Former Union Minister Dr. Subramanian Swamy has written to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, urging him to form a commission to provide special status to the tribals in Kodagu, as requested by the Kodava National Council members.
Dr. Subramanian Swamy, who has already approached the High Court with the request to fulfill the demand of the tribal natives of Kodagu for a separate district, has a court hearing of the application on June 14. The veteran politician said that he wanted to meet Siddaramaiah on the occasion.
Referring to the demand of the natives in his letter to the Chief Minister, the former Union Minister stressed on the urgent need to form a government panel that would work at giving special status to the Kodavas in Karnataka.
source: http://www.english.varthabharati.in / Vartha Bharati / Home> Karnataka / by Vartha Bharati / June 10th, 2023
Mantar Gowda, MLA, directs the officials to coordinate with different departments to mitigate any extremities in weather.
A flash of lightning illuminating the skies in Mysuru. | Photo Credit: M.A. SRIRAM
With the monsoon set to keep its tryst with Kodagu in the next few days, the authorities reviewed their preparations to meet any eventuality.
A meeting was convened in Madikeri on Friday, June 9, and Mantar Gowda, MLA, directed the officials to coordinate with different departments to mitigate any extremities in weather.
He said the revenue, forest, PWD, CESC and other departments should coordinate and ensure that they attend to any problems caused in case of a landslide, uprooting of trees or telephone and electricity poles. The teams constituted for the purpose should reach the affected spots immediately and carry out repairs or any other mitigatory exercise to tide over the crisis.
The MLA said relief centres should be stocked with basic necessities and be equipped to deal with flood victims who could be shifted from their villages.
The officials were also instructed to counsel those affected by floods and infuse psychological strength in them and professional counsellors should be roped in with the assistance of Department of Health.
The nodal officers in charge of different relief centres should ensure coordination among different wings and branches of the district administration, said Mr. Gowda.
The authorities were directed to impress upon the people living in the vulnerable areas to be ready to relocate at short notice. The Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC) personnel were directed to ensure that electricity poles that are uprooted are immediately replaced and power supply restored at the earliest. Similarly, the forest department staff were asked to be on alert to clear the roads of any uprooted trees to pave way for traffic movement.
The district health officer was directed to monitor for any outbreak of water-borne diseases during monsoon and ramp up the preparations to handle any epidemic. The Education Department officials were instructed to ensure that no classes are conducted in schools identified to be in dilapidated conditions.
The ZP CEO Shekar said that meetings have been conducted at the Gram Panchayat levels and 19 schools have been identified for conversion as relief centres if need be. The principals of the respective schools will also function as nodal officers, he added.
There is a helpline at every Gram Panchayat and volunteers will also be deployed in case of any emergency, said the official.
Shantilal Jatia, heading the NDRF at Kodagu, said that a team of 24 personnel are stationed in the district and they would be ready for deployment at any time in case of emergency.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> India> Karnataka / by The Hindu Bureau / June 09th, 2023
The Thar is so different from my BMW 320d, in all senses, and driving this SUV was indeed a very different experience.
BHPian Dr.AD recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
Three Thars and the Hills of Coorg
First Drive with my New Thar:
Just about three months ago, I would have never imagined I would be writing a Thar travelogue, that too so soon. My road trips used to primarily be with my red BMW 320d, and there was no real plan to do something very different so soon.
But then, as always, life is all about unpredictability and experimentation. In somewhat of an unexpected (to myself) development, and purely as a fun experiment, I bought a brand new Mahindra Thar (Petrol AT 4×4 in Napoli Black) just a couple of weeks ago. From now on, this would be a new companion to my trusted BMW 320d. I plan to create my Thar ownership thread someday. But I thought it would not necessarily be inappropriate to start with a travelogue ahead of the ownership thread.
I always buy cars for long road trips and visit beautiful locations as my primary purpose. And every time I bought a car, I took that car for a long drive pretty much immediately. Thar is no exception. I got the Thar just a couple of weeks ago. In those two weeks, all I had managed was about 200km of driving around (mostly due to busy work schedules and work travels). This first road trip added about 700km to that, and was a perfect introduction for me to the new Thar and its capabilities.
In a nutshell, this trip was memorable to me because this was my drive in the new Thar. Thar is so different from my BMW 320d, in all senses, and driving a Thar was indeed a very different experience. Getting used to the Thar and understanding its capabilities was a big part of the motivation for this drive. Another thing that made this drive special to me was that, unlike my road trips in the 320d, this time, there was plenty of off-roading too. The main purpose of Thar is to explore rough terrains, and we did that on this very first road trip.
My new Thar in the hills of Coorg:
The Thars, The Crew and the Homestay:
One of the many reasons I love TeamBHP is because of the friends I made thanks to this forum.
My partners in this drive were our close friends Mr. and Mrs. @robimahanta, in their Aquamarine Blue Thar (Petrol 4×4 AT).
But as a bonus, this time, we made new friends.
It was a great pleasure to have Mr. and Mrs. @justwheels, in their Red Thar (Diesel 4×4 AT). We met them for the first time on this drive, and we had a great time together.
And of course, my better half was with me in my Black Thar, and she enjoyed the Thar experience (including some off-roading) even more than I did. I am glad she likes the Thar so much and so quickly that she is hooked on the idea of exploring difficult terrain in a 4×4 vehicle!
The Three Thars together on the hills of Coorg:
The Homestay:
We stayed at the same homestay where we had stayed back in August 2022 and loved it so much, as I described in my tip report from that time. The homestay is called Green Pastures, Coorg.
The homestay owners and hosts, Hemanth and Tripula, are wonderful hosts and good friends now. Just like my previous experience there, this time too we had a great time at the homestay and had a wonderful experience overall.
The homestay has three rooms, and that was just perfect for the three Thars and three couples traveling together.
Green Pastures is not only a beautiful homestay, but one more speciality of the place is that the owner Hemanth is an off-road enthusiast and a very experienced off-roading expert. He himself owns an old Mahindra MM540 4WD, and also organizes some off-road events in Coorg. He knows the trails and hills of Coorg like the back of his hand. One of the main motivations for visiting his homestay in Thars was to do some off-roading explorations nearby guided by his knowledge of the area. He indeed gave us some great routes to explore and even took out his MM540 and lead us on a beautiful hill trail the first evening we were there. It was a great experience to follow his MM540 and watch it handle the terrain with so much ease and poise.
Anyways, I will stop this prologue here and share the off-roading experiences and photos below.
Exploring Roads and Off-Roads of Coorg
One of the main agendas for me on this trip was to try off-roading in my new Thar. I have done one major off-roading expedition in the past in the deserts of Rajasthan (described in this old travelogue) and then did a couple of small off-roading events here and there. But still, never did any off-roading in my own car. This trip was my first experience of off-roading in my own car in a small private group (without any official “organizer” of the event). Overall, I am still new to this game of off-roading, but thankfully, I had expert off-roaders @robimahanta and @justwheels with me, and their guidance and the tips they shared were also a great learning experience for me.
We did not do any hard-core off-roading on this trip (and that was not the plan anyways), but we did some mild off-roading, and then also drove around on some random hills and some mud paths we saw along the way. All of this gave me a good taste of off-roading in one’s own car and I enjoyed it a lot.
The first evening we were there, Hemanth (the homestay owner and our host) took us to a nice trail in the hills nearby, leading us in his MM540 4WD, at the sunset hour. It was a short drive, but still was a wonderful drive.
The MM540 leading the convoy of three Thars on a nice hill trail at dusk:
It was a short but nice trail. We saw some great views from the viewpoint we reached the top of that small hill. For me, this was also the first time I used 4-wheel drive mode (4H) on my new Thar. It worked well on the first attempt, and everything was fun. I enjoyed this short off-road drive for sure.
The next morning Hemanth suggested a nice circuit that included some off-roading and some driving on lesser-known hill roads that were so broken that it justified having a Thar there. I would have never driven on those broken hill roads in my BMW. But the Thar was totally in its elements on those roads, and we managed to cover both totally broken roads and the off-road hill climbs with ease. Both I and my wife enjoyed this new experience, and we enjoyed this new aspect of motoring.
To start the driving day, we first hit a hill called Kote Betta. We reached the peak and randomly explored some paths nearby.
From Kote Betta, we started driving on some lesser known hill roads and some very narrow country roads. At one point, we found a random mud path leading to some flat grassland, and just randomly drove on those mud tracks. I got another opportunity to use 4H in my Thar and I enjoyed it again.
We continued our drive on the rural hill roads, and at one point, found another hilltop where we could go off the road again.
After driving on these narrow hill roads, we hit a proper off-road trail to reach a hilltop known as Mandalpatti Peak. This is a hilltop with panoramic views all around. And it takes a proper 4×4 vehicle to reach this location as the path to this is a dirt track full of stones, and at a couple of points, requires tricky maneuvers over rocks and a few steep rocky sections.
At the beginning of this off-road trail, there is a check-post which allows only 4×4 vehicles to enter, after paying the appropriate fees.
After some careful crawling on those rocky sections and the stone-filled road, we reached the hilltop.
The three Thars at the top of Mandalpatti hills:
This trail was not too difficult for Thar, but yet was just right to give me a good idea of Thar’s capabilities and a preview of what kind of drives I would do in future in my Thar. I used 4H and Hill Descent Control (while coming down the hill), and I was happy that both of these features worked very well. This being my first drive in the new Thar, I was still getting used to handling this vehicle on such hill trails.
But here, @justwheels went ahead of me, and started giving me instructions on radio and I started following the lines suggested by him. Thanks a lot to him for his expert guidance that helped me quickly understand the nuances of handling Thar on such terrain. @robimahanta was behind me and was watching me carefully and giving tips as and when necessary. The three of us were using radios for communication and that was of immense help. Thanks to both of these expert off-roaders for making my first off-roading experience in my own Thar both easy and fun.
Epilogue
It was a short and sweet weekend drive that was made memorable by the beautiful Thars, the great company we had, the idyllic homestay and the wonderful hosts there.
Thanks to all of these for making this trip so much fun. Everything went well except for the weather. We were expecting some rain (common in Coorg at the end of May), and looking forward to driving in the rain and mud on the hills. Unfortunately, we were unlucky with the weather. There were no rains at all when we were there, although it rained before we went there and the forecast showed a lot of rain in the following week. Just the weekend we were there was bone dry and quite hot, something totally different from what we expected.
I was happy that I got to use the Thar well and got accustomed to it quickly. I wanted to try out various mechanisms in Thar, and I got to use 4H and Hill Descent Control on multiple occasions. I also used Cruise Control on the Mysore-Bangalore highway and everything worked fine. The only thing I did not get to use was 4L (given the bone-dry weather, there was no mud or slush anywhere and there was no chance to use 4L). Hopefully, my future trips will give me plenty of opportunities to use 4L.
Personally, for me, it was a new experience for sure. Thar is so different from my BMW 320d that driving it felt like playing a totally new game compared to what I am used to. And honestly, both I and my wife enjoyed this new Thar experience. True that both the ride and handling are quite bad in Thar. However, once you experience and appreciate what Thar is capable of beyond the tarmac and smooth roads, it is easy to look past these shortcomings and start liking the vehicle anyways. The simple joy of motoring with peace of mind on broken roads and wandering around on hilltops without worrying about your vehicle was something that we totally loved. And that exactly is the USP of Thar. Anyways, it is still early days for me with Thar and I will comment more on my Thar experiences after a few more drives.
Of course, I absolutely love driving my 320d too, and I plan to use both the 320d and Thar for different kinds of road trips from now on. Hopefully, I will have more Thar stories and travelogues to share in the future, but for now, this simple weekend drive was the first chapter in a new driving experience for me.
Well, that is all for now. Thank you for reading!
P.S. During my final reading of the travelogue after composing it, I realized that every single photo I included in this travelogue has a Thar in it. Not a single photo without a Thar! This was certainly not by design and certainly not done on purpose, but it just so happened and I myself noticed that only in the end. But this shows the photogenic appeal of the Thar. I just did not bother shooting any landscapes or sunset pictures this time, when I had three beautiful machines to shoot instead.
Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.
source: http://www.team-bhp.com / Team-Bhp.com / Home> News / by Utkarsh Chaudhary / June 05th, 2023
The decision to cancel the exclusive selection process for Kodagu athletes for state-level teams has irked sports persons in the Kodagu district. As many as 18 students, including three girls, selected at the district-level selection process have been removed.
Kodagu district has players at the state and national level and they have also participated in the Olympics events. An exclusive selection of Kodagu students has been going on for the past 23 years in Ponnampet.
Arun Machaiah, a former MLC, accused senior officials behind the decision to cancel the selection.
A state-level sports school is being run at Kudige and the athletes to play at the state level are selected from there.
While the national-level sports persons are selected from Sai Sports Residential School, Madikeri.
Machaiah said when the selection processes for national and state-level events come together the opportunities for the athletes of Kodagu are likely to decrease.
Zilla panchayat had taken resolution for an exclusive selection of Kodagu students for state teams in Ponnampet School. It was approved by the Karnataka government in 2001.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Mysuru News / by G Rajendra / May 28th, 2023
A land known for its coffee and renowned for its generals and warriors, the history of Kodagu has never been traced to its origins, the thread of descent becoming a tangled knot of colonial theories and hearsays. But history is important for one to realise the essence of culture and one’s own identity. Without this realisation, much is lost, and more is at risk.
Kodagu has always been placed in the category of the areas that complied silently with the British, when in reality, its contributions were simply underplayed and whitewashed. Many braves from all backgrounds had been leaders and warriors in their own right, following Gandhian ideals and fighting passionately for freedom.
The PM’s YUVA Mentorship scheme was an opportunity to shrug off this stereotype and uncover the truth. The Lost Heroes of Kodagu talks of those men and women who looked danger in the eye, unflinching even as blows landed on them left and right. It talks of those who rose and made sure their voices were heard despite attempts to muffle them. Those that history let slip through cracks and crevices, silent and dormant.
Recover them as you read. Watch as they come alive through the pages. Be inspired by their grit and determination, be empowered by their stories. But most of all – remember them, keep them in glorious memory.
The passions that have been running high over the Cauvery have eclipsed that the river’s birthplace is in Kodagu district, where it is an integral part of the lives of the Kodavas, but not in terms of drinking water.
Journalist and author PT Bopanna has eloquently spoken about what the Cauvery means to the Kodavas, one of the communities of people who live within Kodagu district. The identity of the Kodavas is deeply linked with the river, which rises in Talacauvery. Ironically, Madikeri city, the district headquarters, frequently faces a drinking water problem.
“The Rs 230-crore Harangi project has been conceived for the benefit of politically powerful Mysore and Hassan districts. Though the Harangi Dam (in picture) is in Kodagu and the major catchment area of the Cauvery is also in Kodagu, the irrigation potential from the project for Kodagu is a measly 607 hectares, out of the 54,591 hectares of total irrigation potential,” Bopanna says on his website Coorgnews.in.
He pointed out that 1,909 acres of land in 13 villages had been submerged by the construction of the Harangi dam in Somwarpet taluk.
“See, we don’t benefit from the Cauvery at all. Every year the river floods and the roads get blocked. We are always inconvenienced by the Cauvery. We just want our basic water needs met, and it’s a small place,” Bopanna says.
Although people are worried about drinking water supply from the Cauvery, Bopanna says that in Kodagu, people are worried more about a larger problem.
“I’m worried about deforestation,” Bopanna says. Falling in the Malenadu region, Kodagu district houses 4,102 sq km of the Western Ghats, making it look as if a green carpet is spread across the land. It is one of the least populated districts in the state.
Referring to the 400kv power line from Yelwal in Mysuru to Kozhikode in Kerala, a distance of 55m, Bopanna said: “This government-sponsored deforestation needs to stop.”
According to some estimates, 55,000 trees will be cut in thick forest areas to set up the line. Activists have alleged that a few thousand trees have been cut in violation of the law.
“When trees were being cut for that power line, not a single politician made any noise. They weren’t bothered. This clearly reveals their short-sightedness and their lack of understanding about the effects of deforestation. Rainfall has become erratic in the region,” Bopanna says.
He advocates a complete ban on tree felling and the conversion of agricultural land for commercial purposes. “But Kogadu’s politicians depend on the timber lobby and sand mining. They have not allowed a discussion on the Kasturirangan report.”
Now he’s worried. Drought-like conditions that occurred only once in five years in the past, are now almost an annual feature. “We need to save the Western Ghats to save the Cauvery (for all of us). That’s the core issue.”
source: http://www.thenewsminute.com / The News Minute / Home> News> Cauvery Dispute / by Aneesha Sheth / September 22nd, 2016
Footloose in Kodagu, where the mercury still hovers around 20° Celsius.
Coffee is one of the mainstays of the local economy. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStock
While temperatures go up in the rest of south India with the advent of summer, in Karnataka’s Kodagu district the mercury still hovers around 20 degree Celsius. I sip my delicious freshly brewed, locally grown coffee. Coffee is one of the mainstays of the local economy: the rolling plantations stretch over a quarter of the district, not only up and down the hillsides of the Western Ghats, but also in tiny coffee gardens or even as the isolated backyard shrub.
Over 40,000 coffee growers in Kodagu have holdings below 10 hectares. A major portion of the coffee produced in India, both Robusta and Arabica, is grown in Kodagu. With its pretty white flowers and cherry-red berries, the coffee plant has brought prosperity to the district.
Flowers of Arabica in a Kodagu plantation. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStock
Sitting in the garden, I try not to be distracted by the anthuriums, peace lilies, Malabar rhododendron, and splendid roses that grow so well in this emerald-green landscape. I am reading a new translation of the short stories of the feminist writer Kodagina Gowramma by Deepa Bhasthi. Gowramma wrote in the early 20th century and her collection was published posthumously. Bhasthi’s translation has been published by the independent Indian publisher Yoda Press.
Kodagu’s Gowramma
In one of the short stories, a young man dreams about going to England to study further. “When I was a little boy, my neighbour’s son went to England to sit for some exam and came back after touring Europe. Then, the respect the villagers gave him, his car, his new fashionable clothes, the way he walked, the way he spoke, all this made me long to go to England and come back like him…. It was because of this fierce longing to go to England that I did not fail even one year in school. I was the class topper; I was a model student in school.”
Bhasthi, who is from Gowramma’s hometown in Kodagu, has written about her unusual life. On a trip to Kashi as a child, Gowramma had the traumatic experience of getting lost in the city before she was reunited with her family at the police station. As a young woman, Gowramma played tennis, loved swimming, and had independent views. As news of the freedom movement spread, she became deeply influenced by the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi and began wearing khadi. Bhasthi describes how, during Gandhi’s visit to Kodagu in 1934, Gowramma reportedly went on a fast and insisted Gandhi should come to her house. She then gifted all her jewellery to the cause.
Gowramma died tragically young, at 27, in a swimming accident. A photograph of the young writer hangs on the wall of the rural library in Ponnampet, located close to the statue of Mahatma Gandhi that marks his visit to the town.
Kodagu’s libraries
Kodagu’s rural libraries are attractive and child-friendly spaces. Library walls often commemorate Kodagu heroes, such as Field Marshal Kodandera Madappa Cariappa, India’s first Army Chief after Independence, and another legend, General Kodendera Subayya Thimayya. The library walls also have pictures of Karnataka’s distinguished Jnanpith Award-winning writers. And in Hoddur village, a tiny rural community located some distance away from the panchayat headquarters has set up a library of its own in an old anganwadi building. It is called the Savitri Bai Phule Community Library.
A monk in a Bylakuppe monastery | Photo Credit: Ramesh Meda/ Flickr
In Thithimathi, a tiny village on the outskirts of the Nagarhole forest, the rural library has bright blue benches in its yard. Two schoolboys play chess in a corner. I learn that one of them attends a private school; the other boy is from a tribal community and attends a government school. Here in the village library, it is a small moment of great happiness to see them playing chess together.
No weekend in Kodagu is complete without a few moments of calm in the nearby town of Bylakuppe, which is home to two Tibetan settlements dating back to the 1960s, Lugsung Samdupling and Dickyi Larsoe. The beautiful Namdroling Monastery is also located here. It is lined with prayer wheels and intricate, colourful murals that contrast with the deep red robes of the monks. The monastery reverberates with deep musical chanting, transporting visitors to places not dreamt of in philosophies.
Uma Mahadevan Dasgupta is in the IAS.
source: http://www.frontline.thehindu.in / Frontline / Home> Others> Travel – Diary / by Uma Mahadevan Dasgupta / May 04th, 2023
Coorg: Stories and Essays by CP Belliappa. Rupa. Pages 264. Rs 395
‘Coorg: Stories and Essays’ draws from and builds on CP Belliappa’s earlier works on Coorg (officially known as Kodagu).
The book begins by tracing the progress of the land and its people during the rule of the Haleri rajas; the British annexation and their administration of the territory and the events that culminated in Coorg becoming a part of the Kannada-speaking state of Karnataka.
The essays and stories also offer the fascinating illustrated story of Princess Victoria Gowramma, the lost princess of Coorg.
Belliappa delves deep into antiquity, covering a wide range of topics relevant to understanding the ethos of Coorg.
source: http://www.tribuneindia.com / The Tribune / Home> Backflap> Book Reviews / April 23rd, 2023
The new pattern has more number of multiple choice questions compared to the earlier examinations.
M. Mohan Alva, chairman, Alva’s Education Foundation, Moodbidri offering sweets to Ananya K.A., who topped the commerce stream in the second PU exams in Karnataka. The results were announced on April 21, 2023.
Ananya K.A., topper in the commerce stream of the second pre-university examination, said that the new pattern of the PU exam helped save time in answering the questions.
Ms. Ananya had prepared well for the new pattern that had more number of multiple choice questions compared to the earlier examinations. “I was better prepared,” she told The Hindu.
Ms. Ananya hails from Kushalnagar in Kodagu district. She is the eldest of two daughters of ex-serviceman K. Ashok and government school teacher G. Nalini. She was a student of Adichunchungiri School in Hassan up to class 10. She joined Alva’s Pre-University College, Moodbidri, in Dakshina Kannada district, two years ago under the free education scheme of Alva’s Education Foundation for sportspersons.
“I am a volleyball player. But due to an injury, I had to discontinue sports and concentrate on academics this year,” she told The Hindu.
As she has been staying in a sports hostel since class 8 in Hassan, it was not difficult for her to stay away from her family, in Moodbidri.
She is now preparing for the company secretary entrance examination scheduled on May 1.
Congratulating Ms. Ananya for securing 600/600 marks, M. Mohan Alva, chairman of Alva’s Education Foundation, Moodbidri said this is first time that a commerce student has secured 100% marks in the examination. Mr. Alva said the foundation will continue to offer free education to youngsters with a talent for sports, cultural activities or academics.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Mangaluru / by The Hindu Bureau / April 21st, 2023
S.N. Rajarao (68), former Kodagu Zilla Panchayat President and a resident of Heggadahalli village in Koodige Gram Panchayat limits, passed away following a heart attack at a private hospital in Mysuru on Monday night.
He leaves behind his wife, three sons, two daughters and a host of relatives and friends.
Rajarao had also served as Koodige Gram Panchayat President, President of Social Justice Standing Committee and Kodagu Zilla Panchayat President, where he had served for more than three decades.
He had also served as the President of Basavanahalli Multipurpose Tribal Co-operative Society, Director of Koodige Agriculture Co-operative Society and was the Member of Virajpet taluk’s Akrama Sakrama Committee.
Last rites were held at the family’s farm land in Seegehosur yesterday, according to family sources.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / April 19th, 2023
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