Monthly Archives: June 2015

Mysuru – Madikeri Rail line survey to be completed this fiscal year

Business & Economy

Mysuru :

The Preliminary Engineering-cum-Traffic (PET) survey of the much-awaited Mysuru-Kushalnagar-Madekeri Railway line will be completed during the current fiscal year, following which a revised PET Survey report will be submitted to the Railway Board for clearance, said Divisional Railway Manager and Chairman DRUCC, Rajkumar Lal.

He was replying to a question put forth by one of the committee members regarding the status of the Railway line during the 24th DRUCC meeting held yesterday.

“At present, the authorities are engaged in updating the PET Survey report of the Mysuru-Kushalnagar section, while the physical survey between Kushalnagar and Madikeri is in progress,” said Rajkumar Lal and added that, “The PET for the new 84.5 km broad gauge line between Mysuru and Kushalnagar via Hunsur and Periyapatna projected to cost Rs. 666 crore was submitted to the Railway Board in 2012. As the rate of return was 8 per cent, the project was not pursued.”

He further added that in view of the support extended to the project by the State Government, the PET survey was being updated and the entire report will be submitted to the Railway Board in the current financial year.

The cost estimate for the stretch between Kushalnagar and Madikeri was yet to be prepared as the survey is in progress, he added.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore /Home> General News / Wednesday – June 24th, 2015

Writer calls for documenting Kodagu’s tribal culture

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Records, All

Writer J Somanna on Sunday said writers should come forward to document the complete history of Kodagu where people from various communities speaking various languages reside.

The documentation of the district’s history has not been not carried out properly till date, he observed while presiding over the sixth Virajpet taluk Kannada literary conference here on Sunday.

“A lot of work has to be created in the literary world of Kodagu. Apart from the history documented by Christian Missionaries writers, folklorist Nadikeriyanda Chinnappa and D N Krishnaiah, we don’t have any other documentation on the history of the region. Now, Hampi Kannada University lecturer Tambanda Vijay Poonacha is trying to document the history. Young writers should also initiate a move in this regard.”

Somanna said that there was a need to document the culture, attire, tradition of tribals, including that of Kodagu Kembatti, freedom movement, life of soliders and so on. Only a handful of writers like G T Narayana Rao, Kodagina Gowramma, B D Ganapathy, Kakemani I M, Muthanna, Thambanda and Vijay Poonacha have made their names in the literary world, he added. Somanna said Kannada teachers should be trained properly to teach the language in an appealing manner.

The teachers should have an in-depth knowledge on the subject, he observed. He urged the Union government to nationalise educational institutions and frame a uniform education policy for the country.

Tribal academy sought

“The tribals in Virajpet taluk are living in a pathetic condition. The government’s facilities have not reached them yet. There is a need to rehabilitate them on the periphery of the forest. A separate Budakattu (Tribal) Academy should be established to protect the literature and culture of the tribals,” he said. The literary meet passed a resolution urging the government to check elephant menace.

At an open session presided over by taluk Kannada Sahitya Parishat president M P Keshava Kamath, honorary secretary D P Rajesh Padmanabha read out the resolution. It read: “Chennayyanakote is located on the periphery of the forest. The residents are scared following the elephant menace. The forest department should chalk out a plan to check elephant-human conflict.”

The resolution would be submitted to chief minister and forest minister through the deputy commissioner.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> District> Madikeri, DHNS – June 28th, 2015

Mumbai to host the 3rd Edition of “World Tea & Coffee Expo” ™ 2015

Business & Economy, Coffee News, World Opinion

· International destination Mumbai ensures substantial participation of Indian & International companies
· Global Market for RTD Tea & Coffee growing at a healthy rate annually
· Buying delegations from Iran, Dubai, Nepal, Russia & UK planned

Mumbai, the commercial capital of India, shall host the 3rd World Tea & Coffee Expo 2015, India’s only International trade show dedicated to the Tea & Coffee Sectors. With over 100 exhibitors from 10 countries and dedicated country pavilions, this International Tea Coffee show in India promises an even bigger presence to provide the perfect environment for the hot beverage industry to meet face-to-face and develop real business opportunities. The 2015 edition is to be held at Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai INDIA from 1st Oct to 3rd Oct 2015 and shall cater to a prospective visitor base of over 6000 buyers from across India and abroad – up from the visitor count of 4100 witnessed during the second edition held in Sept 2014.

In addition to a display of innovative and exotic products, machineries, accessories, technologies, vending machines and certifications from the entire gamut of the Hot beverage sector, additional activities planned at the Expo include: B2B match-making, Workshops & Championships, a High Level 2-day Conference by Industry leaders, academicians and policy makers, export/import guidance kiosks, Knowledge zone etc.

Says Priti M Kapadia, Director, Sentinel Exhibitions Asia P Ltd, the organizer of the show, “Mumbai is a city where the best and the most serious converge for doing business. Mumbai attracts the serious players from the length & breadth of India and also from aboard which results in high value deals and alliances. The 2015 edition of this unique trade fair will also see buying delegations from Iran, Nepal, Dubai, and Russia.

The stupendous success of the 2nd World Tea & Coffee Expo 2014 @ Mumbai, INDIA in September 2014, has established this Expo as the official Industry show with just two editions under its belt. This is India’s only International Trade Show dedicated to Tea & Coffee and is supported by Ministry of Commerce through Tea Board of India and leading associations and chambers from across the world have pledged their support to this important industry initiative.

The Expo offers huge potential for appointing Distributors, Bulk orders, joint ventures, franchising, networking, knowledge-sharing, meeting government officials, marketing alliances, and overall branding. WTCE has become the platform for the launch of new and exotic tea & coffee products. For a visitor, Workshops and seminars are the other important part of the event, which will help them to understand the depth of this industry, gain knowledge, understand benefits and also to taste the products on the spot. Skill development shall be the main theme of the workshops which will be conducted by experts in the field. Adds Kapadia, “For the International Tea & Coffee conference, we are in touch with a number of international speakers and some of them have already confirmed.”

The global market for RTD (Ready-to-Drink) Tea and Coffee is expected to reach $125 billion by 2017 with an annual growth rate of 11%. The Asia-Pacific region is the largest market and also showing maximum growth. To capitalize on the growth trend in the RTD Tea & Coffee, companies are investing heavily on modernization of machineries, Quality Up-gradation & Product Diversification as also branding, innovations and market expansion. The Upscale café culture has contributed significantly to the growth of both Coffee & Tea in India with exotic branding and packaging coupled with a dynamic product mix are driving the demand. Drinking habits and lifestyles have changed in the last 8 – 10 years and people are now willing to pay more for quality. India is the 2nd largest producer, 2nd largest consumer and 4th largest exporter of tea with a 23% share in global production, a 12% share in world tea exports and a per capita consumption of about 725 grams (2013-14 figures). The 6th largest producer of the coffee in the world, India exports more than 80% of its coffee presently but a rising domestic demand at 7% annually may change this scenario completely over the next decade or so. The trend towards health consciousness, coupled with increased competitive pressure, will further push new product development in the next five years, which will in turn boost industry demand. Most International companies which have entered India are doing brisk business and expanding their operations. The World Tea & Coffee Expo is the catalyst for International companies to target this huge market.

WTCE will determine trends, create awareness on optimization of product lines, enable networking with peers, industry stalwarts, academia and government officials. The vision of the World Tea & Coffee Expo is to facilitate and expand the Indian Beverage business by providing all sourcing requirements under one roof. Organized by Sentinel Exhibitions Asia P Ltd [SEA], a part of the Mumbai-headquartered Sentinel media group, WTCE is established as the VOICE OF THE INDUSTRY and as the Gateway to Indian markets.

For further information please log onto www.worldteacoffeeexpo.com or call on +91 22 28625133 or email to info@worldteacoffeeexpo.com

Three tourist circuits identified to increase footfall in Cauvery basin

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy

Interesting places in Mysuru, Kodagu, Chamarajanagar and Mandya districts, and parts of Ramanagaram district to be covered

TouristCircuitKF28jun2015

In a major boost to tourism promotion in the Cauvery basin — comprising Mysuru, Kodagu, Chamarajanagar and Mandya districts, and parts of Ramanagaram district — the newly constituted Cauvery Tourism Development Authority (CTDA) has identified tourist circuits for drawing higher footfalls.

The authority, which recently met, announced the circuits — Malai Mahadeshwara Tourist Circuit, Kodagu Tourist Circuit and Chamarajanagar Tourist Circuit.

The authority was constituted to develop a combined ‘Mysuru Tourist Circuit’ consisting of Kodagu, Mandya, Chamarajanagar and Kanakapura taluk in Ramanagaram districts. Incidentally, this was one of the recommendations of the Karnataka Tourism Vision Group.

Accordingly, the circuits — Kodagu, Chamarajanagar and M.M. Hills Tourist Circuits comprising prominent and lesser-known tourist destinations in all the five districts — Mysuru, Kodagu, Mandya, Chamarajanagar and parts of Ramanagaram district – were identified. The lesser-known spots were included to attract tourists and improve economy in the areas.

Kodagu Circuit
There are several alternatives to explore the destinations in the circuit. They include: Madikeri-Abbi Falls-Bhagamandala and Talacauvery; Madikeri-Dubare-Cauvery Nisarghadhama-Harangi dams; Madikeri-Iruppu Falls-St.Ann’s Church-Clock Tower-Nagarahole; Madikeri-Honnammana Kere-Mallahalli falls; Abbi falls-Chelavara Reservoir-Mallahalli falls and Iruppu falls; Mysuru-Golden Temple (Bylakuppe)-Cauvery Nisarghadhama-Abbi falls-Mandalpatti-Madikeri and Bhagamandala.

Chamarajanagar Circuit
There is a mix of pilgrimage, wildlife tourism, eco-tourism and waterfall tourism in this circuit. It includes Chamarajanagar-K.Gudi-Biligiri Ranganathaswamy Hills-Yelandur; Kollegal-Bharachukki-Chikkallur-Gundal; Kollegal-Malai Mahadeshwara Hills-Gopinatham-Hogenakal; Chamarajanagar-Terakanambi-Parvathi Hills-Gundlupet-Himavad Gopalaswamy Hills-Bandipur; Mysuru-Somanathapura-Talakad-Gaganachukki-Bharachukki-Chikkallur.

Malai Mahadeshwara Circuit
In this too, there is a mix of wildlife and eco-tourism. The spots covered are: Ambigarahalli-Yadatore-Kappadi-Chunchankatte-Periyapatna-Kendagannaswamy Gaddige-Bheemakolli-Antharasanthe-Haradanahalli-Terakanambi-Huluganamaradi-Kanakagiri-Parvathi Hills-Biliri Ranganathaswamy Hills-Bandipur-Himavad Gopalaswamy Hills-Nanjangud-Suttur-T. Narsipur-Mudukutore-Talakad-Chikkallur and Mahadeshwara Hills.

In addition, a decision has been taken to develop Mysuru-Gommatagiri-Yadatore-Kappadi-Chunchankatte-Bettadapura Circuit and Mysuru-Gaddige-Kabini-Bheemakolli-Chikkadevammanabetta-Nanjangud-T.Narsipur-Talakad-Mudukutore-Somanathapura circuit.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Shankar Bennur / Mysuru – June 27th, 2015

Jwala Gutta-Ashwini Ponnappa match best-ever ranking

Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Records, All, Sports, World Opinion
Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa jumped from 15th to 13th in the latest rankings
Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa jumped from 15th to 13th in the latest rankings

New Delhi (IANS):

India’s most successful women’s doubles shuttlers Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa rose two places to be at No.13, matching their career-best in the latest rankings released by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Thursday.

Jwala and Ashwini, who won the women’s doubles bronze at the 2011 World Championships, reached the semi-finals of the US Open Grand Prix Gold which helped them rise up the ladder.

Manu Attri and B. Sumeeth Reddy also jumped two places to be ranked No.24 in the men’s doubles following their finals appearance at the US Open on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Indian shuttlers maintained their positions in singles.

Olympic medallist Saina Nehwal is still No.2 with P.V. Sindhu at No.14 among the women. In men’s singles, Kidambi Srikanth, Parupalli Kashyap and H.S. Prannoy are still on No.3, 10 and 12, respectively.

There is no Indian representation in top-25 of mixed doubles.

Indian shuttlers are currently participating at the ongoing $50,000 Canada Open Grand Prix in Calgary.

source: http://www.sportskeeda.com / SportsKeeda / Home> Badminton> News / IANS / June 25th, 2015

New Chaywa coffee shops in the train stations

Coffee News, World Opinion

ChaywaKF27jun2015

One of the Coca-Cola’s brands, Chaywa coffee shop, has opened two new coffee shops in Park Station and Pretoria Gautrain station.

Chaywa has developed a commercially viable On-The-Go coffee solution for rail and bus commuters designed to deliver convenient, quick service, for busy commuters on the go. Commuters are encouraged to Grab-a-coffee-and-go.

Located in prime positions within the PRASA/Metrorail-owned buildings with easy access to Gautrain stations, the Chaywa coffee shops are easily accessible to consumers travelling in and around Gauteng from Johannesburg Park and Pretoria Stations.

All Chaywa coffee is freshly brewed at the point of purchase and goes from bean to cup in approximately 30 seconds. Imported green coffee beans from South America, Asia and Africa are used to produce the finest tasting beverages and state of the art technology is applied to roast these beans to perfection and create deeper aromas and fuller flavours.

Bread and Butler will supply Chaywa choffee shop with all the food items on the menu such as self-serve sandwiches and individually wrapped confectionary such as muffins and doughnuts. Menus are created to allow for quick changes in consumer demands, trends and weather patterns.

source: http://www.mzansilife.com / Mzansi Life / Home / by Tumi Dzonzi / June 25th, 2015

Mysore Coffee Curing Co-operative Society Ltd. (MCCCS) land row : Coffee growers oppose auction of MCCCS land in Mysuru

Coffee, Kodagu (Coorg)

A section of coffee growers who attended the meeting in Ammathi, Kodagu, yesterday.
A section of coffee growers who attended the meeting in Ammathi, Kodagu, yesterday.

Virajpet (Kodagu) :

The member-coffee growers of the defunct Mysore Coffee Curing Co-operative Society (MCCCS) Limited in Mysuru, who met at Ammathi here yesterday, have resolved to go to Court seeking its intervention not to allow the auction of 5 acres land belonging to the Society.

The meeting, held at Ammathi Vyavasaya Parivartana Sahakara Sangha Hall yesterday, also unanimously resolved to acquire the MCCCS land and take up restoration work for the benefit of coffee growers.

Sangha President Mookonda Bose Devaiah, addressing the members, said that the Government Liquidator’s decision to auction the MCCCS land was against the law of the land. The 10 acres land for MCCCS building was acquired in 1953 by the coffee growers of Kodagu, Hassan and Chikmagalur districts for coffee storage and marketing facilities, he added.

Devaiah also pointed out that in 1998, the State Government appointed a Liquidator, who sold 3 acres of the 10 acres MCCCS land and paid the salary dues to the employees.

Cheranda Nanda Subbaiah, a member-coffee grower, who also spoke at the meeting, called upon the coffee-growers to unite and strive to protect the MCCCS land from being auctioned.

Another member-coffee grower Hemachandra said that the coffee growers from the respective districts will try to bring a stay order from a Court against the arbitrary decision of the Government Liquidator to auction MCCCS land.

Reacting to this, another coffee grower Kolathanda A. Subramani said that the Government, which had acquired 1.13 acre land of MCCCS to recover the debt, had earmarked the land for construction of an Co-operative Academy.

Now, when the MCCCS is free of debts and has rented out 13 godowns, how can the Liquidator go ahead with the auction of MCCCS land, he questioned.

Presiding over the meeting, Kuttanda K. Appachu said that it was now inevitable for the coffee growers of the three districts to seek legal recourse to save the Society’s land as the said land was purchased from the proceeds received through sale of shares of MCCCS.

He also alleged that the move to auction 5 acres of Society’s land had been initiated under pressure from some vested interests.

District Maha Mandala President Iynanda Jappu Achappa called upon the coffee growers to gear up for a legal battle to protect the land.

The meeting also resolved to send copies of the resolution to all those concerned.

Coffee grower S. P. Prasanna of Somwarpet, Ex-Servicemen Association President Chendrimada Ganesh Nanjappa, Zilla Panchayat member Bond Ganapathy, K.M. Viju Chettiappa Mookonda Aiyappa, Bose Mandanna of Balele, P.M. Nanda of Halugunda, Mookachanda Arun Appanna, Patrapanda Raghu Nanaiah were among the coffee growers present at the meeting.

It may be recalled that the Liquidator of the MCCCS, Mysuru, in an advertisement published in Mysooru Mithra on June 18, 2015, had declared holding of a meeting of MCCCS in Ammathi was in violation of Section 73 of the Karnataka Co-operative Societies Act 1959.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Saturday – June 20th, 2015

Coffee pulp bacteria clears oil spills, finds Nitte college team

Business & Economy, Coffee News, Green Initiatives / Environment, Science & Technology
The bacteria extracted grows in a minimal medium supplemented with petroleum crude oil (PCO) in sea water indicating that this is a halophile (organisms that thrive in high salt concentrations) and can be used effectively to clear oil spills in seas.
The bacteria extracted grows in a minimal medium supplemented with petroleum crude oil (PCO) in sea water indicating that this is a halophile (organisms that thrive in high salt concentrations) and can be used effectively to clear oil spills in seas.

Mangaluru :

Can bacteria extracted from coffee pulp waste help clear oil spills? It can, says the team from NMAM Institute of Technology, Nitte which has won the Best Project Award for ‘Microbial Bioremediation of Effluents’ at the Joy of Engineering, Design and Innovation (Jed-i) project challenge.

The bacteria extracted grows in a minimal medium supplemented with petroleum crude oil (PCO) in sea water indicating that this is a halophile (organisms that thrive in high salt concentrations) and can be used effectively to clear oil spills in seas.

The team – Aparna K Mohan, Sandhya Kamath, Sanjana Chiplunkar and Shiny Martis B, all BE Biotechnology students of the college- won the challenge beating 19 other finalists which included teams from IITs and NITs. The annual challenge, conducted by Jed-i in partnership with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, is designed to identify and showcase the best final year engineering project.

Sanjana, one of the participants, said: “Actually, this was our mini project in the second year. When we got good results we continued with it. The bacteria (Brevibacterium sp. MTCC10313) was previously isolated from coffee pulp ad our seniors had done work and found out that it had caffeine degradation ability. Since it had ability we thought it could tolerate other stressful conditions, then we thought of this.”

Can this be implemented at ground level? “We built a bio-reactor with some waste water and we inoculated the bacteria and got the same results as we got in our lab. This will work in the real world,” she said.

The second place was won by the team of Pradyumna S V, Prateek R, Kunal A Mehta, Mohit Kumar Basu from Reva Institute Of Technology & Management for their project ‘Design, fabrication and Analysis of A Remotely Piloted Vehicle’ while the project ‘Robotic Wrist’ by team of Harish Pawar, Raghuveer Sarma M S, Amit Inamdar, Pooja Ambannavar, Priya Burlabaddi from B V Bhoomaraddi College of Engineering and Technology won a special mention.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Mangaluru / by Stanley Pinto, TNN / June 25th, 2015

Rohan Bopanna-Florin Mergeaend end runners-up in Halle

Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Sports

Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea ended runners-up at the ATP Gerry Weber Open following a surprise straight set defeat at the hands of Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram, here on Sunday.

BopannaKF25jun2015

Halle, Germany:

Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea ended runners-up at the ATP Gerry Weber Open following a surprise straight set defeat at the hands of Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram, here on Sunday.

The second-seeded Indo-Romanian pair lost the summit clash 6-7(5) 2-6 against the unseeded American-South African team in one hour and 12 minutes.Bopanna and Mergea had come into the event after wining the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, last week.

They had advantage, following an early break but lost the momentum as well as their grip over the contest as the match progressed. They could not force a Match tie-breaker as they were outplayed in the second set.

They won 300 ranking points each and shared 50,880 as prize money for their effort.

source: http://www.zeenews.india.com / Z News / Home> News> Sports News> Tennis / PTI / Sunday – June 21st, 2015