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Transcript of Vol 12, Issue1
Vol. 12 Issue 1 Indian Institute of Journalism & New Media, Bangalore 06 September, 2012
INSIDE
Bangalore University is not
disabled friendly yet due to
lack of funds
> Pg. 2
Dozens of guest houses oper-
ate at Madivala, without any
licences.
> Pg. 2
Late delivery of gas cylinders
and subsequent malpractices
lead to problems in the city.
> Pg. 3
CLEAN OR FAIL!Exclusive by Udita Chaturvedi
STUDENTS are graded for
cleaning toilets, scrubbing
floors and washing up in the
government schools of Kum-
balgudu.
Children as young as six are
using toxic substances to clean
toilets. These students are even
marked on how well they clean
up.
Ms. Padma, Devegere gov-
ernment school principal, said:
“Students are marked in class
for cleaning.
“Since the school opened in
1995, we have never hired any
staff for cleaning.
“The government schools
don’t have enough money and
the government doesn’t give
them any money for hiring clean-
ing staff.”
Bhagya Lakshmi, teacher at
Gollahalli government school,
said: “The classrooms, school
toilets and utensils for mid-day
meals are cleaned by the stu-
dents themselves. There is no
staff hired for this purpose.”
The total strength of Deveg-
ere government school is 39 stu-
dents and two teachers. There
are100 students and five teach-
ers in Gollahalli Government
School.
Gollahalli Panchayat Devel-
opment Officer, Mr. Loknath,
said: “The panchayat is only re-
sponsible for providing the
school with infrastructure, water
and electricity while the rest is
handled by the authorities com-
prising of the school teachers.”
Mohd. Zabi Ullah, a student
of Golahalli government school,
class V, said he sometimes does
not enjoy the cleaning routine of
the school.
Students are more or less fa-
miliar with cleaning toilets and
scrubbing floors. They take their
duties seriously.
When asked if they enjoyed
doing this work, they said, “Yes,
this is my school, my home.”
Students take turns to clean
the toilets on a daily basis.
Vanajha, one of the teachers
at the Devegere government
school for five years, said: “It’s a
small school so there is no
money, no staff and the govern-
ment provides us with no money
to hire.”
Afraj (9), a student of Deveg-
ere School said: “The school is
cleaned every morning at eight
and I clean the toilets and the
classrooms on Saturdays.”
In Gollahalli government
school, the junior class students
are mostly assigned to clean the
classrooms.
The senior classes VI and VII
are assigned to clean the toilets
every day.
Even Mrs. Nagaratnam, an-
other teacher in Golahalli
School, found nothing unusual in
students being complete in
charge of the cleanliness.
She said: "The cleaning du-
ties are shuffled between stu-
dents regularly.”
The teachers do not partici-
pate in the process.
Photo: Udita ChaturvediStudents are made to clean toilets instead of engaging domestic help in Devegere School.
“The
school is
cleaned
every
morning at eight
and I clean the
toilets and the
classrooms on
Saturdays,”says
Afraj, a student.
SUSPECTED criminals in New
High Ground police station
are being chained to tables for
up to four days at a time.
A criminal charged with rob-
bery was tied to a table with
chains and handcuffs for four
days in the police station.
Speaking about the criminal,
Mr. Raghavendra, sub-inspector,
said: “He has criminal records
for past 8 years and without
chains it will be difficult to keep
him here.”
Situated in Miller Road-
Cunningham junction, the condi-
tion of the police station is pa-
thetic. The department had to
struggle to get a permanent ad-
dress for more than 5 years. On
July 20, 2011 it shifted to an 80
year old quarter.
There are 105 officers in the
police station and only one com-
mon toilet for both male and fe-
male staff.
Even the criminals use the
same toilet. One of the officers
said: “A leaking roof creates lots
of problems and we have to shift
the furniture and files when it
rains.”
But the major problem which
looms large is the condition in
which the prisoners are kept. For
days they are kept tied to chairs
and tables and for every small
need they call for the station
guard.
According to Article 958, of
the Karnataka police guidelines
manual, each police station
should have properly con-
structed lock-ups; one for female
and another for male prisoners.
But, the New High Ground police
station has neither.
Human rights legislation
state that no prisoner should be
subjected to torture or any form
of inhuman or degrading punish-
ment. This police station violates
all such rules.
“We provide criminals with
everything they need”, said Mr.
Raghavendra. He admitted that
while keeping a watch on the
criminals is an important respon-
sibility and not an easy job, tak-
ing care of them is equally
necessary and difficult.
By Debanti Roy
Criminals treated as chained animals
E-ticket machines accept only
old Rs.5 coin which are not
easily available now.
> Pg. 3
Weather Forecast
A new law to install rainwater
harvesting in government
buildings has been ignored by
the BBMP.
> Pg. 4
Government schools closed
down due to lack of infrastruc-
ture and proper teaching staff.
> Pg. 4
2 The Weekly Observer 06 September 2012 City
Bus crash deaths of pedestrians in
city have almost doubled in 2012
THE number of pedestrians
killed in bus accidents has al-
most doubled from 26 in 2011
to 43 in 2012.
According to recent data
there is a decline in the number
of accidents by BMTC buses.
While the total number has gone
down, the number of fatal acci-
dents has gone up. The total
number of accidents reported
between January and June,
2011 was 184, whereas, in 2012
till June it was 161.
The traffic department states
that in 2011 the total number of
fatal accidents was 25 and num-
ber of pedestrians killed was 26.
In 2012 the numbers went up to
42 fatal accidents and 43 pedes-
trians killed.
Mr. M.N. Sreehari, advisor to
the government and a traffic ex-
pert, said: “Stress is one of the
main causes of the accidents as
well as the careless attitude of
the drivers towards the traffic
rules.” He added: “BMTC might
be under a lot of pressure as the
drivers have a very strong
union.”
According to Mr. Nagaraj, the
Chief Traffic Officer, the drivers
are trained and a test drive is
conducted before they are ap-
pointed.
Mr. Sreehari, said: “The train-
ing is like people in a marriage
hall; everyone comes, eats and
goes.”
He added: “The whole wor
king system needs to work for
the people and real satisfaction
would come when the accident
cases really start to go down.”
The highest number of acci-
dents has been reported at the
Ring Road followed by Hosur
Main Road.
By Nupur Gour
Two buses collide
Bangalore University not disabled friendly
BANGALORE University is not
yet disabled friendly because
there are not enough handi-
capped students to justify the
cost.
According to the university
prospectus the University has
reserved seats for disabled stu-
dents. There are usually one or
two seats reserved for the dis-
abled students in each depart-
ment. There are a total of 53
reserved seats for students
under the physically handi-
capped category.
N. Dinesh, a student at the
University complained there are
no ramps and no facilities for the
disabled students in the univer-
sity.
Director of Students Welfare,
Dr. Rajendra Kumar, said: “We
have provided some students
with mobility facilities like 3-
wheeled scooters. These scoot-
ers have been funded by the
University and cost about Rs.
45,000.” He added: “The stu-
dents do not have to return the
scooters at the end of their grad-
uation programme but can take
it with them wherever they go.”
“Only two students have
been given these scooters and I
was one of the two.” He added:
“I had applied for a three-wheel
scooter in my first year but I only
got it last month,” said Dinesh.
Hepassed out from the Univer-
sity this year.
Director of Students Welfare,
Dr. Rajendra Kumar, said: “If
there is only one student in a
building, it involves a lot of cost
to build facilities in terms of infra-
structure for them.”
The University lacks ramps,
railings on stairs or fails to pro-
vide the disabled students with
any other facilities, in terms of in-
frastructure or otherwise.
Dr. Rajendra Kumar, said:
“According to the act (UGC) we
do not have provisions for the
disabled but the administration is
considering providing such stu-
dents with proper facilities.” He
added: “We have sent in propos-
als to our supreme body, Syndi-
cate, and now we’re waiting for
their consideration.”
Dr. Rajendra Kumar said: “I
cannot say it’s not a disabled
friendly university but yes, we do
not have the facilities on a prior-
ity basis. I have only recently
been appointed as the DSW and
now we will definitely improve
the facilities for the disabled as
early as possible.”
According to the DSW an ini-
tiative has been made to create
a special cell for the disabled
students that will address their
grievances. A similar cell for
OBC, SC and STs already exists
in the University.
The University has made
many such promises for uplifting
the facilities for the disabled stu-
dents. These promises that are
being made since the beginning
of the year are yet to be acted
upon.
Bangalore UniversityPhoto:Cherishma Shah
Chain snatchers on prowl in the city
A recent report from the Ban-
galore Police shows a drastic
increase in the number of
chain snatching cases in the
city.
Bangalore, the hub for India’s
Information Technology, has wit-
nessed an alarming rise in the
number of chain snatching
cases, leaving people in a state
of fear.
In a recent press conference,
the National Crime Records Bu-
reau (NCRB) labelled Bangalore
the crime capital of south India.
A total of 245 cases of chain
snatching have already been re-
ported to Bangalore City Police.
There were 342 cases regis-
tered in 2011between January
and December.
The Assistant Commissioner
of Police (Crime) said: “Around
10-11 cases of chain snatching
take place in Bangalore but only
five or six of them get registered
everyday.”
The ACP speaking about the
increase in number of chain
snatching cases said: “The peo-
ple should be aware in quiet
places and also in markets and
busy streets.”
The Bangalore city police are
yet to nab the chain snatchers.
By Krishnaprasad S
By Udita Chaturvedi
Photo: Charles Martin
Guest houses are ‘Ghost
Houses’ in Madivala
DOZENS of guest houses
within a stone’s throw of a
council office are operating
without licenses.
According to the Karnataka
Municipality Act of 1976, any
Paying Guest (PG) accommoda-
tion in the city has to obtain a
Health Trade License worth Rs.
3,000 to operate.
The private guest houses do
not have a license and as far as
the regulator is concerned they
do not exist.
Poliyappa, Senior Health Of-
ficer, Ward no 151, Madivala,
says: “There are no records of
issuance of licenses to any PG
in my office register. We know
that there are unlicensed PGs in
the locality, but nothing is done
to close them down.”
There is also no way to de-
termine how many PGs are run
in the locality as most of them do
not have records.
Subbarao, owner of New
Luxury Divya PG for Ladies lo-
cated at Maruthi Nagar, Madi-
vala, said: “I did not apply for a
license because no one en-
quires about it”. The same thing
was said by all the nearby PG
owners.
By Kakoli Mukherjee
The Observer SaysClean or fail!
The scandal of children
being told to clean toilets in their
schools for grades is an outrage.
The students in Kumbalgodu
Government School clean their
classrooms, utensils and toilets
on a rotation basis. Cleanliness
may be next to Godliness but
this seems to be a step too far.
Children are supposed to go
to school to study and not be
subjected to menial labor. Al-
though at some levels of society,
this practice is encouraged, what
sort of message are we sending
out to children?
We think education among
the lower classes of society is a
necessity. In addition to provid-
ing them less-than-quality edu-
cation,assigning them to clean
toilets, is a sign of exploitation
and child labor.
What adds to the outrage is
that children are being brain-
washed into believing that this is
normal and healthy.
Maybe the time has finally
come for the State Government
to sanction a little more than the
paltry amount it usually doles out
so children can have a normal
academic career.
Criminals treated as chained
animals.
The story about how crimi-
nals or person of interest are
kept chained at the New High
Ground Police Station soon after
their arrest is despicable. Al-
though society does want to get
rid of criminals, chaining a per-
son to furniture seems to be an
extreme measure.
It is not only a gross violation
of human rights, but keeping a
tab on them is easier said than
done. Our motto should be to re-
habilitate prisoners for society
after their incarceration, not an-
tagonize them further.
Guest houses or ‘ghost
houses’.
Paying guests’ accommoda-
tion operating without a license
seems to be a trend in the city
these days.
Owners of these accommo-
dations may get away with and
obtain the license but there is a
downside to that too. If an in-
spection of licenses was to
occur, the owners will be at a
loss and boarders may end up
on the streets too.
It is a lot better to receive
your license if you wish to keep
your business going.
If you are a boarder, licensed
paying guests accommodation is
a more viable option.
Photo: Kakoli Mukherjee
A poster of a ‘ghost house’in Maruthi Nagar
New coins in E- ticket machines leave rail commuters stuck
MANUAL ticketing system
has been restored as the e-
ticket machines take in only
old-five rupee coins, which
are not being circulated any-
more.
Passengers have started de-
pending more on the manual
ticket counters as majority of
them have only new-five rupee
coins.
This has led to a drastic drop
in the printing of tickets by the
machines to one or maximum
two tickets weekly.
Hariharan Narayanan, a fel-
low passenger who had come to
drop his wife at the railway sta-
tion said: "The city railway sta-
tion has e-kiosk to dispense
platform tickets.
“It accepts only old-five rupee
coins. What is the use of such a
machine?People hardly have
such specific change, especially
if the conditions are limited to
old-five rupee coins.
“This has led to manual sell-
ing of platform tickets leading to
human congestion, which was
there earlier anyway.”
The machines were up-
graded last after the budget ses-
sion 2012. This means that the
upgradation took place after the
new-five rupee coins were
minted.
C.Narendra, Publicity In-
spector of Railways, Bangalore
said: "The machines were in-
stalled only recently.
“The machine is customized
in such a way that it accepts only
the size of old five rupee coins.
The new five rupee coins are
smaller and thinner and this is
not acceptable by the e-kiosk
machines."
On asking about the delay of
its upgrade, he said that they are
aware of the fact that it has been
put off for a while and are trying
their best to update the ma-
chine's mechanisms. The ma-
chines were introduced much
before June 2007, when the cost
of the platform tickets was Rs.3
per ticket.Post-budget session
2012, the machines were up-
dated as the cost of the tickets
was increased to Rs.5 per
ticket.The change led to the pro-
gramming of the machines to
take in old-five rupee coins.
Photo: Hansa
THE Animal Birth Control Act
has significantly slashed the
number of rabies cases in the
city.
Most of these stray dogs
were not vaccinated against ra-
bies. As a result, it was becom-
ing an epidemic in the city in the
last two-three years. This usually
resulted in the dog being put
down or “culled”.
The reinforced imposition of
ABC had cut the number of stray
dog bites cases to 2 cases a
week in July-August 2012. In the
2009-10 census, the total num-
ber of stray dogs’ bites was
12,897.
This Act has been in prac-
tice since the year 2001 named
as “Animal Birth Control (Dog)
Rules 2001”.
A report titled Presentation
(BBMP, 2010-2011): Presenta-
tion of BBMP’s ABC Program by
Dr Parviz Ahmed Piran and was
authored by the Bangalore
Bruhat Mahanagar Palike.
It gave details on the number
of stray dogs and the total num-
ber of stray dogs bites registered
in the city in till 2011.
Dr. Chennappa, Veterinary
and who has been a part of Dr.
Ambedkar Development Co-op-
eration, said, “Although euthana-
sia has been banned, there are
some extreme cases where the
dog is terminally ill such as can-
cer and other incurable dis-
eases”.
Congress MLA, Mr. Krishna
Byre Gowda, when contacted,
asked for a questionnaire, but
otherwise remained unavailable
for comment.
ABC Act slashes rabies cases in cityBy Aheli Raichaudhuri
Bribe demands cause delay in supply of gas cylinders
LPG gas suppliers are ripping
off customers in the city by
demanding bribes.
Delay in delivery coupled
with malpractice in the supply of
LPG gas cylinders in Bangalore,
is affecting the middle income
groups.
Long delay and malpractices
in LPG gas supply are causing
inconvenience to the residents
of Bangalore city.
Distribution agencies on the
outskirts of Bangalore are mak-
ing extra money by converting
domestic cylinders into commer-
cial ones. While a commercial
cylinder costs Rs.1800, a do-
mestic cylinder costs Rs. 415
only.
This malpractice, which oc-
curs four days a week with bulk
cylinders, is causing delay in the
delivery of LPG cylinders.
Officials in Karnataka Food
and Civil Supplies Corporation
Limited (KFCSCL) admitted that
distribution agencies like Hin-
dustan Petroleum and Bharat
Gas have been practicing the il-
legal conversions for long.
“The agencies situated at the
outskirts of Bangalore have ille-
gal connections and that too
inter-state ones,” said Chan-
drasekhar, Consumer Adviser,
KFCSCL.
"People are not transferring
their ration cards when they are
changing the state and they are
the ones perpetrating these mal-
practices" said M.C Gangadhara
deputy director (KFCSCL).
Areas including Neelsandra,
Vannerpaet and Ring Road are
severely affected.
By Reshma Tarwani
Photo: Hansa V
Ashoka trees at point of extinction asthere is lack of funds for its conservation
LACK of proper funding is sig-
nificantly affecting the sur-
vival of India’s oldest
medicinal plant, the Ashoka
tree.
Irregularities in the distribu-
tion of funds for the conservation
of Ashoka trees are threatening
the survival of the species.
According to a spokesperson
in the Karnataka Forest Depart-
ment (KFD), Vanmahotsav
scheme had approved an
amount of Rs. 25 lakhs for the
conservation project of Ashoka
trees (Saraca Indica) in 2008.
However, they have received a
sum of Rs.10 lakhs only till date.
Mr. Ravindra, an associate of
Indus Herbs, told that the medi-
cinally important by-products re-
ceived from the Saraca Indica
tree are facing extinction in the
market.
The Ashoka tree was listed
as endangered species by Inter-
national Union of Conservation
of Nature (IUCN).
Two thousand metric tons of
the Ashoka tree products were
being used for commercial pur-
poses in 2008, the trade figures
suggested.
Dr. Prabhu, working at the
KFD said: “The ecological imbal-
ance has created irregular polli-
nation which has affected the
growth of Asoka trees.”
“They have also been cut
massively for timber and medic-
inal purpose,” he added.
The Patoli region near Dan-
deli in Karnataka had large acres
of Ashoka trees.
Patoli region faced biotic
pressure due to agricultural and
village development affecting the
growth of this species.
The vital medicines obtained
from the Saraca trees are used
to cure ovarian bleeding, uterine
infection and hemorrhoid dysen-
tery.
Bramhi and Amla trees were
sold in large numbers at the Lal-
bagh Horticulture event. These
act as a stress relieving agent.
Other endemic trees of Kar-
nataka facing similar threat are
Punar Puli, Hippai and Kedigai
trees.
By Sneha Banerjee
Photo Corner
Even though India has been declared a polio-free nation,
those already affected find their livelihood in what little they
can do - creativity.
By Kakoli Mukherjee
By Hansa V
E-ticket machine, city junction
E-ticket machine, city junction
A stitch in time. A Bangalore tailor waiting for customers.
City The Weekly Observer 06 September 2012 3
Photo:Satyajith G D
4 The Weekly Observer 06 September 2012 City
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For private circulation only
The Weekly Observer
Editor
Udita Chaturvedi
Chief Sub-Editor
Sneha Banerjee
Photo Editor
Krishnaprasad S
Page Designer
Hansa V
Sub-Editors
Debanti Roy
Nupur Gour
Kakoli Mukherjee
Reshma Tarwani
Aheli Raychaudhuri
Rainwater Harvesting remains
a myth in most parts of the city
POOR monitoring of drugs
due to dispute between drug
officials is risking lives in the
city.
The drugs are monitored in-
efficiently due to the conflict be-
tween the drug inspectors and
the pharmacies.
Karnataka State Pharmacy
Council registrar, Bhagavan P.S,
said: “There are two types of
people who monitor the pharma-
cies. Firstly, the drug inspectors
who keep a constant vigil on the
pharmacies and solve all their
problems. And secondly the
pharmacy inspectors who peri-
odically inspect the pharmacies
and act more like advisors.”
He added: “In case of any
problems, they counsel the phar-
macies against the violations of
any laws.”
On the functioning of the
pharmacies, he said: “The phar-
macies operate under two acts.
The drugs and cosmetics act,
which regulates the import, man-
ufacture, distribution and the
sale of drugs and the pharmacy
act which regulates the people
who are dispensing the drugs.
He added: “Two people are
appointed from two different
agencies to do the same work, it
becomes a little difficult for them
to discharge their duties as
many times their opinion
clashes.”
On being asked about the el-
igibility criteria for being a regis-
tered pharmacist, he said: “A
person is eligible to register with
the council if he holds a diploma
or bachelors or a doctoral de-
gree in pharmacy from a recog-
nized university.”
“A pharmacy needs to have
three licenses, one issued by the
drug controller, one by the mu-
nicipal corporation and one by
the council. The certificate is-
sued by the council is to be re-
newed on a yearly basis. A
pharmacy is expected to have all
three licenses at any given point
of time and is expected to pro-
duce it on demand. No cases of
problems have been reported so
far in the city,” he said.
On the action being taken
against violating pharmacies he
said: “I hold the authority to with-
draw or suspend their council
certificates and those pharma-
cies can be tried in a court of
law.”
By Pushkar Banakar
A new law to install rainwater
harvesting in government
buildings has been ignored by
BBMP.
The Bangalore Water Supply
and Sewage Board (BWSSB)
had threatened to disconnect the
water supply if they failed install
the apparatus before March 31,
2012.
According to the BWSSB
statistics, there are 2,523 gov-
ernment buildings of which 74
have installed the apparatus to
save water.
A workshop was conducted
in May this year by the BWSSB
Chairman, Mr. Gaurav Gupta, for
BBMP officers on the technicali-
ties involved in rainwater har-
vesting and ground water
recharge.
Engineering consultant chief
S.R Das said: “Rain water har-
vesting will help us to solve the
problem of drought to a certain
extant.”
In an attempt to enrich the
groundwater level in the city,
rainwater harvesting was made
mandatory after an amendment
to the BWSSB Act in August
2009.
“Our objective is to install the
rainwater harvesting,” said Mr.
Gupta, when asked why the
board has not taken measures
to disconnect the water connec-
tions.
Later, an amendment to the
Act gave the government the
power to fix the deadline. A pro-
posal has been sent to the gov-
ernment to remind them of the
implementation.
By Satyajith GD
Rainwater collection tank in Nelamangala.
A large number of government
schools have had to be closed
down due to lack of infrastruc-
ture and proper teaching staff.
Recent reports suggest as
many as 1000 schools a year
have closed in Bangalore alone
over the past decade.
Statistics revealed by the
Karnataka State Human Rights
Commission and the Govern-
ment Education shows that a
number schools were shut down
between the year 2008-2011
which included primary, second-
ary and higher secondary
schools.
"We are taking all necessary
measures to improve the infra-
structure of the schools and re-
cruit more teaching staff.
Suitable measures have been
taken to improve the quality of
education imparted," said Mr.
Pradeep S. Rajanal, Administra-
tive Joint Secretary to Govern-
ment (primary and secondary
education department).
"There has been improve-
ment in the conditions of the
schools and few years down the
line we aim to solve this issue to
a large extend," he added.
NGO's like The Samajik Pari-
varthan Janandolan, Lovedale
Foundation and a few more like
The Dream School Foundation
are also playing an important
role to solve this issue.
They aim to provide quality
education to all students irre-
spective of caste and creed so
that students coming from poor
families don’t become victims of
child labour.
The Karnataka State Human
Rights Commission has now
taken charge of the large scale
closure of government schools
owing to lack of infrastructure
and proper teaching staff.
They estimate that about 850
schools were closed last year
and 500 schools between the
years 2008-2011. According to
their report, a total of 10,000
schools have closed in the last
decade.
Shri Ramappa Hanaman-
tappa, an active member of The
Karnataka State Human Rights
Commission, added: "The condi-
tion is likely to improve in the
coming years."
‘Clash’ between health chiefs risking lives in the city
By Shromona Bose
Photo: SR Das
By Sidharth Shekhar
10,000 schools lost in a
decade: State Human Rights
Commission estimates
Just A Thought...
Photo: Udita Chaturvedi
Almost thousand schools have been closed in the last decade