Vol. 12 Issue 3
Indian Institute of Journalism & New Media, Bangalore
13 September 2012 INSIDE
Doubts cast over city TB records By Pushkar Banakar TUBERCULOSIS is
the
No. of TB cases registered between 2007-2012 Source: NTI
blight of India yet Bangalore
• Mumbai • Delhi • Kolkata • Bangalore
remains TB-free according to state records. No single case of tuberculosis has been reported in the city
– – – –
since 2007 according to the Renewed National Tuberculosis
Mr. Reddy, was the only person
Control Programme (RNTCP).
available for comment.
The government embarked on a massive drive to eradicate tuberculosis from India. The Na-
437 786 663
tional Tuberculosis Control Pro-
Cousin will fill dead mafia boss’s
gram
boots, police say.
0
In 2011, there was a severe
vate hospital.” He claims that the depart-
functioned
from
>Page 2
1991-2011. outbreak of a new type of tuberculosis, Multi Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB).
Almost every other city in
He said: “It has always been
ment is working towards spread-
The government of India im-
India has registered hundreds of
like this and I do not know why it
ing awareness of the disease in
plemented RNTCP, a revised
cases in the last five years.
is not being improved.
the city.
control programme, to overcome
Dr. Anup Khare, a specialist, said: “It is practically impossible
“No other staff has reported to the office in a long time.”
“We do conduct day long
MDR-TB. It widely promoted the
Arakere residents fight to save
awareness camps twice a month
use of Directly Observed Treat-
their lake from the builders.
for a place not to register any
Even the secretary of KSTA,
in schools, nursing colleges,
ment Short (DOTS) course and
case of TB for such a long pe-
has not reported for duty in the
medical colleges and pharmacy
free antibiotics.
riod.”
last three months.
colleges,” he said.
Across India, it is almost im-
Even though records state
Reddy, when asked about
The senior doctor, missing
possible to find a city free of TB.
no cases of TB, chemists have
the unavailability of the senior
from his post, could not be con-
In Hyderabad alone, 1,112
Rifampicin, medicine for TB,
doctor, said: “He does not come
tacted even after repeated at-
cases were reported in the last 5
stocked for sale.
here. He generally goes to a pri-
tempts.
years.
The Karnataka State Tuber-
Better sports facilities and policies for school children. >Page 3
culosis Association (KSTA), responsible
for
>Page 2
spreading
awareness of tuberculosis lies in near ruin. The building, in Shivaji Nagar, is almost deserted and one of its senior doctors hasn’t turned up to work for three months. The office does not only seem abandoned by its staff but
Disabled people struggle to ac-
the infrastructure also lies neg-
cess the ID card offices. >Page 3
lected. The doors and windows are Photo: Nupur Gour
in need of repair. The walls are turning yellow in places and the paint is peeling off the walls. There is no provision for lights or fans in the office. There is a computer in the office but no electricity. Assistant Project Manager,
Main entrance to Bangalore’s only TB centre (inset) leading to a near-abandoned office.
High Court judge rules against state pollution board. > Page 3
Seven years without wages Photo: Reshma Tarwani
By Reshma Tarwani
Mrs. Glory Rosalind
Glory Rosalind, an employee
claimed her bosses and col-
Basavraju said: “The Employers
of Karnataka Food and Civil
leagues discriminated against
had accepted their fault initially
Supplies Corporation Depart-
her and took them to court.
but changed their statement
Accidents rampant in the city
right after the first hearing of the
due to reckless drivers.
ment (KFCSC), has not receievd her entitled salary since 2005. Mrs. Rosalind joined KFCSC
As a result of her protest, she was demoted to a junior assistant’s post.
case.” When questioned on why
in 1984 as a trainee and was
In 2005, she filed another pe-
Mrs. Rosalind is not quitting the
soon promoted to Senior Assis-
tition against the corporation
job, she said: “I won’t do that. I
stant but her salary remained on
which were again ignored.
am not scared of these man-
a trainee’s grade.
After she filed the case, her
According to Rosalind, her
employers stopped her wages.
> Page 4
agers. I will fight for my post and my salary. I know I will win it."
colleagues shunned her as she
According to her employers’
The case is still pending in
A government clerk claims
was a Catholic in a Hindu domi-
version, she was demoted be-
the High Court and she is wait-
Lives of technicians at risk in pri-
she has not been paid her
nated office.
cause of inefficiency in work.
ing for the next hearing.
vate hospitals of Kengeri.
salary for past seven years.
In
1986,
Mrs.
Rosalind
Mrs. Rosalind’s lawyer, M.C.
>Page 4
02
The Weekly Observer
13 September, 2012 | City
Cousin will take over from slain mafia boss player in many illegal land deals
Exclusive By Krishnaprasad S
that took place in and around Nelamangala
THE power vacuum left by a
in
the
past
decade.
notorious gangster’s death
“We had pieces of land in
will be filled by his cousin.
Nelamangala which was the
The Bangalore Police be-
only source of income. One day
lieve that Shankar, the cousin of
seena along with his associates
notorious rowdy sheeter Bettan-
came and offered us a good
agere Seena alias Srinivas will
price for our land,” said a victim
take over the reins of Seena’s
of the same.
land grabbing racket. and
his
“But we later came to know cousin
that the land value was almost
Shankar had split after a fight
four times the value he offered Photo: KPN
Seena
over contesting in a gram panchayat election. "The ruckus bloodbath by the local underworld in Nela-
me. “And later if someone went him asking him about the deals he
had
made,
he
would
mangala is linked to real estate
Police inspect the spot where Rowdy sheeter, Bettanagere Seena, was killed in a police shoot
threaten us of taking away our
deals around the area.
out at Herohalli in Bangalore Rural District on Friday.
lives,” he added.
Many property agents of Nelamangala and Bangalore were involved with Seena," said a police officer.
the
victims
by
threatening
them,” according to sources.
“They also gave us only Rs
With the encounter of Bet-
30 lacs, where the land value
tanagere Seena, the under-
Harsha, Bande Manja and
was eight times more than the
world
network
chain
in
Venkatesh, the associates of
cost they offered us”, said
Bangalore seems to be broken
D Prakash, Police Superin-
seena who are still absconding
Murthy (name changed) who
while there are clear signs of his
tendant, said the underworld in
according to the police are in-
lost his land.
cousin Shankar taking over the
Nelamangala needs a serious
volved in the land mafia, money
The Bangalore Rural police
crack down. The real estate
extortion and many petty cases.
have decided to book some
Kumar, the secretary of
derworld in this area, and hence
Sunkathammayanapalya Milk
Goonda Act to control illegal ac-
land value has gone up here.
Federation in Magadi who gave
tivities on the city outskirts and
rowdy
sheeters
under
Photo: KPN
business is controlled by the un-
throne.
the
Bettanagere Seena alias Srinivas,35, born in 1975, first appeared in police files in 2005 when
he
and
his
cousin
Bettanagere Seena
Shankar
cent activities.
Basavaiah, a politician, in Nela-
“The land that was in and
hand in Seena’s land mafia
around Nelamangala has been
business has been taken into
The squad setup by Home
sold ten to twelve times more
custody. Bande Manja was sup-
minister R Ashoka, was formed
“We are taking action. We
the prescribed value.
ported by Kumar.
23 days ago, under Deputy
will strive to bring down crime
Seena was also the prime
Police
on the city outskirts and rural
suspect in B M L Krishnappa’s
in rural areas.
murdered
Balekai
mangala.
They (Seena and his asso-
“They threatened us over
ciates) tortured everyone who
the phone that we would be
(DySP), V Sridhar, who took ac-
areas,” a police officer of the
murder case that happened on
refused the deal and illegally
killed if we did not sign the deal
tion and is now interrogating
squad said.
July 25, 2012 on the Nelaman-
got the land papers signed by
with them.
rowdy sheeters about their re-
Superintendent
of
Seena was also the key
gala highway.
Residents join forces to save Arakere lake By Hansa V
Chief
RESIDENTS of Arakere have
LDA director, Dr Ralph, Urban
come together to save their
expert, N. Mukunda and several
On 29th August, Veena and
lake from death and illegal
other officials visited the sight
Vandana, members of the ANIT
Engineer,
Manjappa,
sibility of lake development lies
the vanishing of the old land-
residents. A rough estimate of
with BBMP and BDA.
marks that demarcated the lake
the project is about five lakh ru-
from
pees.
other
developments
around it, Shilpa vowed to send
constructions.
"We must treat the lakes as if they are our life and not as just another part of the environment hence it is a must for peo-
formed by the members of
ple to start paying attention and
Arakere residential area com-
respecting their environment,"
prising of ten official members.
said Arbindkumar Gupta, head
They are aiming to rejuvenate
of the ANIT, “surprisingly the
the lake and protect it from the
government is supporting us
builders who have constructed
fully. They are actually calling
numerous residential and com-
and asking to go further with the
Photo:Hansa V
Arakere Neighborhood Improvement Trust (ANIT) was
mercial complexes on the lake. “Lakes are not just tourist spots anymore. They have to be saved to protect mankind from further droughts. The ANIT is
Massive encroachement at the Arakere lake
sure to succeed in its goals as it
before the legal battle plan for
met the area representative,
notices to the respective en-
has good intentions,” said Pras-
the encroachments was being
Ms. Hari Shilpa, to kick start the
croachers.
sanna, a resident of J.P. Nagar.
ascertained.
legal battle against encroach-
The trust is planning to hook
Dr Ashwin Mahesh, One
ments on the lake.
project.” Sapna,
lakes
engineer,
BBMP said that the project was first handled by them and was then transferred to the BDA and
She said: “I will ensure that the notices are given to all the
hopes that it will succeed. Mr. Mukunda brought out two key points about lake development and its safety.
up with area representatives to
Bengaluru and Loksatta high-
Hari Shilpa, agreed to sur-
encroachers as soon as the
He noted that the knowledge
find out about the illegal con-
lighted the need for citizens to
vey the lake and on 5th Sep-
boundaries of the lake from all
of the topological structure of
structions by the lake. Starting
participate in public problem
tember, along with few others,
sides are clearly established. It
lakes which provides for natural
with minor duties like cleaning
solving and begin with small ac-
went around the lake boundary
is expected to take a month. Let
connectivity of water flow be-
the lake, its bed and eventually
tivities.
and acknowledged the different
us wait and see what happens.”
tweenlakes.
the encroachment.
Dr. Ralph told about the
encroachments that need to be
The funding of this project
He also mentioned that the
will be handled by the trust
government should look into
As the actual boundary of
members themselves either by
this issue in partnership with
the lake was unclear due to the
seeking sponsors from corpo-
lake teams.
Ellappa Reddy, chief envi-
roles and responsibility of LDA
ronment officer, accompanied
in Bangalore as an approving,
by BDA Chief Conservator of
monitoring
supervising
Forest, Brijesh Kumar, BBMP
agency, while the actual respon-
illegal constructions and hence
rate and/or donations by the
and
removed.
City
13 September 2012 | 03
The Weekly Observer
Sport for all children, vows minister
By Udita Chaturvedi
The ministry is also planning
Physical education will be
to include fixing sports quota in-
compulsory
appointments and also promo-
in
all
state
schools within months.
tions on their achievements on
Speaking exclusively to The
turnkey basis.
Observer, Minister of Youth Serv-
The students who get through
ices and Sports, Appachu Ran-
sports quota will be eligible for
jan, revealed plans to build new
fees concession as well.
Photo:Satyajith GD
sports stadia and start nurturing talented children from as young as ten. Mr. Ranjan said: “The condition of sports and sportspersons in Karnataka is not so satisfactory. Lot of improvements needs Sport will no longer will be a novelty for kids like these.
to be done.” The Ministry plans to construct stadia in various local taluks of the city.
and help improve the level of sports in the state.
The minister agreed that sports have not received as much importance as it should but hopes that things will change for the better soon. “It is natural that the government is planning to bring in youth policy with lot of impetus on em-
The Government High School
hours every day playing. This
powerment of youth with skill up
on Magadi road gives only about
way, the children will not only
gradation and self sufficiency of
“The aim is to identify the
three and a half hours to students
play but also mingle with other
the youth and to bring them into
The ministry, the local govern-
young talents at the age of 10
for physical education in a week.
students.”
the main stream of society,” said
ing body, sports authorities and
and to train them with a lot of
Principal, Rasia Tabassum,
the Public Welfare Departments
focus on their skill up gradation
said: “It’s sad but we have no
He added: “Such being the
together, are working towards the
with exposure to present facilities
play ground for students in our
case, the task is huge and to
adopting the policies. The Assis-
with good dietary prescriptions.
school. We still have a syllabus
bridge the gap more allocations
tant Commissioner of sub-divi-
This type of focused support will
prescribed for our students of
of grants are required. Govern-
sion is the chairman of the
definitely create powerful tal-
class VIII & IX. These students
ment is ready to take this load.”
stadium committee.
ents,” said Mr. Ranjan.
are graded out of 100 for how
The money for building these
The minister said it will take
stadia will come from the min-
another two months to implement
istry, Zilla Parishads, and dona-
this policy.
tions
from
members
Mr.
Ranjan
said:
cannot be achieved without the “Many
schools do not even have a play-
The plan includes stipulating
ing ground. Students are forced
parliament and of the legislative
coaches and physical instructors
from home to school to tuition
assembly and other philanthro-
in schools and colleges.
and back to their rooms.
“I believe education and
“We want to ensure that every
The minister believes that
sports go hand in hand. So, we
school has a playground and
construction of the stadia with the
are working along with the edu-
physical training should be made
provision of proper training will
cation department to promote
compulsory.
encourage students into sports
sports in the state,” he said.
Interim appointments ruled out, says the High Court By Aheli Raychaudhuri
3 years mandatory without exception.
The minister says these goals
well they participate. “
of
pists.
Mr. Ranjan.
help of the students.
“Education and sports go hand in hand. The aim is to identify the young talents at the age of 10 and to train them with a lot of focus ”
“Every child must spend 2-3
“I request the co-operation of all youths and sports lovers to contribute their experience in improving the status of sports and youth in the overall development of the society,” he said. He confirmed that there are many more proposals in the pipe line.
Mountain to climb for disabled By Sneha Banerjee DISABLED
people
are
every citizen and the biometric
also goes to old age homes to
details are saved at Aadhar tech-
take their biometrics. Mr. Lenin
nology centers in the city.
added that a physically chal-
According to law,appoint-
struggling to get benefit cards
ments at a senior level, statutes
because the offices are situ-
The Karvy technologies are
do not permit interim appoint-
ated on first floors of build-
located in different parts of the
ments.
ings.
city and amongst them the cen-
He said: “Omni vans are al-
has
tre at Baswangudi is the only
lotted to facilitate the marginal-
been recruited to collect biomet-
one located on the ground floor.
ized scheme to reach out to
A judge has ordered the State
after there were some irregular-
ric information by the govern-
On the contrary, one gets a
people who are unable to go to
Pollution Control Board to get
ities in the appointment of the
ment. One of its centers is
very negative response emailing
technology centres to give their
its act together and appoint a
successor of the present Addi-
located on the first floor of a
full-time Chief Secretary.
tional Chief Secretary.
building at Sampige road in
The dispute in progress was
In his view, the conse-
Malleswaram. This centre has
between G.S. Gunjal, advocate
quences of appointing the less-
no provisions like nurses, eleva-
representing the Chairman of
than-suitable Additional Chief
tors or even a ramp to support a
the State Pollution Control Board
Secretary are long drawn.
wheel chair.
(SPCB) and S. Vijay Shankar, Advocate General. The Chief Justice Vikramjit Singh ruled against the SPCB. He said: "Ad-hoc is worse than being headless."
He said: “The appointment
Mr. Venakatesan has been
should be of a technically sound
trying to get an Aadhar card for
candidate as this is in interest of
a physically challenged family
the State.”
member.
The defense team represent-
He said: “I have been in
Karvy technologies at Sampige Road
Photo:Sneha Banerjee
Technologies
the finger prints process.
the violations that had occurred
S. Vijay Shankar listed out all
Karvy
lenged person is exempted from
ing the Chairman insisted that it
touch with the department for the
The website of Karnataka
is only an ad-hoc appointment
past six months but I cannot find
According to the help-desk
Similar circumstances prevail
State Pollution Control Board
and to make sure there was no
a way to bring my wife to the
the UIDAI has no facility for
at the Panchayat office in Kum-
lists out the Chairman, Member
interruption in the bureaucratic
technology centre.”
physically challenged people to
balgodu.
Secretary, members represent-
duties.
After Mr. Venkatesan spoke
the UIDAI help-desk.
give their biometrics.
biometrics.”
The center responsible for
ing State Government and non
The Advocate General ar-
to Karvy Technologies, they told
Ashok Lenin, Deputy Director
biometric information collection
officials to represent the interest
gued that according to the
him that he was supposed to
at UIDAI said: “People with
is located on the first floor and is
of agriculture and other primary
M.G.K. Menon Committee, there
bring his wife to the office. When
physical disabilities come under
provided with a narrow staircase.
sectors.
were no part-time appointments
asked for an alternative he was
the Marginalized scheme. This
Unless the appropriate suc-
permitted. He told the section of
asked to approach the Aadhar
scheme is aimed at taking bio-
The contradiction of facts im-
head office.
metrics of people who have
plicates that the citizens of Ban-
physical limitations.
galore need to know what is
cessor is appointed, the present
Planning Commission related to
Chief Secretary needs to be re-
pollution should be headed by a
tained as per law. The tenure is
"technocrat".
Finger prints of all ten fingers and an iris scan is conducted for
The Marginalized Scheme
being offered by them.
04
The Weekly Observer
13 September 2012 | City
Shambolic X- Ray centers at private hospitals Mathru Hospital, Kengeri.
They wash their X–ray sheet in
A lack of safety equipments at
Vinusha, X-ray technician,
private hospital X-ray centres
Mathru Hospital said: “I am
is risking the health of techni-
aware of the radiation, I told the
Harmful effects of X-ray radi-
cians.
authorities to provide a metal
ation fail to bother the techni-
sheet but all they provided was
cians in the hospitals thus
an apron, and a very old one.”
leading to health problems for
X-ray units in the city are not in proper condition. Most of the
News in Photos
a public wash basin kept outside.
clinics have no lead gloves, no
The X-ray machines are set
X-ray protective glasses, no lead
up in a confined electrical meter
Dr Shankar EN B.A.M.S
sheets - some of them don't
room where only a single person
Fage manipal"A regular diagnos-
have X-ray cubicles .
can manage to squeeze in. The
tic angiogram exposed patients
the patients.
Photo: Hansa V.
By Satyajith G D
to about 2.5 to five millisieverts of radiation. “For angioplasties, it could be an extra 2.5 millisieverts, or as high as 20 millisieverts, dur-
A ‘comfortable’ gesture: A shop in Bellandur doing their
ing one procedure.
part in helping the indigent this winter. The mattresses
“This radiation will be in the
were distributed to a local orphanage.
air for few seconds thus creating
Cleaning of X-ray sheets at Mathru Hospital
who are exposed to these radiations which cause cancer and infertility.” Lizy, technician, Asian Diagnostic, said: “Lead sheets provide
more
protection
but
authorities say that the room is too small to keep it.”
Staffs at the X-ray units are
dark room, where the x-rays are
She added that while taking
ignorant and unaware of the se-
supposed to be washed, is in a
X-rays, she sets the timer and
curity and protection that needs
very bad condition.
goes out to avoid radiations.
to be maintained while X-ray sessions are in progress. They even wash their X-ray sheets in public. Pathetic conditions prevail in
Photo: Nijhum Rudra
Photo:Satyajith G D
health problem for technicians
Instead of using Silver Bro-
Even though diagnostic X-
mide solution for washing and
rays provide great benefits, pro-
Breeding Ground: Despite repeated complaints a drain in
developing the x-rays, regular
longed exposure can cause
Arakere continues to flood, causing health concerns
water and its combination with
cancer risking lives of both the
among locals. Navigation is difficult for the residents and
some easily found acid is used.
technicians and patients.
vehicles alike.
“You have the license to drive but not to kill” By Nupur Gour & Debanti Roy
call but they never stop, they
been filed in the second cate-
period of a year or 18 months
A large number of hit and run
think they have made a great
gory of which, 129 are pending.
before its deemed closed under
cases remain unsolved due to
deal escaping a traffic police of-
“In an advanced city like
lack of evidence.
ficer.”
Bangalore, 90% of the people
this provision.” There are various sections
The Bangalore Traffic Police
Mr. Lakshmipathy, the statis-
are educated and they are the
under which the hit and run crim-
have reported 1076 hit and run
tics officer of the traffic depart-
people who do not follow the
inals have been booked.
accidents from January-August
ment, said: “There are times
law.”
2012.
when a witness backs off from
Some of these sections in-
The police files a ‘C’ report to
Traffic expert M.N. Sreehari,
clude 279-304(A), 337 and 338 of the IPC.
an adviser to the government, Photo:Debanti Roy
The case has to undergo a
said: “Our people are very good at watching but not at doing anything.” He added: “You have the licence to drive but not to kill, so you should ride safely following traffic rules.
minimum investigation period of six months for a verdict to be given in court. If the accused is a government servant, the punishment is the cut in increments in salary of the individual.
“Bangalore alone has forty-
If the accused is a private
two lakh bike population and
firm employee, the deceased’s
only three thousand traffic police
salary for the rest of his working
officers. The rider should follow
tenure is calculated and the
the law and it is not always pos-
same is imposed as fine.
sible to look after all such
The accused, if convicted is
cases.”
also liable to be imprisoned.
Police classify the cases into
Usually imprisonment sentence
two types. The first lists the ve-
Regular flouting of vehicle rules is a daily occurence
is not awarded as punishment in
hicles whose number has been
his statement and in some cases
signal the closure of cases due
such cases.
identified and the other contains
do not even show-up at the
to lack of evidence. In the first
In one such rare case, a
whose it has not.
court.”
category only one case has
BMTC bus driver was sent to
Many cases remain un-
A total of 885 cases have
been closed using this provision
one year imprisonment last year.
solved due to lack of evidence
been filed under the first cate-
and in the second category 40
More stringent measures will
gory of offence. Of the 885, 132
cases have been closed.
and eye-witnesses. A traffic police officer in KR
cases are still pending in courts.
Mr. Lakshmipaty said: “The
market said: “we give the people
Another 191 cases have
case is usually contested for a
regulate rash riding as it is becoming a growing concern in Bangalore .
IIJNM PUBLICATIONS Opp. BGS International Residential School Nityanandanagar, Kumbalgudu Kengeri Hobli Bangalore - 560060 India Ph.No: +918105603441 Email: hansa.v@iijnm.org Website:www.thesoftcopy.org For private circulation only The Weekly Observer Editor Hansa V Chief Sub-Editor Udita Chaturvedi Photo Editor Krishnaprasad S Sub-Editors Sneha Banerjee Nupur Gour Pushkar Banakar Shromona Bose Proof Readers Satyajith Reshma Nijhum Rudra Debanti Roy Aheli Raychaudhuri