In a rare gesture, a land owner has donated his entire three acre coffee plantation to help authorities widen and restore Madikeri-Somwarpet State Highway.
The road near Balaji estate was completely damaged due to recent landslides in the district.
A huge trench had been created as a 450 metre-long road was washed away. With 12 damages on the stretch, the road had been sealed for traffic at Kandanakolli, Haleri, Makkanduru, Emmettala, Hattihole, Tantipala and Madapura villages.
The residents were forced to trek through hills to reach the neighbouring villages.
Initially, experts had toyed with the idea of constructing a bridge to facilitate connectivity between the villages. But the plan to construct a bridge was shelved with Ashok Kumar Shetty, owner of Sincona Estate, stepping forward and voluntarily handing over three acres of coffee plantation to Public Works Department (PWD) for the purpose. The donation of excess land helped the PWD relay a new road and help residents access their villages without having to take the long rugged path.
Contractor Ashraf said Shetty had lost nearly 50 acres of coffee plantations in different parts of Kodagu due to landslides. Yet, that did not stop him from donating the three acres of land for the road project, he added.
Shetty, now based in Chennai, has helped thousands of villagers with his gesture.
Zilla Panchayat member Abdul Latif from Suntikoppa has also donated one acre of land to build houses for flood victims.
He handed over the land documents to Housing Minister U T Khader here recently.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Mangaluru / by Adithya K A, DHNS, Madikeri / September 20th, 2018 (headline edited)
While Haji gave the land for the new houses, Lokesh pledged his for an accessible road that can be built towards the plot.
In the face of terrible tragedy, the only glimmer of hope is often people coming together in solidarity and healing each other with love. Placing humanity ahead of religious differences, a Muslim man and his Hindu counterpart from Kodagu district have united to donate over 1.5 acres of agricultural land for the rehabilitation of flood victims.
According to Kodagu Deputy Commissioner Annies Kanmani Joy, the recent rains accompanied by flood in the Kodagu region have washed away over 5000 homes in several villages close to the Kaveri river, including Kondangeri.
It was then that 55-year-old Abdulla Haji came forward with an offer to part with 1.5 acres of his 6-acre agricultural land and donate it to the Kondangeri Masjid Committee, so that the government can put it to use.
“When a person sees the people around him suffering so much, it is only natural that he would go and help others. Although I’m a not a rich farmer, I’m in a position to help them. I hope that the bereaved people get some strength from God to overcome their losses and grief,” Haji said.
As per Haji’s proposal, the land is suitable for building permanent houses for the flood victims. But while the Masjid committee was considering the housing proposal, they soon realised that the construction site will face the problem of an inaccessible road.
“But without any hesitation, another Kondangeri resident, Lokesh, approached the Masjid committee and pledged that the Masjid may attach his part of land to the charitable cause and lay down a road towards the residential project,” said Yusuf Haji, President of Kondangeri Muslim Jamath. According to the Masjid authorities, most of the flood victims are labourers who’ve lost whatever little they had.
“Almost all the flood victims whose houses have been destroyed are labourers from coffee plantations. They had to forcibly leave their homes as the water level rose and in the process, they also lost their possession and valuables along with their home,” said Yusuf.
While government authorities are engaged in the rehabilitation process, there is a lack of temporary relief centres built by the government at Kondangeri village. Hundreds of victims, including women and children, irrespective of their religious beliefs, have taken shelter in relief centres at the Kondangeri Masjid while mourning their losses.
“Haji was thoroughly involved in serving the needy at the Masjid when they had started coming to this shelter. We think he was overwhelmed by their losses and felt that it was necessary to look into providing the people with long-term solutions,” Yusuf said.
This duo’s decision was hailed by the local authorities who confided that the district was facing a shortage of land to rehabilitate the victims of floods and landslides.
“There is already an ongoing process undertaken by the district administration to identify government land that has been encroached by a few agriculturists. The process of its recovery will commence. In the meanwhile, the generosity of people like Lokesh and Haji is really commendable,” Assistant Commissioner T Javare Gowda said.
This is not the first time that ordinary people in the flood and landslide prone coffee belt have rushed to help others. Last year, Abdul Latif of Suntikoppa had come forward and donated 2 acres of his estate land for the rehabilitation of victims.
Story by Story Infinity (Subs and Scribes Media Ventures LLP.)
source: http://www.thenewsminute.com / The News Minute / Home> News> Karnataka Rains 2019 / by Mubarak / August 20th, 2019
Deputy Commissioner Charulata Somal at a review meeting in Madikeri on Wednesday.
Observing that the crop survey is being hit by an inordinate delay in the district, Deputy Commissioner Charulata Somal instructed the officials concerned to speed up the process.
Reviewing the progress of the crops survey, during a meeting held at her office on Wednesday, she said that crops in 2.62 lakh survey numbers should have been completed in the district by now.
However, crops in only 1,762 survey numbers have been covered, she said and requested the cooperative banks, coffee board and other organisations related to agriculture and horticulture to cooperate with the department in carrying out the survey.
Cooperative Societies deputy registrar B K Salim said that there are 73 primary agricultural cooperative societies in the district and they will join hands in the crop survey.
Agriculture department technical officer Narayana Reddy said that the farmers can carry out the crop survey themselves, by downloading the crop survey application on their mobile phones.
Charulata Somal also asked the officials to ensure the supply of fertilisers in the district in adequate quantity.
Agriculture department deputy director Shabana M Sheikh said that 32,082 metric tonnes of fertiliser have been supplied to the district.
Coffee Board deputy director Shivakumaraswamy, District Lead Bank manager R K Balachandra, horticulture department deputy director H Shashidhar were present.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Mangaluru / by DHNS, Madikeri / August 26th, 2021
