Wake up to disaster warnings in Kodagu

Sadly, lessons from 2018 are going unheeded

In 2018, massive landslides hit Kodagu, destroying hundreds of acres of coffee plantations and razing many houses to the ground, but neither the local people nor the authorities---have learnt any lessons from the catastrophe. Nearly 50 villages disappeared, the topography of the affected areas became unrecognisable, rivers changed course, and thousands of people were rendered homeless. The district had not witnessed a devastation of this magnitude ever in its history. Geologists and environmentalists had then said one of the main factors for the landslides was deforestation---it had contributed to the loosening of soil during heavy rainfall. The flattening of hill tops for construction had allowed rain water to enter rock fractures, leading to an increase in the ground water level.

Now, activists led by the Madikeri-based Environment and Health Foundation (India) have raised a red flag over the unchecked conversion of agricultural land for commercial use. Coffee plantations are being purchased and converted into housing sites and resorts. Mass tourism has also been a bane of this hill district, with the tourist inflow far exceeding its carrying capacity. This has led to a mushrooming of resorts and homestays. According to estimates, only 850 homestays are registered with the tourism department, and many others are run illegally. Repeated pleas to crack down on such homestays have fallen on deaf ears as they are obviously run with the connivance of local officials. The newly elected MLAs from Kodagu, A S Ponnanna and Manthar Gowda, should pay immediate attention to this problem.

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The dilution of the Karnataka Land Reforms Act of 1961, enabling direct purchase of agricultural land from farmers, has further worsened the situation. Meanwhile, both the Madhav Gadgil and Kasturirangan reports, which had recommended several measures to save the Western Ghats, remain in cold storage. While there are concerns that their implementation could impact the livelihood of the local populace, there is a need for the government to find a balance between protecting the fragile environment of the region and safeguarding the genuine interests of the people. Instead, the Union government plans to lay two railway lines, ignoring protests from environmentalists. This is a recipe for disaster. An analysis of the 2018 landslides by Dr Dayananda K C, assistant professor at the Government First Grade College, Madikeri, had identified several causes and suggested steps to prevent their recurrence. The government should implement this report and declare Kodagu an eco-sensitive region so that further damage can be prevented and the picturesque district can be saved for posterity.