One day before landslides, there were cracks in plantations!
“Protect hills to save Kodagu”
►Elders and leaders of organisations warn
# Washed out Kodagu: A series of special reports
Madikeri, August 26: Kodagu is a district covered with hills and valleys. Conservation of these hills is a must to save Kodagu district. It is impossible to imagine Kodagu without hills and valleys. Instead of natural disaster, manmade disasters are the main reason for the present situation of Kodagu district.
There is a big difference between Kodagu two decades ago and the present scenario. Concrete buildings come up in Kodagu which was covered with thick forest, high rise trees and greenery. Tar and concrete roads were laid amidst the forest area. Rubber plantations are being grown by cutting the natural forest. Increased ginger cultivation has depleted the fertility of the soil. Since it is tourist hotspot, the number of hotels and homestays is increasing considerably nowadays. Because of the greed of human beings, the nature is being exploited. This unimagined exploitation of nature has caused such a widespread destruction, according to experts.
Those who come to see the natural disaster at Makkandur in Madikeri taluk expressed their opinions with ‘Varthabharati’.
Kodagu district is a nature’s bounty with beautiful waterfalls and hill ranges. Most parts of the district covered with thick forest and greenery. It’s land of natural resources. More importantly, it is the birthplace of Karnataka’s lifeline Cauvery River. More than this, it is one of the bio-diversity hotspots with rare species of flora and fauna. But they are at the verge of extinct. The worst ever natural disasters are happening now. What’s the use if the people worried now, asks retired army officer KP Jagadeesh.
Deforestation was in large scale to grow rubber and coffee. The hill range was damaged to plant rubber saplings. As the hills are digging like steps to plant rubber plants, the surface of the hills was completely damaged due to which the rainwater is easily percolating instead of flowing down. As a result, the soil is loosening, and big hills are collapsing causing widespread devastation. Thousands of people are on the streets now. We should blame ourselves for this disaster instead of pointing towards the nature, said Kodagu Unification Committee president Suguna Muttanna.
In order to construct concrete buildings atop the hills, roads are being laid around the hills by digging the foot of the hills due to which, the hills are losing their base and balance. The place where the rainwater is flowing is being flattened for constructing buildings and roads. The natural flow of rivers and streams are being diverted. When its raining heavily, the rainwater flows over the roads and gushes into the houses in the absence of natural ways to flow. This would cause landslides and this is man-made disaster, he said.
One cannot deny the negligence of the district administration and the government for this situation. Both the authorities have failed to protect and conserve the rainforests, natural resources and Kodagu. Though there are some policies are in place to protect the environment, they are not being followed strictly. So, Kodagu will require a separate policy. First the authorities should check digging of hill bases, deforestation and timber mafia. Otherwise, Kodagu people have to face more disasters than this one, said Lions former president JS Madappa.
Permission should not be given to dig hills. If it is necessary, then the district administration should see to it that the norms are followed strictly. While laying roads around hills, proper drainage facility should be made to let rain water and construct retention walls. In place of streams and valleys, alternative arrangements should be made to lay roads. For any reasons, the natural flow of streams should not be diverted. Ginger is being grown in large scale. As the soil fertility is decreasing due to ginger crops and this is also causing damages. The district administration should take steps about this, Madappa said.
A couple of days before the landslides that happened in many places across the district, the cracks were developed in some places. Many people have observed these cracks in their plantations. They have observed the cracks on roads where the hills were sunk and informed the district administration through local bodies. But the district administration has failed to act on it, alleged a villager.
Landslides might have happened in hill ranges and non-inhabited places. This might have happened due to shifting of land’s base. The rainwater percolated in those cracks causing landslides. If the district administration took steps to shift the people and precautionary measures as soon as it was informed, more disaster could have been avoided, Kodagu District Growers Federation president Harish Appaiah said.
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Sri Lankan Tamils observe 15th anniversary of armed conflict end
Colombo (PTI): Sri Lanka on Saturday marked the 15th anniversary of the end of the armed separatist campaign with Tamils holding a series of events throughout the former conflict zone in the north and east regions to remember their dear ones killed in the clashes.
However, in many areas, police and the government troops were accused of attempting to disrupt the memorial events.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had run a military campaign for a separate Tamil homeland in the northern and eastern provinces of the island nation for nearly 30 years before its collapse in 2009.
On May 18, 2009, Sri Lankan army declared victory with the discovery of the body of the dreaded LTTE leader Velupillai Prabakaran.
Agnes Callamard, the Secretary General of the Amnesty International, visited the final battle site at Mullaivaikkal in the north-eastern Mullaithivu district to attend the commemoration.
“Today’s anniversary is a grim reminder of the collective failure of the Sri Lankan authorities and the international community to deliver justice to the many victims of Sri Lanka’s three decade-long internal armed conflict,” Callamard said.
She said the UN investigations have found credible evidence of crimes committed by both sides to the conflict - “yet there has been little by the way of an independent or impartial national inquiry.”
The police and the government troops were accused of attempting to disrupt the memorials leading to the day’s event in different parts. The troops maintained that in the guise of remembering the 'conflict dead', permission cannot be given for the events that celebrate the LTTE, a banned organisation.
The troops came under fire for arresting several Tamils, including women, for organising memorials.
In Colombo, police thwarted an attempt to disrupt a ceremony commemorating those killed in conflict. One person was arrested as he argued with police saying he was against the LTTE being commemorated, police said.
Meanwhile, the government’s celebration of the victory in the war is to take place on Sunday with the participation of Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena at the war memorial near parliament here.
The defence ministry has announced promotions to over 3,100 sailor and 1,300 soldiers to mark the victory over the LTTE ending the separatist campaign.
