Vol. 12 Issue 2
News Digest
Indian Institute of Journalism & New Media, Bangalore
04 Septemer, 2012
Angry locals lay siege to garbage dump Exclusive
Vintu Augustine
Red tape at government offices stops families from collecting BPL cards. Page 2
Street kids turn to drugs in desperation, says report. Page 3
Locals broke down the boundary wall of a garbage dump and set it on fire after a decade of illegal dumping. Villagers took the law into their own hands after repeated protests fell on deaf ears. The five acre dumping site near Subbannaiaah Palya village, Kumbalgodu was affecting the health of children, according to villagers. On July 31, a group of parents organized themselves and set large heaps of garbage on fire after destroying the boundary wall with a hired JCB digger. The whole area was filled with acrid black smoke for three to four days. The smoke subsided only after rains hit the district. The area had been a dumping site of the BBMP for the last decade and was well protected by a boundary wall of cement bricks.
Plastic fumes choke Cubbon Park; authorities keep mum Page 3
“For the last ten years, they have been dumping the waste from the west division of the city here. We had been bearing with the stink all these years,” said Muniappa,
The garbage continued to burn for four days creating havoc in the village. a villager. under the pretension that it would The fury of the people generated be recycled,” added Venkatesh, by desperation over the constant Many people, mostly children of another resident. stink and health-related problems the village were affected by finally gave way to the fire that enbreathing and respiratory probThe value of land was also afgulfed the whole area with suffolems. fected as no one wanted to buy cating smoke. land near a garbage dump. “Our People said that it was suffocating land does not value anywhere near The reaction of the people in the to pass through the road near the the market price,” said one of the form of violence directed at the garbage site. But they could not villagers. dumpyard has finally brought avoid it either as it led them to the garbage-dumping near Subbannamain road. Villagers said that they had freiaah Palya to a stop. A BBMP quently complained to the author“So many trucks of waste used to official declined to comment when ities, but never received a positive bring waste and dump it here asked about the issue. response.
Cases of domestic violence spike: many cases unsolved
City lakes remains dry, as departments feud over upkeep. Page 3
Amritha Ray
under the influence of alcohol.
Domestic violence cases in Bangalore have increased by over 240 percent since 2010.Only 766 out 2174 cases have been through the courts, we can reveal.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Anand Sharma said,” It is a myth that these cases are dominant in the lower and underprivileged classes, shockingly, a lot of the
Over 308 cases were reported in 2010 which rose to 1054 in 2011 an enormous leap with respect to the growth in the domestic violence cases from 2010 to 2011.
2 5 o C I 0F Partly cloudy Wind: SW at 10 km/h Humidity : 65%
According to C. Manjula, chairperson of the the Karnataka Women’s State Commission, on an average, nine out of ten domestic abuse cases go unreported, yet the number is very high. Rani Shetty, a counselor at Vanitha Sahavani, a women’s helpline said, “Saturdays are the worst days as husbands end up beating their wives under the influence of alcohol. Consequently, the numbers of victims admitted in hospitals increase by over 30 percent during the weekends.” Recently, Kannada actor Arjun was thrown behind bars for harassing his wife Latashri. He had been accused of allegedly harassing her both physically and mentally for the last three months
Whereas, the upper sections of the society still manage to get an immediate response for such issues, other abuse victims hardly receive any attention. Usually, the police just issue warnings to the offender. They believe that it is a personal affair which the couples need to sort out between themselves. Manohar Hosea, a lawyer in the Bangalore high court, said that one of the victims, who filed a report in 2007, is still running around the courts to get justice.
A 240 percent increase in the number of domestic violence cases was reported during the period.
Four students from same school steal the show. Page 4
complaints come from people with a highly educated background’.
“I
did not file a case in the court. It would not make a difference as you do not get justice on time.
”
The Domestic Violence Act, 2005 secures a woman’s right to housing, but it is applicable only after the case has been addressed. In the meantime, the victim may be subjected to even more abuse or left on the streets after being deserted by the abuser. NGO’s like Ashraya women’s center admit the victims do not receive any assistance from either the courts or the police. Padma Chidambaram, a counselor at the same NGO, said that “we discourage the victims to keep in touch with their husbands because when they come to know about their location, they often land up in the NGO abusing the victim verbally and physically”.
Police reopen case of dead Air Force cadet Nijum Rudra An Indian Air force cadet had a furious row with his best friend a day before his body was found on the railway tracks. The police earlier believed that Dhannajay Chaurasia had committed suicide, but have reopened thecase after the victim’s mother told them about the row. Dhananjay Chaurasia was found dead on the railway tracks on Monday night. He was from Uttar Pradesh. Police claimed that a suicide note was found beside the body. However, forensic reports taken after Chaurasia’s death indicate seven mystery red spots on his shirt which hint at foul play. When asked about the spots, Deputy Commissioner of Police, East, said that the case was still under investigation and that further updates will be provided as the case develops. Police said they have been unable to trace the friend he had a row with, but the Superintendent of Police said that more information would be forthcoming in the next couple of weeks.