A week after landslide in Kodagu village, search for six missing people continues

Floods

The district administration has requested the state government to send experts who can guide rescue groups in searching for survivors and bodies.

Prajwal Bhat

File image

It has been seven days since a massive landslide occurred in Kodagu’s Thora village, and search operations are still on for six people are still feared to be under the rubble. The landslide occurred on August 9 between 10:30 am and 11 am and wiped out houses, trees and acres of coffee plants. 10 residents of the village were reported missing, of which four have been found dead.  “The search operations have been hampered by the fact that the landslides have affected a large area. The terrain is also such that rigorous search operations might cause further landslips in the area. They are having to dig deep to search for missing people,” said Kodagu Deputy Commissioner Annies Joy.  The district administration has brought in six excavators to expand the area being searched and has also requested the state government to send experts who can guide rescue groups in searching for survivors and bodies.  Search operations have been affected by continuous rainfall in Kodagu district over the past week, and mist in the evening has forced officials to end operations early. However, the rains have reduced in the last two days. Virajpet taluk received 16 mm rainfall on Friday, down from over 100 mm last week. In the week before the landslide, the taluk received 905 mm of rainfall. Residents of Thora have been visiting the spot of the landslide over the past week in the hope of news from rescue groups about those who are missing. Among them is 45-year-old Prabhu Kumar, a resident of the village who has constantly been with rescue groups after his mother, wife and two daughters went missing on the day of the landslide. His wife, Anusuya (40), was found dead on Monday, but three other family members are still missing.  “He has been visiting the landslide spot every day since the disaster. Many residents have pitched in to help the rescue groups search for the missing people. We want to find them even though we know that there is almost no chance of survival now,” said NC Vijay Kumar, a resident of the village. Mamata and Likhita, the wife and daughter of another resident of the village, Paramesh, were found last Saturday after Paramesh's son Nishant guided rescue groups to the spot where he could see their household items.  Two teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are carrying out search operations along with officials from Garuda forces. “We are zeroing in on the areas we need to search by looking for spots where household materials are seen. This indicates that one of the missing people could be nearby, but the rains have turned the entire area into a mass of slush and mud. We are trying to canvass the entire area and dig deep to ensure that we are searching all possible spots,” an NDRF official said. 

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Karnataka floods: Yediyurappa meets PM Modi, seeks Rs 10,000 crore relief

Politics

Till Thursday, the death toll in the affected regions rose to 62, with 14 still missing.

IANS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday assured Karnataka Chief Minister of central aid to speed up relief works in its flood-hit districts, an official said. "Modi assured state Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa of soon releasing central funds for relief works in the state at the earliest and rushing a central team to assess the damage caused by heavy rains and floods across the state," an official of the Chief Minister's office told IANS in Bengaluru. Yediyurappa met Modi at the official residence of the Prime Minister in the national capital along with a delegation, comprising Union Ministers from the state, the ruling BJP leaders, including MLAs and MPs. "During the 40-minute meeting, the chief minister briefed Modi on the extensive damage caused by the heavy monsoon rains and floods in the coastal, central, south and northwest regions of the state for over a fortnight," said the official. Thanking the Prime Minister for his quick response to the state's appeal for more funds to mitigate the hardship being faced by the people in the affected regions, Yediyurappa told reporters that the central government would release initial funds at the earliest.' "We have explained to Modi about the massive flood caused due to excess water released from southwest Maharashtra reservoirs, which were overflowing due to heavy rains in their catchment areas over a fortnight" Yediyurappa told reporters in New Delhi. In a detailed report submitted to Modi, Yediyurappa said the state government has sought Rs 10,000 crore relief funds from the Centre to rebuild houses, buildings, roads, highways, schools, state-run hospitals that were damaged in the 22 of the state's 30 districts. Catching the people and the newly-formed Bharatya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state-off guard, torrential rains and floods wreaked havoc, leaving behind a trail of devastation across the state. Till Thursday, the death toll in the affected regions rose to 62, with 14 still missing. "The natural calamity has led to the loss of 867 animals, evacuation of about 6.8-lakh people and shifting of 3.6 lakh people to 943 relief camps and rescuing 51,460 animals, including cattle and livestock," added the official. According to preliminary survey, the fortnight-long monsoon mayhem has damaged 5.35-lakh hectares of farmlands, affecting food grain production and damaging 71,234 houses.

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Ex-Bengaluru Police Commissioner Alok Kumar drops case challenging his transfer

Controversy

Alok Kumar was transferred just 47 days into his tenure as the Police Commissioner of Bengaluru.

Soumya Chatterjee

In a curious turn of events, Karnataka IPS officer Alok Kumar, who was recently shunted out as the Bengaluru Police Commissioner, has withdrawn his case contesting the “premature” transfer order in the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT). Kumar was transferred out to the Karnataka State Reserve Police Division on August 2 just 47 days into his tenure, and was replaced by IPS officer Bhaskar Rao. This change was made as part of a massive administrative reshuffle in the state’s IAS and IPS ranks after BS Yediyurappa took charge as the Karnataka Chief Minister for the fourth time.  Kumar had initially sought a stay on the transfer order and based on his plea, the CAT had issued notices to the state government and even current Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao.  According to provisions of the Karnataka Police Act, 1963, Clause 20-F guarantees a minimum tenure of a year in any posting, which has also been endorsed by the Supreme Court. Kumar’s counsel had earlier pointed out that the State Civil Services Board did not even recommend his transfer nor does it concur with the statutory scheme of exemptions. According to news whispered within power circles in the city, Alok Kumar has allegedly withdrawn his case as part of a quid pro quo arrangement between him and Bhaskar Rao. It is alleged that now that Alok Kumar has dropped the case, Bhaskar Rao will ensure that probe on phone tapping incidents, which was reportedly ordered by Alok Kumar, does not reach a logical conclusion. Recently, a section of the media had published reports about the audiotapes that tape featured alleged conversations between Bhaskar Rao and another man named Farhaz, a powerbroker and a prime accused in a ponzi scheme case. In these conversations, the man purported to be Bhaskar Rao was heard lobbying for the Commissioner's post with Farhaz meeting top leaders of the Congress in Delhi. Speculation was also rife that it was Alok Kumar, who was the then Police Commissioner, had ordered that Bhaskar Rao’s phone be tapped and he was the one who leaked the conversation. After the alleged conversation was leaked, Bhaskar Rao had ordered Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) to probe the matter. An interim report submitted to Karnataka police chief DG-IGP Neelamani Raju has also purportedly named one ADGP ranked officer’s involvement in the phone-tapping controversy. This comes at a time when Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has also ordered an inquiry into the alleged phone-tapping of political leaders and senior police officers during the rule of the previous JD(S)-Congress coalition government rule. However, a senior police officer told TNM, "It is possible that the pressure might have come from some seniors since the matter of phone tapping is not in their hands any more. And if the state government had to reply legally, it might cause embarrassment for the police and political hierarchy."

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Waste from landfill slides down with rainwater in Mangaluru, enters homes and farms

Rains

Following the incident, residents in the area renewed their demand for a permanent solution to the problem of the overflowing landfill.

Prajwal Bhat

It is common for water to enter houses due to heavy rains, but in Mangaluru city's Mandara, residents were forced to deal with a unique problem when heaps of garbage from the nearby Pachanady landfill slid down with rainwater from a landfill in the area to farmlands and homes.  The incident, which took place on Friday, affected multiple acres of land and forced 21 families living in the area to move to a rehabilitation center near the Kudupu Ananthapadmanabha temple in the area. The heavy rains caused the garbage to flow down and affected areca farms, houses and a temple in Mandara.   “We have been complaining about this landfill for a long time and now. The garbage has come sliding down along with the rain. Officials visit the spot wearing masks but we have to live here every day. This has made the entire area reek of the smell of the garbage,” said a resident of the area in Mangaluru. Former Mangaluru Mayor  Bhaskar Moily who visited the spot, said, “180 tonnes of garbage enters this place every day, and the problems faced by residents here worsened after the garbage slid down to the low-lying area." The district administration has drawn up temporary measures to clear the solid waste and are currently discussing permanent measures to solve the problem. "We are doing civil works to stop the slide further like building bunds and diverting rainwater, since the garbage came with the torrential rain. These are temporary measures we have taken so far,” Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner Sasikanth Senthil S said.  But the continuous rains in Mangaluru has hampered the district administration's plans of re-surveying the area. "We are unsure about exactly what areas have been affected. We believe it is around 5-6 acres," added Sasikanth. The landfill, which is the main dumpyard in Mangaluru, is about 50 years old and covers an area of 28.32 hectares. Residents in the area have often complained about spontaneous fires in the landfill and foul odour emanating from it. They say that their living conditions are dangerous and that they are susceptible to diseases due to the waste in the landfill.  Three years ago, Jeeth Milan Roche, an environmentalist and entrepreneur from Mangaluru, took up the task of transforming the area by planting over 1,500 saplings in the landfill. "The plan did not succeed mainly because of the heat created in the landfill. After conducting this exercise, I understood the risks in the landfill. One of our volunteers fell 5-6 feet inside the landfill when we tried to plant saplings there", Jeeth recalls.  Jeeth invests a significant part of his income to the cause of planting saplings in Mangaluru. He believes that the solution to the problem should be determined collectively. "This is a problem that could affect any city today. The height of the landfill is increasing every day because of the waste that is dumped. We need to be strict with waste segregation and that requires involvement from the public,” says Jeeth.Following the incident, residents in the area renewed their demand for a permanent solution to the problem of the overflowing landfill.  "We are discussing with the Pollution Control Board. We are considering incineration as one option and re-consolidating the whole material with bio fencing implemented with proper standards. We will be announcing a permanent measure soon," said Deputy Commissioner Sasikanth.  However, engineers overseeing the landfill say incineration is not an option during the rainy season. "We have to consider other options like considering it as 'legacy waste', separating the plastics in it and moving it elsewhere", Madhu SM, Environmental Engineer, Mangalore City Corporation. An expert team including officials from the Karnataka Pollution Control Board are studying the issue to solve the problem permanently.   

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K’taka cabinet may be expanded on Aug 19, BJP prepares list of ministerial candidates

Politics

Sources close to Yediyurappa say that the BJP’s central leadership has instructed the state leaders that a cabinet of 16 ministers must be formed initially, which can later be expanded.

Theja Ram

It’s been over a fortnight since BS Yediyurappa took oath as the Chief Minister of Karnataka and yet the state has no cabinet. Sources close to Yediyurappa say that the BJP’s central leadership has instructed the state leaders that a cabinet of 16 ministers must be formed initially, which can later be expanded. BS Yediyurappa, who is in New Delhi, is set to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday to discuss issues related to rehabilitating flood victims and also the cabinet expansion. Party insiders maintain that the high command has given Yediyurappa the green signal to announce the list of new ministers by August 19 after the names are approved at the meeting on Saturday. “The caste combinations must be met in order to ensure that no community is sidelined. The high command is of the opinion that keeping half the ministries vacant will not give rise to rebellion,” the source said. The state leaders have shortlisted candidates based on caste combinations favourable to the party, the source said. “North Karnataka leaders are given more importance, since our voter base lies in the coast and north,” the source said. In addition, the party leaders are waiting to see the fate of the 16 disqualified MLAs belong to the JD(S) and Congress, as Yediyurappa and other BJP leaders had promised 12 of them ministries in order for them to rebel against their own parties. “If we announce all the ministers now, then there will be a problem. Once bye-polls are done, if the rebels win, then they will have to be allotted ministries. This is why a limited cabinet is being seen as the best way out,” the source said. The state leaders have already prepared a list of candidates. These include MLAs Jagadish Shettar (Hubbali-Dharwad Central), Umesh Katti (Hukkeri), Madhuswamy (Chikkanayakanahalli), Basavaraj Bommai (Shiggaon), V Somanna (Vijayanagar) and Shashikala Jolle (Nippani) from the Lingayat community; Govind Karjol (Mudhol) and S Angara (Sullia) from the Dalit community; B Sriramulu (Molakalnuru), Shivanagouda Nayak (Devadurga) and Balachandra Jarkiholi (Arabhavi) from the Valmiki Nayak community; MLC Kota Srinivas Poojary from the Billava community; R Ashoka (Padmanabhanagar) from the Vokkaliga community and Suresh Kumar (Rajajinagar) from the Brahmin community, sources said. “The Old Mysuru region has not been given importance this time around since several of the rebel MLAs are from this region. Besides, only three MLAs from Bengaluru city have been shortlisted as there are four disqualified MLAs from Bengaluru as well. The party’s largest vote base is the Lingayat community, and hence more candidates have been chosen from this community,” the source added.    

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How a Chikkamaluru group helped rescue efforts using WhatsApp voice messages

Floods

A local group, ‘NammHudugru’ (Our Boys), coordinated the rescue and relief efforts in Mudigere taluk using WhatsApp voice notes for quick communication.

Harsha Raj Gatty

With Mudigere in Karnataka’s Chikkamagaluru district facing heavy rains, a local group of youngsters - ‘NammHudugru' (Our Boys) – has taken it upon themselves to coordinate rescue and relief efforts in an interesting way. With cellular communication scant, the group is using WhatsApp voice notes to ensure that food and medical requirements in relief camps are communicated, and met. “We were located at different locations like Mudigere, Chikkamagaluru, Kottigehara, Banakal, Bagaluru, Kalasa Hobli, and Alekhan Horatti, so we had real-time updates on the weather, flooding levels, medical and food requirements. But with only a few mobile towers functional, we decided to use the existing Whatsapp group of NammHudugru to send voice messages and quickly communicate,” Divin, one of the coordinators of the group, told TNM. NammHudugru has been working in Mudigere and its surrounding areas since 2014 with 50-60 members, and takes up local civic issues including anti-dengue and malaria drives, encouraging cleanliness, and representing problems faced by residents at the local taluk panchayat. Most of the people on the group are aged between 25 and 35, and following the floods and landslides in the area last week, their WhatsApp group was used as a communication tool to help rescue efforts. Team of 'NammHudugru' To keep communication lines open, the group decided to re-fuel generators at mobile network towers and asked residents to keep power-banks and mobiles charged. “The communication was direct and to the point and since we were using WhatsApp voice notes we could leave only one-sided messages – like a walkie-talkie – and, there was no scope for simultaneous conversation. But it was worth the risk,” Adarsh, a group member, said. Since August 9, the group began relaying information from landslide-affected areas in the district on WhatsApp. The information was mainly about the food supplies, and excavators needed, and refuelling of generators. The WhatsApp group thus became a ground for mediation for stranded residents and rescue groups operating in the district. However, with over 220 participants in the WhatsApp group, the NammHudugru soon felt the need to appoint location-based coordinators for broadcasting messages to avoid confusion and duplicity, particularly while relaying requests for resource deployment. “For instance, a member leaving from Mudigere will leave an audio message about the supplies he is ferrying to an affected area, and the local coordinators receiving the message can convey if any additional requirement is there,” said Sampath, another group member. This group also consisted of seniors or village elders and Taluk Panchayat members who were familiar with the topography of the area, and the requirements. The group was also able to arrange 34 excavators since the route from Kottigehara to Horanadu was damaged and not motorable. The locally-run rescue and disaster management operation went on till Monday in the district. The group was also able to coordinate with local officials to arrange tentative accommodation for the displaced at local hostels. “Since holidays were declared at schools, it enabled us to turn schools into accommodation spaces as well as centres for catering food for the distressed,” another group member said. “Several villages had submerged during the flood during the first week of this month and no help was coming. We had to do something! So, we started the rescue work, provided supplies, and communicated with officials as well as local representatives. By the time the army stepped in, we were able to pinpoint to them those areas where we could not reach, including transporting those who were in need of medical attention or were elderly,” another member added. At present, the group is entirely involved in ensuring that materials received from donors and government reach the right destination. Around the region, Kottigehara was among the first places where landslides were reported. While the group’s efforts along with the fire and rescue team helped rescue 500 people there, even as six lost their lives due to the floods and landslides. NammHudugru now wants to identify families whose houses have suffered damage due to floods and arrange for the necessary commodities. “The Karnataka government has already agreed to help people living in rental accommodation by providing them with Rs 5,000. What we hope to do is provide them with other logistical and other assistance since the terrain is not motorable,” Adarsh said. Story by Story Infinity (Subs and Scribes Media Ventures LLP.)

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Discrimination complaints hit group fighting Trump's health policies

Some of its employees have described an environment allowing mistreatment of minority and LGBTQ employees.

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