Daijiworld Media Network - Madikeri (MS)
Madikeri, Aug 28: Many coffee estates of Kodagu are completely destroyed in the recent landslide and flood. It may take at least a decade for the crop to be harvested again in these areas.
In North Kodagu, the hills which were completely covered by coffee estates have just disappeared in the deluge. As per the preliminary reports of the Coffee Board, around 5000 acres of land is lost due to the landslide. In the south of the district, 60 to 80% of the crop is affected due to the flood. It may take at least three years in this area to see a good harvest of the coffee crop again.
70% of the coffee that is produced in India is supplied by Karnataka. Out of the total of 70% of the coffee crop that is produced in Karnataka, 40% is harvested in the district of Kodagu. In addition to the owners of vast estates which spread over an area of 100 acres or more, there are small growers also, who own from half to five acres of land, who contribute to the large-scale production of coffee.
10 to 15 years to see the harvest again
"35% of the coffee estates in the north of the district are completely destroyed. The structure of the land itself is completely changed due to the landslide. So the land has to be prepared first by setting the soil and making the estate ready to grow the crop. It may take 10 to 15 years for all the process to get completed and to see the harvest again," says Dr Sannuvanda M Kaverappa, former vice-president of Coffee Board.
If the plight of people who have lost their land and house is at one end, even those whose houses have survived the deluge are finding it difficult to move back again as they feel it is not completely safe and what if the landslides happen again.
Labourers facing brunt
It will take a considerable amount of time before the agricultural activities will start again in the northern part of the district. Till then it is really difficult for the lacs of labourers who are employed by the estates and other farmers to sustain daily life. In addition, to the daily wage labourers who were employed in the estates and farms, the drivers and owners of auto rickshaws, jeeps and taxis are finding it difficult to hold on to their life as there is no road and no work also. Though the relief centres provide food, there is no money for the other daily petty expenses.
Moreover, people who used to work for the whole day are finding it difficult to pass time without doing anything.
The life of Kodavas, who used to provide generous hospitality to the tourists is in shambles now.
Government not paying attention
"The crop of around 15000 small coffee growers is destroyed and it may take another two to three years to get a good harvest again. Till then the situation of the labourers is in dire straits. It is unfortunate that the government is not paying attention to the district of Kodagu, which is in the top slot in the environmental protection and human development index," says Nanda Subbaiah, vice-president of Kodagu district primary agriculturists cooperative society.