Coffee Board chief wants good tree cover over estates
Demand may exceed production in five years from now
CHIKMAGALUR: G.V. Krishna Rau, chairman of the Coffee Board, said on Saturday that tree cover in 1,20,000 hectares of land in the Western Ghats region had been reduced because of expansion of coffee plantations between 1980 and 2000.
Bangalore-based Feedback Venture has prepared a Rs 27.77 crore plan for the integral development of Mudigere town, said the organisation Programme Officer K K Baij.
Addressing an interactive session on the infrastructure development of the town at the Town Panchayat hall on Monday, he said the plan will be executed in three different phases.
Under Rajiv Gandhi Rural Electrification Scheme, electricity will be provided to 37,147 families in 1,033 villages, said District-in-Charge Minister K S Eshwarappa.
District-in-Charge Minister K S Eshwarappa inaugurating Rajiv Gandhi Rural Electrification Scheme programme organised by MESCOM on Tuesday. DH photo
The High Court has directed the Chief Secretary to file an affidavit for leasing out the Shola forest land to a private company to construct a resort at Arashinaguppe village in Chikmagalur district.
The villagers of Masagali, Nidugodu, Beranagodu and Holadagadde in Avathi hobli urged the Chikmagalur Circle Forest Conservator Avathar Singh to protect the lives of people and crops from wild elephants.
Rot disease has surfaced in the areca plantations of Kattemane in Lokanathapura village affecting huge quantity of yield. Heavy rains have resulted in increased moisture in the atmosphere, which in turn has caused rot disease. Areca growers in the region are anxious over the possible spread of the disease to a larger area.
At least 74 people died in rain-related incidents in Karnataka since June as the state received 391 mm of rainfall in the last one-and-half months against the normal average of 328 mm, Revenue Minister G Karunakara Reddy informed the assembly today.
