The Kodagu district police have begun providing rock climbing training to police personnel to conduct rescue operations more effectively during natural calamities, officials said.
Police personnel are being trained in a 120ft deep quarry.
Mysuru
The Kodagu district police have begun providing rock climbing training to police personnel to conduct rescue operations more effectively during natural calamities, officials aware of the matter said.
Thousands of people incurred loss of properties and cattle when the district witnessed landslides, incessant rainfall, in 2018 ,2019 and 2020 during the rainy season particularly in August.
During every rainy season the people living in low-lying areas live under fear. Hundreds of villagers are shifting to relatives’ houses to escape from possible calamity, officials said.
This year the Kodagu police department provided training to more than 100 police personnel to work effectively during natural calamities in rainy season. ‘’Along with police personnel we are also using civilians to assist police forces during natural calamities in rainy season,’’ Kodagu SP K Ramarajan told HT.
Now, training is being provided at stone quarry areas with depth of more than 120 feet to team of 20 civil police and 20 reserve police personnel. “During calamities the police forces can’t reach remote areas due to road blockages and heavy rains. During such situations we could use the service of local people as they know the local areas well and play vital role in rescuing people and cattle,” he said.
He said along with rock climbing the training is provided to climb up trees to police personnel. In case of floods and landslides, they have practiced how to reach the dangerous places and save the people. They have also practiced walking on wires. He assured the people that they are ready to protect them through this and would face any kind of situation. SP Ramarajan himself climbed the stone quarry to instill courage to the staff.
He said tough training is not provided to civilians but they use their services.
source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> India News / by Coovercolly Indresh / June 19th, 2023
The turf that was laid in 2021 remains unused and in a shambles.
The hockey turf sanctioned by Hockey India way back in 2013 which was completed in 2021 has a deserted look without a single match being played so far. Credit: DH Photo A sprinkler to water the pitch that was wrongly placed behind one of the two goal posts at the hockey arena in Somvarpet. Credit: DH Photo
Synonymous with the region’s love for hockey, the little-known Somvarpet – which translates to Somavara (in Kannada): Monday and pete meaning market – in Kodagu district has produced several Indian players over the years.
While BP Govinda (member of the bronze medal-winning Indian team at the 1972 Munich Olympics) and SV Sunil (two-time Olympian and Arjuna awardee) are the stalwarts, other Indian internationals such as Arjun Halappa, Vikram Kanth, Hariprasad, Abharan Sudev, Roy KP, BM Geeta along with many in the national camps and India A teams have helped put Somvarpet on the sports’ global stage.
Recognising its contribution to Indian hockey and the immense talent pool, it was only apt when Hockey India chose this small town in the western ghats to lay a long-pending demand for synthetic turf – much to the excitement of hockey lovers here.
Though the ‘bhoomi puje’ was done way back on March 14, 2013, work began only in 2018 while the laying of the turf was completed in 2021 at Somvarpet’s Government PU College premises. More than two years later, however, the field remains closed and unused without a single match being played so far.
Surprisingly, around two years ago, HI issued an FIH (International Hockey Federation) certification and declared the turf fit as per international standards even though half the work – undertaken by a Hyderabad-based sports infrastructure company – had remained incomplete. This came as a rude shock to many and their concerns falling on deaf ears.
While defective drainage system and unscientifically built retention walls lead to flooding during monsoon, sprinklers have been placed behind goalposts. Besides, there are no water and electricity connections which have left the turf dry in summers.
“There is weed growing around the mat and in the stands. The newly-built arena has an abandoned look,” rued Ashok HN, director of Dolphin’s Hockey Academy in Somvarpet.
“It has been 10 years and we don’t know how many more years do we have to wait to witness some hockey action here,” he added.
A total of Rs 2 crore was allocated by the DYES initially but the expenditure of the project shot up to nearly Rs 5 crore in the course of time. With the money spent going waste, the stadium with a scenic backdrop fails to paint a pretty picture.
“It is really tragic because Somvarpet is one of the main hockey beds of the State and so much money has been spent,” said AB Subbaiah, secretary of Hockey Karnataka and member of the selection committee of HI.
“The mandate is for the agency to give a minimum guarantee of seven years after the completion of work. The DYES has to hold the contractor accountable.”
When DH contacted Vismayi VT, the assistant director at DYES of Kodagu district, she assured that the turf would be functional soon.
The newly-elected MLA of Madikeri, Mantar Gowda, inspected the facility on Monday and promised to fast track the process of getting the stadium ready and operational. “Around 90% of the work is completed. The interlocking of the surface around the the turf and clearing the weed are the only tasks pending. And about the wrong placement of the sprinkler, we have requested the contractor to shift it. As soon as all this is ready, we will co-ordinate with MLA sir and our head office in Bengaluru to fix an inauguration date at the earliest,” said Vismayi.
If making the turf in Somvarpet – fourth in the district after Madikeri, Kudige and Ponnampet – functional is the immediate priority, maintaining it will be a challenge in the years to come.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Sports> Other Sports / by Hita Prakash, DHNS, Bengaluru / June 14th, 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
The brothers are now looking forward to take part in the Master Games Championship in South Korea in May.
(From right) Belliappa, Machamma and Palekanda Bopaiah on an open jeep
Madikeri :
The Palekanda brothers who landed at Kadanuru in Kodagu, went around an open jeep with Australian Master Games Championship medals dangling from their necks. Palekanda Bopaiah (95) and Belliappa (86) won two medals each.
While Bopaiah won gold in the 100-m race category and a silver in the javelin throw, Belliappa’s golden moment came in the 1500-m walking race and a bronze medal in the 100-m race. “My elder brother actually came first in the javelin throw. However, there were some technical problems, which could not be rectified despite our efforts to convince the jury,” said Belliappa.
“It was tough to get through the registration process,” he said, “because the championship lacked authoritative representation from the nation. Fortunately, Mohan S, a scientist, from Chintamani of Chikkaballapur, helped us.” Mohan bagged a gold medal in the long jump in the 30-plus category.
“Without Mohan, we would not have won these medals. He helped us with the documentation. We will never forget him,” he said.
Meanwhile, 77-year-old Machamma also won a silver medal in the javelin throw. The brothers are now looking forward to take part in the Master Games Championship in South Korea in May. However, they are worried about arranging finances.
“Australian athletes are supported by their government. We hope that our government also supports us,” Belliappa said.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Prajna GR / Express News Service / March 18th, 2023
Raja’s Seat, a historic viewing point in southern India that is popular with tourists, has had a new zip line installed.
The zip line, said by the Hindu Bureau to be 310m in length, was inaugurated by deputy commissioner of Kodagu, BC Sateesha, and additional superintendent of Kodagu District Police, KS Sundar Raj, who both took a ride on the new attraction.
Mr Sateesha urged the local authorities to “pay adequate attention to safety aspects and obtain a certificate from General Thimayya National Academy of Adventure.” He also emphasised to the Horticulture Department officials that “full compliance of the guidelines issued by the Academy for practice of adventure sports” should be achieved.
The zip line facility is being operated in partnership with a “private player” from the city of Bengaluru for the next five years.
source: http://www.intergameonline.com / iNTERGAME / Home> Coin-Op> Pay-to-Pay / by Joey Howey / April 13th, 2023
Kundyolanda family to host 24th edition hockey tournament next year
Madikeri:
The grand 23rd edition of Appachettolanda Kodava Hockey Festival came to a close last evening with the Kuppanda team emerging victorious. Earlier champions Kulletira team had to be satisfied with the runner’s up place. The Nellamakkada team stood third and the Palanganda team came fourth.
The Kuppanda family team beat three-time champion Kulletira team by a margin of 4-2 goals in the penalty shoot-out and the Kuppanda family became the champion for the first time. The Kulletira family had won the tournaments in 1998, 1999 and 2002. The penalty shoot-out was necessitated as both Kuppanda and Kulletira teams scored one goal each during the stipulated match timings. While Kuppanda Somaiah scored the first goal for his team in the 16th minute of the game, the crowd erupted in joy. But the Kuppanda team’s jubilation was short-lived as Kulletira Avinash equalised the score for his team in the 22nd minute.
The Kuppanda team scored four goals in the penalty shoot-out while the Kulletira team could score only two goals. The winning team received Rs. 3 lakh cash purse and a trophy while the runner’s up team got Rs. 2 lakh cash purse and a trophy. The winners also got a rolling trophy given by the Kodava Hockey Academy.
The 24th edition of the family hockey tournament is planned in 2024 and the Kundyolanda family will play host.
More than 3,000 hockey talents from the Kodava community participated in the Appachettolanda Kodava Hockey Festival that was held at General Thimayya Stadium at Napoklu from Mar. 18 to Apr. 9 and in all, 336 families took part, a record of sorts.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News> Sports / April 10th, 2023
Kodagu DC B.C. athish (second from right) with SVEEP ambassadors Eshwari, Ravi Muthappa and Basavaraj Badiger in Madikeri on Thursday. Kodagu ZP CEO S.Prakash is also present. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
The Kodagu district administration has appointed a few commoners drawn from the civil society as its ambassador for Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) drive.
The ambassadors are S.K. Eshwari of Mekari village who is specially abled; Basavaraj Badiger, an arts and painting teacher from 7 Hoskote Government Higher Primary School; and K. Ravi Muthappa who is a Home Guard personnel. They were felicitated by the Deputy Commissioner of Kodagu B.C. Satish, ZP CEO S. Prakash and others on behalf of the SVEEP committee with shawl and fruits on Thursday and the posters to create voters awareness and education were also released on the occasion.
The authorities said though Ms. Eshwari is specially abled she was determined to overcome it and despite certain limitations, mastered various types of crafts and has been described as a role model for others. Determined to be self-reliant, Ms. Eshwari mastered sewing and has taken to sports in a big way including wheel chair race, swimming etc. As an individual who was schooled at home, Ms. Eshwari is also into writing poetry and stories, scripting plays and has won state-level prize in poetry writing, the authorities added. This apart she is also into vegetable carving and has spread the message of Swacch Bharat, wealth from waste and plastic-free drive among other such national programmes and has won many awards.
Similarly, Mr. Basavaraj Badiger has his own achievements and has been a fine arts teacher since 16 years. His works have been exhibited in different parts of the State including at Pattadakal festival, Badami festival etc and he has won the best teacher award at the taluk level. Besides, he has also won a state-level award for teachers’ co-curricular activities.
Mr. K.Ravi Muthappa has been with the Home Guards sinc 13 years. Belonging to Ivathoklu near Cheerambani, he has engaged himself in social service since many years. His services are sought during accidents in rivers, waterfalls and lakes and he has retrieved 39 human bodies so far. In the 2019 floods that ravaged the district Mr. Muthappa was instrumental in retrieving 5 bodies of a family that was buried in the slush in Korangala.
The three will take part in various voters awareness programme in the days ahead, said the authorities.
www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> India> Karnataka / by The Hindu Bureau / April 06th, 2023
In 1997, Pandanda M Kuttappa, a retired bank employee, wanted to channelise this hockey craze to unite Kodavas and explore the potential of the talent in the region.
Members of different families get ready for Kodava Family Hockey Festival at Napoklu in Kodagu district of Karnataka. | Photo Credit: H S Manjunath
It was a sunny Saturday morning when this reporter reached the General Thimmayya stadium at Napoklu village in Kodagu district. The men, women and children gathered at the stadium were eager to showcase their hockeyplaying talent.
More than 3,000 hockey talents from Kodava community (with a population of around 1.5 lakh) converge in a Kodagu village during the summer months to vie for the coveted family hockey title. This time it was the turn of the Appachettolanda family to host the hockey festival at Napoklu from March 18 to April 9.
Ask a Kodava, he/she proudly says that it is a festival, and does not call it as a tournament. So the organisers have aptly named it as hockey ‘namme’ (festival in Kodava language).
It is better to know a bit about Kodavas. A majority of people from Kodava community live in Kodagu district of Karnataka.
When you interact with Kodavas, they take pride in their representation in the armed forces — which include the personalities such as Field Marshall KM Cariappa and General KS Thimmayya — and in sports, especially in hockey.
There are more than 800 families of Kodavas with each having a unique name. Of them, 336 families are participating in this year’s hockey festival. The size of the families ranges from 100 to 400 people.
Interacting with businessline on the sidelines of the event, Pandanda Bopanna, President of the Kodava Hockey Academy, says “Hockey is in the blood of a Kodava.”
History of Kodava family hockey so far
chart
Festival objectives
In 1997, Pandanda M Kuttappa, a retired bank employee, wanted to channelise this hockey craze to unite Kodavas and explore the potential of the talent in the region. Kuttappa and his brother Pandanda Kashi Ponnappa started a family-led hockey festival in Kodagu keeping four objectives in mind.
According to Pandanda Bopanna (Kuttappa’s son), the first objective was to bring harmony within the Kodava community and families. Though many Kodavas were participating in national and internation hockey matches, they were not seen playing in their homeland.
The second objective of Kuttappa was to give an opportunity for local Kodavas to witness in real-time the game of their national and international players.
Pandanda Bopanna, President of the Kodava Hockey Academy | Photo Credit: H S Manjunath
Thirdly, Kuttappa wanted to provide a platform for youngsters in the community to showcase their talent, and take a step forward in their sporting career. Fourthly, the event also acted as a matrimonial platform and ended up in marriages in many cases.
Invests retirement benefit
Bopanna says that his father had invested his retirement benefits for hosting the first edition of the family hockey festival.
The first edition of the event, hosted by the Pandanda family, was named as Pandanda cup, and it saw the participation of 60 family teams. (The event was not organised in 2019 due to the 2018 Kodagu floods and landslides. Covid forced the organisers to refrain from hosting the event in 2020, 2021 and 2022.)
On the record participation of 336 teams this year, Bopanna says nowhere in the world would any hockey festival or tournament be played with such a large number of teams and players in one location.
Gender, age no bar
Gender and age are not a bar in this event. Men, women, and children can be the members of a team.
The only condition is that they should be from the same family. Women have the option to represent the family they are married to, or their paternal family. This year’s participation includes people in the age group of 6 to 84 years.
Highlighting her experience, Shivachaliyanda Dechakka, a 10th standard student from a sports hostel, says her family team won the first match, and lost the second one. She says it was a good experience for her to play with seniors.
While many teams have at least one woman representation, there are a few without them. In fact, the Kethira family had representation of five women, including the goalkeeper, in their team of 11.
Aman Poonacha from Palanganda family, an 8th standard student from Bengaluru, says he made his first entry as a player in his family team in a match on Saturday. However, he was not happy with his performance.
Confluence of youth and experience Several stars from Indian hockey make it a point to be the representative of their families in the family cup.
KK Poonacha of Koothanda family, a former international player and former coach of Indian women’s team, who had just finished a match earlier on Saturday, says that he has been attending the family hockey cup matches since 1998, and his family team has won the cup in four editions.
KK Poonacha of Koothanda family, a former international player and former coach of Indian women’s team | Photo Credit: H S Manjunath
Showing the five stars on his family hockey jersey, Ajay Ayyappa of Palanganda family, who works in the Department of Central Excise and GST in Bengaluru, says that he makes it a point to attend the hockey festival every year, and adds that his brother Amar Aiyamma, a former Indian player, will be playing in the next matches.
According to Pandanda Bopanna, former Indian team players such as Nithin Thimmaiah of Mekerira family, Pradhan Somaiah of Pudiyokkada family, PL Thimmanna of Puliyanda family, PU Bopanna of Pullangada family, and the former India Junior player KP Somaiah of Kuppand family are participating in the matches this year.
A boy is seen practising hockey at Napoklu. | Photo Credit: H S Manjunath
Terming this hockey festival as a good platform for beginners, KK Poonacha says they will get to play with the experienced players of national and international repute. This will be a good scouting ground for hockey talent also.
Stating that youngsters are motivated to play when they witness players of national and international repute, Ajay Ayyappa says it is like giving life to hockey again through this hockey festival, as people at the grassroots level are playing less these days.
Behind the scene
Appachettolanda Manu Muthappa, coordinator of the Appachettolanda Hockey Festival, says that his family has around 180 members, and they are actively participating in the smooth conduct of this event.
On resource mobilisation for organising the event, he says contribution of the amount from the family members and support from the public and corporates help them generate resources for the event. The State government has also been helping with funds for the event for some years.
A special gallery has been set up at the venue at a cost of around ₹35-40 lakh, and it can accommodate up to 25,000 people.
Appachettolanda Manu Muthappa, coordinator of the Appachettolanda Hockey Festival | Photo Credit: H S Manjunath
Deepak Chengappa of Nayakanda family, who is the Tournament Director, says that 21 matches are being conducted every day. The event has five jury members. Around 200 members, including the technical teams of Hockey Coorg and the whole Appachettolanda family, are helping him in the smooth operation of the event.
The event has four national referees, and 15 state referees. With an intention to encourage youngsters to take up refereeing as a profession, nine degree students are undergoing training here, he adds.
‘Encourage talent’
Kishor Cariappa from the Ammatanda family says that even though a lot of promising players take part in the Kodava Hockey Festival, their talent goes unnoticed once the tournament is over.
“Steps should be taken by Hockey Karnataka and Hockey India to hand-pick potential talent and start grooming them. Even though 336 teams took part this year, Hockey India officials were conspicuous by their absence. Organisers should make efforts to invite hockey think tanks in India to the event,” he adds.
Kishor Cariappa feels that the Karnataka government can help build two hockey venues with stands for Kodagu Hockey Festival in south and north Kodagu so that organising committees don’t have to spend lakhs of rupees on curating pitches every year.
Do you know who hosted the event?
chart 02
Future plans
Pandanda Bopanna says that three families have been finalised to host the next three editions of the hockey festival.
“We are encouraging other families who have not hosted so far to come forward and host. It is an opportunity to gain experience. It is not easy to host such a big event. It gives the family time to bond and also gives their youngsters a chance of hosting an event,” he adds.
source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> News> Sports / by A J Vinayak / April 04th, 2023
Indian rally pair of Mangaluru’s Jason Deepak Saldanha and co-driver Thimmu Uddapanda Bopanna from Kodagu made a stunning international debut by winning the national RAAT Thailand Rally Championship in their class at the Kanchanaburi stages here on Sunday.
Driving a Suzuki Swift 1.6L six-speed stock car in the RC2.1 class for Team Rally Insight, the top Indian rallyists made their way to the top of the class while achieving a creditable overall fourth among a strong field of 56 entries in different classes, including the top Rally 1 Super 4w drive class.
Beating rivals with superior and powerful cars, the Bengaluru pair, who recently took part in the South India Rally, performed beyond expectations.
With limited options, and only a few minutes of testing the new car and the new terrain, they excelled with a display of controlled speed and fine rally skills in the final six special stages ton Sunday and improved to fourth overall and first in their class, apart from the second place in the 2WD Cup that are held concurrently.
They clocked 1hr and 17 minutes.
The two Indian coffee planters will return to take part in the six remaining rounds of the Blueband Sports FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) under Dark Don team but will also explore opportunities to extend their international experience.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
source: http://www.devidiscourse.com / Devidiscourse / Home> News> Sports> Article / by PTI , Kanchanapuri / March 26th, 2023
Karnataka high court has directed the Kodagu administration to hand over 11 acres of land to the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) within two weeks to build a cricket stadium.
The KSCA had filed a writ petition in this regard. The land is supposed to be granted at Hodduru village.
Earlier some of the local villagers demanded more than an acre of land for the graveyard for a backward community out of 12.70 acres of land granted by the district administration to KSCA for the cricket stadium. However, after several years of protests and fights during previous deputy commissioners’ administration, recently the present Kodagu DC Satheesha BC had settled the dispute by agreeing to give 50 cents of land to be used for the graveyard.
However, this compromise did not work, and a group of villagers continued their agitations and the district administration did not officially transfer the 12.20 acres of land to KSCA.
When these agitations became a hindrance for the scheduled work commencement of the Rs 100-crore stadium project, the KSCA had filed a writ petition in the high court through its representative CS Devaiah through senior counsel KN Phanindra. The petitioner made the respondents as the principal secretary of the state, revenue department, Kodagu DC, AC, Madikeri taluk tahsildar, DD of land records and Kodagu SP.
Following this, high court judge R Devdas passed an order on March 10. The order mentions, “the petitioner KSCA was initially granted 12.70 acres. After due deliberations, the KSCA agreed to reduce 50 cents of land. Inspite of this the land was not handed over. On going through the said communication, it is clear that the district administration was once again pressurised by the local villagers to further reserve an extent of 50 cents of land for the purpose of burial ground, because the DC had earlier suggested to KSCA to further reduce 50 cents to allot for villagers out of 12.20 cents and the remaining 11.70 acres of land will be handed over to KSCA.”
The judge further ordered, “The DC to proceed and ensure that the possession of 11.70 acres of land in Sy. No. 167/1 A at Hodduru village is handed over to the petitioner and if needed Kodagu SP has to give protection to ensure that the process of handing over possession is completed within two weeks after receiving order copy by the DC.”
Kodagu DC has received the judgment copy on March 18. DC Satheesha BC said: “As per the high court order, the issue will be settled and within the court directed period. The land records pertaining to the order would be handed over to KSCA”.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Mysuru News / by TNN, G Rajendra / March 22nd, 2023
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