Vol. 12 Issue 1
Indian Institute of Journalism & New Media, Bangalore
CLEAN OR FAIL! Exclusive by Udita Chaturvedi
06 September, 2012 INSIDE
Bangalore University is not disabled friendly yet due to lack of funds > Pg. 2
Dozens of guest houses operate at Madivala, without any licences. > Pg. 2
Late delivery of gas cylinders and subsequent malpractices lead to problems in the city. > Pg. 3
Students are made to clean toilets instead of engaging domestic help in Devegere School. STUDENTS are graded for cleaning toilets, scrubbing floors and washing up in the government schools of Kumbalgudu. 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 government 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 cleaning staff.” Bhagya Lakshmi, teacher at Gollahalli government school, said: “The classrooms, school toilets and utensils for mid-day
meals are cleaned by the students themselves. There is no staff hired for this purpose.” The total strength of Devegere government school is 39 students and two teachers. There are100 students and five teachers in Gollahalli Government School. Gollahalli Panchayat Development Officer, Mr. Loknath, said: “The panchayat is only responsible for providing the school with infrastructure, water and electricity while the rest is handled by the authorities comprising 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 familiar 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
“The school is cleaned every morning at eight and I clean the toilets and the classrooms on Saturdays,”says Afraj, a student.
Photo: Udita Chaturvedi small school so there is no money, no staff and the government provides us with no money to hire.” Afraj (9), a student of Devegere 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, another teacher in Golahalli School, found nothing unusual in students being complete in charge of the cleanliness. She said: "The cleaning duties are shuffled between students regularly.” The teachers do not participate in the process.
Criminals treated as chained animals By Debanti Roy 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 robbery 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 RoadCunningham junction, the condition of the police station is pathetic. The department had to struggle to get a permanent address 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 common toilet for both male and female 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 constructed 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 punishment. 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 responsibility and not an easy job, taking care of them is equally necessary and difficult.
E-ticket machines accept only old Rs.5 coin which are not easily available now. > Pg. 3
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 infrastructure and proper teaching staff. > Pg. 4
Weather Forecast
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The Weekly Observer
Bus crash deaths of pedestrians in city have almost doubled in 2012 By Nupur Gour THE number of pedestrians killed in bus accidents has almost 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 accidents 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 number of pedestrians killed was 26. In 2012 the numbers went up to 42 fatal accidents and 43 pedestrians killed. Mr. M.N. Sreehari, advisor to the government and a traffic expert, 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
Photo: Charles Martin Two buses collide 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 appointed. Mr. Sreehari, said: “The training 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 accidents has been reported at the Ring Road followed by Hosur Main Road.
Bangalore University not disabled friendly By Udita Chaturvedi BANGALORE University is not yet disabled friendly because there are not enough handicapped students to justify the cost. According to the university prospectus the University has reserved seats for disabled students. There are usually one or
University and cost about Rs. 45,000.” He added: “The students do not have to return the scooters at the end of their graduation 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
considering providing such students with proper facilities.” He added: “We have sent in proposals to our supreme body, Syndicate, 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 priority basis. I have only recently
06 September 2012 City
The Observer Says Clean 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. Although 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 providing them less-than-quality education,assigning them to clean toilets, is a sign of exploitation and child labor. What adds to the outrage is that children are being brainwashed 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 criminals or person of interest are kept chained at the New High Ground Police Station soon after their arrest is despicable. Although society does want to get rid of criminals, chaining a person 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 rehabilitate prisoners for society after their incarceration, not antagonize them further. Guest houses or ‘ghost houses’. Paying guests’ accommodation operating without a license seems to be a trend in the city these days. Owners of these accommodations may get away with and obtain the license but there is a downside to that too. If an inspection 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.
Chain snatchers on prowl in the city By Krishnaprasad S A recent report from the Bangalore Police shows a drastic increase in the number of chain snatching cases in the city. Bangalore, the hub for India’s Information Technology, has witnessed 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 Bureau (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 registered 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 people should be aware in quiet places and also in markets and busy streets.” The Bangalore city police are yet to nab the chain snatchers.
Guest houses are ‘Ghost Houses’ in Madivala By Kakoli Mukherjee
Photo:Cherishma Shah
Bangalore University two seats reserved for the disabled students in each department. There are a total of 53 reserved seats for students under the physically handicapped category. N. Dinesh, a student at the University complained there are no ramps and no facilities for the disabled students in the university. Director of Students Welfare, Dr. Rajendra Kumar, said: “We have provided some students with mobility facilities like 3wheeled scooters. These scooters have been funded by the
got it last month,” said Dinesh. Hepassed out from the University 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 infrastructure for them.” The University lacks ramps, railings on stairs or fails to provide the disabled students with any other facilities, in terms of infrastructure or otherwise. Dr. Rajendra Kumar, said: “According to the act (UGC) we do not have provisions for the disabled but the administration is
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 initiative 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 students. These promises that are being made since the beginning of the year are yet to be acted upon.
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) accommodation 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 Officer, 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 determine 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 located at Maruthi Nagar, Madivala, said: “I did not apply for a license because no one enquires about it”. The same thing was said by all the nearby PG owners.
Photo: Kakoli Mukherjee A poster of a ‘ghost house’in Maruthi Nagar
City
The Weekly Observer
06 September 2012
New coins in E- ticket machines leave rail commuters stuck
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By Hansa V MANUAL ticketing system has been restored as the eticket machines take in only old-five rupee coins, which are not being circulated anymore. Passengers have started depending 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 fellow passenger who had come to drop his wife at the railway station said: "The city railway station 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 selling of platform tickets leading to human congestion, which was
E-ticket machine, city junction there earlier anyway.” The machines were upgraded last after the budget session 2012. This means that the upgradation took place after the new-five rupee coins were minted. C.Narendra, Publicity Inspector of Railways, Bangalore said: "The machines were installed only recently. “The machine is customized
Photo: Hansa V 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 machine's mechanisms. The ma-
ABC Act slashes rabies cases in city By Aheli Raichaudhuri 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 rabies. As a result, it was becoming 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 number of stray dogs’ bites was 12,897. This Act has been in practice since the year 2001 named as “Animal Birth Control (Dog) Rules 2001”. A report titled Presentation (BBMP, 2010-2011): Presentation 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-
Photo: Hansa E-ticket machine, city junction 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 programming of the machines to take in old-five rupee coins.
Photo Corner
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-operation, said, “Although euthanasia has been banned, there are some extreme cases where the dog is terminally ill such as cancer and other incurable diseases”. Congress MLA, Mr. Krishna Byre Gowda, when contacted, asked for a questionnaire, but otherwise remained unavailable for comment.
Bribe demands cause delay in supply of gas cylinders By Reshma Tarwani 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 commercial ones. While a commercial cylinder costs Rs.1800, a domestic cylinder costs Rs. 415 only. This malpractice, which occurs 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 Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Gas have been practicing the il-
legal conversions for long. “The agencies situated at the outskirts of Bangalore have illegal connections and that too inter-state ones,” said Chandrasekhar, Consumer Adviser, KFCSCL. "People are not transferring their ration cards when they are changing the state and they are the ones perpetrating these malpractices" said M.C Gangadhara deputy director (KFCSCL). Areas including Neelsandra, Vannerpaet and Ring Road are severely affected.
Photo:Satyajith G D A stitch in time. A Bangalore tailor waiting for customers.
Ashoka trees at point of extinction as there is lack of funds for its conservation By Sneha Banerjee LACK of proper funding is significantly affecting the survival of India’s oldest medicinal plant, the Ashoka tree. Irregularities in the distribution of funds for the conservation of Ashoka trees are threatening the survival of the species. According to a spokesperson in the Karnataka Forest Department (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 medicinally important by-products received from the Saraca Indica tree are facing extinction in the market. The Ashoka tree was listed as endangered species by International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Two thousand metric tons of the Ashoka tree products were being used for commercial purposes in 2008, the trade figures suggested. Dr. Prabhu, working at the KFD said: “The ecological imbalance has created irregular pollination 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 Dandeli 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 dysentery. Bramhi and Amla trees were sold in large numbers at the Lalbagh Horticulture event. These act as a stress relieving agent. Other endemic trees of Karnataka facing similar threat are Punar Puli, Hippai and Kedigai trees.
By Kakoli Mukherjee Even though India has been declared a polio-free nation, those already affected find their livelihood in what little they can do - creativity.
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The Weekly Observer
06 September 2012 City
‘Clash’ between health chiefs risking lives in the city 10,000 schools lost in a By Pushkar Banakar POOR monitoring of drugs due to dispute between drug officials is risking lives in the city. The drugs are monitored inefficiently due to the conflict between the drug inspectors and the pharmacies. Karnataka State Pharmacy Council registrar, Bhagavan P.S, said: “There are two types of people who monitor the pharmacies. Firstly, the drug inspectors who keep a constant vigil on the pharmacies and solve all their problems. And secondly the pharmacy inspectors who periodically 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 pharmacies operate under two acts. The drugs and cosmetics act, which regulates the import, manufacture, 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 eligibility criteria for being a registered pharmacist, he said: “A person is eligible to register with the council if he holds a diploma
or bachelors or a doctoral degree in pharmacy from a recognized university.” “A pharmacy needs to have three licenses, one issued by the drug controller, one by the municipal corporation and one by the council. The certificate issued by the council is to be renewed on a yearly basis. A pharmacy is expected to have all three licenses at any given point of time and is expected to produce 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 withdraw or suspend their council certificates and those pharmacies can be tried in a court of law.”
Rainwater Harvesting remains a myth in most parts of the city By Satyajith GD 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 government 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 technicalities involved in rainwater harvesting and ground water recharge. Engineering consultant chief S.R Das said: “Rain water harvesting will help us to solve the problem of drought to a certain extant.”
decade: State Human Rights Commission estimates
By Shromona Bose A large number of government schools have had to be closed down due to lack of infrastructure 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 Government Education shows that a number schools were shut down between the year 2008-2011 which included primary, secondary and higher secondary schools. "We are taking all necessary measures to improve the infrastructure of the schools and recruit more teaching staff. Suitable measures have been taken to improve the quality of education imparted," said Mr. Pradeep S. Rajanal, Administrative Joint Secretary to Government (primary and secondary education department). "There has been improvement 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 Parivarthan 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 irrespective 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 Hanamantappa, an active member of The Karnataka State Human Rights Commission, added: "The condition is likely to improve in the coming years."
Photo: SR Das Rainwater collection tank in Nelamangala. 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 connections. Later, an amendment to the Act gave the government the power to fix the deadline. A proposal has been sent to the government to remind them of the implementation.
Photo: Udita Chaturvedi Almost thousand schools have been closed in the last decade
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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
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