in Kodagu bat for Kasturirangan report

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Records, All

Vested interests are creating confusion in the minds of people’

To preserve the greenery in Kodagu, there is a need to implement recommendations of Kasturirangan report on conservation of Western Ghats. If the recommendations are not implemented, then the environment will be at stake, said office bearers of Wildlife First.

Addressing a press meet here on Thursday, K M Chinnappa, A Thammu Poovaiah, T M Somaiah, P M Muthanna and M K Appacchu said that the report will not harm environment and its dwellers. However, a few vested interest, politicians and officials are engaged in creating rumours against the report. It has created fear in the minds of the people.

“Timber mafia, mining lobby and encroachers are engaged in misleading people. Thousands of trees have been felled to facilitate the work on high-tension wire in Virajpet. Will the environment in Kodagu intact if hydel power and railway line projects are implemented,” they asked.

“Those who have opposed the report have not read the report. It is better if people read the report on their own. If we initiate a discussion, then we are projected as pseudo environmentalists and anti-development.”

He lamented at the untoward incident reported during state-level committee’s visit to collect opinion on the recommendations in Madikeri.

The office-bearers said as per the recommendations, only 37 per cent of the Western Ghats have been identified as Specially Economic Areas. There is no problem in taking up development work in the remaining 63 per cent of the area. “ESAs are those areas considered sensitive, less populated, National Park, Reserve forest, project tiger and elephant corridor areas. Only 55 villages in the district have been identified as SEAs and not the entire district,” they said. “There is no proposal to acquire agricultural and coffee estates. There is no restriction on the felling of trees on private land. The land owners can seek permission and fell trees in Kodagu as per the Karnataka Forests Act 1963 and Karnataka Preservation of Trees Act 1976. There is no proposal to check felling of silver, acacia trees grown by the land owners.

They said “the recommendations have not laid down any restrictions on the cultivation of coffee, black pepper, paddy and oranges in Kodagu. It has not laid down restrictions on the construction of houses as well. Commercial activities like coffee, tea processing units, home stays, commercial complex, cement unit, furniture units and tiles manufacturing units are listed in green zones and no restrictions have been laid down on it.”

The recommendation has banned quarry, sand mining, setting up of thermal power projects and construction of more than 20000 square metre building in the identified areas, they added.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> District / Madikeri – DHNS, December 19th, 2014

Forest department says no to inter-state road

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature

Kodagu Zone Chief Conservator of Forest Jagmohan Sharma has submitted a report to the State government that permission should not be given to proposed Ezhimal-Bengaluru inter-state road which would pass through Talacauvery Wildlife Sanctuary.

The proposed project (Ezhimal- Vellur- Padiyottuchal- Cherupuzha-Pulingome-Talacauvery) would pass through Mundrotu- Talacauvery- Bhagamandala, which is a part of the wildlife sanctuary known for biological diversity.

The officer, in his letter to the government on September 2, has said that the region is part of the Western Ghats, with evergreen forests and grasslands. The road construction, allowing public intervention would adversely affect the wildlife, and the government should reject the proposal of the Kerala government, the letter states.

Madikeri Division Deputy Conservator of Forest Shivashankar also opined the same. The road from Mundrotu to Talacauvery comes under Padinaalku Naadu reserve forest, where there is a rough stretch with a width of 7 to 10 feet.

To convert it as an inter-state road, it should be widened. In many places, new roads will have to be constructed between the mountains. It would impact the wildlife. Also, theft of trees would increase, the DCF has mentioned.

There is an alternative road to the proposed road already between Bhagamandala- Karike- Mundrotu. However, the only problem was that commuters would have to travel 39 km more than the proposed plan. Just to cut the distance, it was not fair to construct an inter-state road, which would cause danger to the ecology, he has opined.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, Shivashankar said that the report was submitted by DCF Hanumanthappa to the government before his transfer from the district.
DH News Service

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> District / by Shrikanta Kallammanavar / Madikeri – DHNS, December 08th, 2014

Bethri project awaits Madikeri CMC approval

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment

Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board has prepared a report on Bethri water project to supply water from river Cauvery to Madikeri. The report has been sent to the Madikeri CMC for approval.

Bethri project was used for political purpose for the last several years. To take up the work on detailed project report for the Bethri project, the council nod is essential. As a result, the project is likely to be discussed in the CMC meeting on November 25. At present, Congress is ruling the CMC. Out of 23 members, the Congress has 10, BJP—8, SDPI—4 and JD(S)—1 members.

About project

River Cauvery takes its birth in Talacauvery situated on the foothills of Brahmagiri. From Bhagamandala, it flows to Bethri-Siddapura-Kushalnagar before reaching Mysuru. Bethri is situated 22-km from Madikeri. Supplying water from Bethri to Madikeri is the project. The project also aims at supplying water to eight villages including Kaggodlu, Biligeri, Badaga, Moornadu, Hakathuru, and Mekeri. Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board engineers will prepared a detailed project report.

Estimate

According to sources, the project was initiated when Gundurao was the Chief Minister. The estimated cost of the project was Rs 1.23 crore. The estimated cost escalated to Rs 15 crore when S M Krishna was the chief minister. Inspite of it, the project never took off. Neither the coalition government nor the BJP government showed any interest in the implementation of Bethri project. Demanding the implementation of the project, Congress had staged a protest several times in the past. However, the BJP members in the council never allowed them to implement the project.

The BJP government gave nod for the Kundamestri project in 2010. With the Congress government in the State, the project has once again come to limelight. In fact, during his visit to Bethri, Urban Development Minister Vinay Kumar Sorake had promised to start the project and had directed Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board engineer prepare a DPR. It is estimated that the project cost would be Rs 155.65 crore. Of which, 60 per cent of the share will be borne by the State government (Rs 93.39 crore), 30 per cent as loan from financial institutions (Rs 46.69 crore) and 10 per cent by the local body (Rs 15.56 crore).

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> District / by Srikanth Kallammanavar / Madikeri – November 23rd, 2014

Kasturirangan report on ESZ: Public hearing in Madikeri tomorrow

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature

Madikeri :

The State-level Expert team will be visiting Madikeri tomorrow to hold a public meeting with respect to the Kasturirangan Report, which recommends declaring 53 villages in Kodagu district as Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs).

The meeting is scheduled to be held at the Fort Mini Hall at the DC’s office at 3 pm.

There has been a wide range of protests by people of Kodagu and organisations demanding the State Government not to consider the Kasturirangan Report. The team is visiting Madikeri to hear public grievances on the issue.

Meanwhile, a few organisations under the banner of Kasturirangan Varadi Virodi Samithi have also planned to stage protests tomorrow.

Deputy Commissioner Anurag Tiwari said that it was an opportunity for the public to put forward their objections before the team. He added that the video recording of the meeting would be sent to State Government.

Tiwari has urged the people to maintain peace during the meeting and added that security would be beefed up around the meeting venue.

Kasturirangan Report also recommends for prohibition of mining and industrialisation, ban on chemical fertilisers and control over development works in areas declared as ESZs.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / December 03, 2014

Expert panel to arrive at Madikeri today

About Kodagu / Coorg, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature

Kasturirangan Varadi Horata Samiti Member Cheranda Nanda Subbaiah called upon people of Kodagu district to arrive at large number to express their opposition to Kasturirangan report, during the visit of State-level expert panel members, at Fort premises in Madikeri on Friday.

Speaking at a press conference here on Thursday, he said: “The people of the district should stop the recommendations of Kasturirangan report from implementing as it is question of our future generation. The draft published by the Central government is completely anti-people. Members of the various organisations and general public should express their objections before the expert panel members,” he said.

“The recomendation is made to identify Western Ghat and 10 km of nearby area as ecologically sensitive areas and ban mining and other activities in the region. So, opposing the reporting is our necessity and need of the hour. We have do demand to keep residential areas, farm land, coffee plantations, Devarakaadu areas of tribal out of the ecologically sensitive area. If we don’t get positive response from government’s side, we will continue our protest,” he said.

If they declare ecologically sensitive areas, C and D land, Baane lands will be declared as deemed forest. Buffer zones will also be declared. Later, where is the land for people for living? he questioned. The people of the district have same opinion about the Kasturirangan report and the government can not implement the recommendations of the report against public opinion. People from every village will come to Madikeri to submit their objection, he added.

Committee Member Bottangady Raju said that panel should make changes in the demands submitted by the people.

Ready to share woes

Various political party leaders and heads of organisations would submit memorandums to the panel members who will collect opinions of people who live in the areas which come under ecologically sensitive areas. Along with Kasturirangan Varadi Virodhi Horata Samiti, Congress, BJP and JD(S) leaders, MP Pratap Simha, MLA K G Bhopaiah, Appachu Ranjan, Zilla Panchayat President Shareen Subbaiah and many others will submit memorandums.

Congress District President B T Pradeep said that no development work can be started in 53 villages which would come under ecologically sensitive areas. It would make life hazardous for the people. JD(S) District President V P Shashidhar said that similar protest was conducted against Kasturirangan report at Kerala and the Central government had to drop many places from the list.

Concession should be given in Kodagu also. We will give a memorandum to the expert panel, he said.

DH News Service

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> District / Madikeri, DHNS – November 27th, 2014