BENGALURU: A team of students, assisted by a professor from Bangalore University, are in the process of preparing a comprehensive map and assessment report of some villages that were affected severely during the recent landslides and floods in Kodagu. The report will be given to the government and disaster management agencies to help in their efforts to assess the complete damage and relief situation in the area.
The team, from the Geography and Geo-informatics Department, visited areas such as Mutlu, Hammiyala and Achinadu – mountainous villages that are around 25 to 30 km from the main district headquarters.
Dr Ashok D Hanjagi, a professor who led the team, says, “One of the things we witnessed is the massive loss of biodiversity in these areas. The local vegetation is damaged and animals are severely affected. The soil in agricultural lands has been completely eroded, and this is expected to affect the livelihoods of people for many years to come, especially since these are ecologically sensitive zones”
The team will combine data from topographic maps, GPS as well as remote sensing images to prepare a comprehensive map of the impact of the disaster and suggest ways to ameliorate the situation.
“We also took some soil samples and visited three to four agricultural fields. We reached out to the farmers and workers in the coffee farms,” says Ashok. The team also engaged in providing relief along with the Ramakrishna Sharada Mutt of Ponnampete.
The team comprised 15 students, and they stayed for a total of three days in these areas. “Another field trip is being planned in the coming months so as to go deeper into our assessments. Hopefully, our report will be helpful in making the lives of people easier, and coming up with a reliable figure in terms losses.”