ELEPHANT KILLS ONE;

Madikeri March 19, 2008

While the people of Kodagu heaved a sigh of relief as the terror striking tiger was caught, there comes the threat of elephants which make merry trampling innocents.

A mason was brutally killed by an elephant at Gattadalla yesterday the 18th.

Aravindh aged 65 set out from his house to the town to take up a masons work. He had walked only few yards from his estate line in the morning house and a tusker from no where charged at him.

The elephant trampled him to death and stabbed him with its ivory. Still not satisfied, he was thrown to a distance. Aravind’s body was found in a pool of blood in a crumpled form.

CITU president Durgaprasad and DSS leader Parameshwar attacked forest officials verbally and said that they have not done anything to contain the elephant threat. They cautioned the officials that protests would be organized if they fail to provide protection to innocent people from elephants.

Large number of people gathered in the area and they accused officials of misusing funds allotted for solar fencing to avoid elephants from entering into dwelling areas.

Officials assured to distribute compensation to the deceased’s family and the crowd dispersed.

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SCHEME OF DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT FOR COFFEE DURING THE XITH PLAN

The member of the Coffee Board, Dr. Kaverappa informed this Correspondent that the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given its approval for Implementation of the Scheme of Development Support for Coffee by the Coffee Board during the XIth Plan with an outlay of Rs. 310 crore in the following manner.

(i) Payment of replanting subsidy @25%, 30% and 40% to the coffee growers having holdings of more than 10 hectares, 2 to 10 hectares, and upto 2 hectares, respectively for an outlay of Rs. 100 crore subject to the condition that subsidy would be available only to individual growers and not to the cooperative corporate entities engaged in plantation.

(ii) Payment of subsidy of 20% towards quality upgradation and pollution abatement and 25% towards water augmentation, restricted to individual growers having holding size of 20 hectares, for an outlay of Rs. 40 crore.

(iii) To extend financial incentives in North East Region for planting and aftercare and also supply of coffee seedlings / shade saplings for an outlay of Rs. 20 crore.

(iv) Expansion of the area under coffee in Non-Traditional Areas and tribal sector for an outlay of Rs. 45 crore.

(v) Implementation of welfare support to labours and tiny growers for an outlay of Rs. 5 crore

(vi) Implementation of programmes of capacity building for all stakeholders in coffee sector for an outlay of Rs. 10 crore.

(vii) Providing interest subsidy at the uniform rate not exceeding 5% to growers on working capital loans for an outlay of Rs. 90 crore, subject to the following conditions.

(a) The interest subsidy will be limited to a ceiling of Rs. 50,000 per Arabica coffee grower and Rs. 40,000per Robusta coffee grower.

(b) The interest rate, after allowing interest subsidy should not be lower than 7%

(vii) Comprehensive evaluation of the scheme will be done by an independent agency after two years with regard to the parameters of the scheme and scales of subsidy.

The Scheme of Development Support is aimed to provide support to Coffee growers to improve farm productivity by way of replanting senile coffee blocks ; to support water augmentation, quality improvement of the product to augment grower realization, and pollution abatement; to support coffee development in North-East Region and in Non Traditional Areas viz. Andhra Pradesh and Orissa to build capacity among various stakeholders in the Indian coffee sector to extend welfare support to the coffee sector workers as well as tiny coffee growers; and to provide interest subsidy to growers on working capital loans to provide some relief from fast increasing production costs.