Daily 2013, Issue 10

Dailies 2013, Issue 10

Indian Institute Of Journalism and New Media, Bangalore

Lokayukta raid homes of 10 government officials PAGE 2

Dropout rates high among Muslim children PAGE 3

March 22, 2013 Bangalore pollution thrice the safe threshold PAGE 6

The ghost electorate PAGE 3 >>>

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The Daily Observer| March 22, 2013

By KrishnaPrasad

TEN senior government officials had their homes raided as part of a massive corruption clampdown.

One of the men targeted had assets worth over 486per cent of his annual salary.

Houses, cars and other undeclared assets werseized

by Lokayukta Police.

Among the men whose homes were raided was a director of the Agriculture Department and a Commissioner of Urban Development.

Criminal cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act were filed on Mar. 21 2013.

Additional Director General of Police of Lokayukta, Mr. H.N.Sathyanarayana Rao, addressed the press today with audit reports that claimed heavy corruption in different government sectors.

Mr. Rao said: “In the last three years there are 22-40 cases registered. In 2008,

there were 97 cases and in 2009 there were 57 cases.”

The Deputy Inspector General for Audit, Mr.Panduranga Rane, was also present at the press meet.

Mr. Rao also confirmed that the accuracy of the reports was “good”.

Highest value of assets was discovered from the residence of K.Ramdas; Range Forest Officer at Srirangapatnam in Mandya. Illegal assets worth Rs.1,79,70,000 was found from his residence. His assets were revealed to be 486.56% more than his annual income.

Assets worth Rs. 1,00,31,648 lakhs was discovered from the residence of Mr. L.Sayed Anwar Islam, Junior Engineer at Zila Panchayat Sub-division of the Public Works Department at Srinivasapura. This was valued to be 184.76% more than his legal income.

Assets worth Rs. 91,

70,125 were discovered from the residence of Mr.Raja Paksha, Assistant Agricultural Officer of Haveri district.

His assets were calculated to be 58.52% more than his legal income.

According to the Lokayukta officials, the most curious case was that of Mr.K.V.Sarvesh, Director of Agriculture Department of Bangalore. Foreign currency worth 3100 Euros was discovered from his residence and his calculation of his assets is still being carried on.

Assets worth Rs.2, 21,000 were discovered from the residence of Mr.Thippeshi M., Commissioner of Urban Development Authorityof Hubli. This was 130% more than his annual income Assets worth Rs.46, 84,965 were discovered from Mr.Muhammad Yaseen, Revenue Inspector at the Tahsildaar office at Haveri district. His assets were val-

Credit: KP

Senior officials in corruption probe

Lokayukta officers raided 10 government officials assets

ued to be 212.33% than his income.

Assets worth Rs.1, 56, 15,550 were discovered from the residence of Mr.P.B.Channabassapa, Executive Engineer at Chitradurga. The auditors are yet to compare the value of his assets to his actual income.

Assets worth Rs. 98,92,626 were discovered from the residence of Mr.K.Jagdeesh, Range Medical Officer at Srirangapatnam

in Mandya district. His assets were valued to be 198% more than his income.

Assets of Mr.S.M.Basvaraju , Chief Engineer of Waste Water Management of Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board was valued to be 166% more than his income.

Assets of Mr. Channabassapa, Executive Officer of Mudigare taluk panchayat was valued to be 287.98% more than his income.

Police bust forgery gang

By Deepu Aby Varghese

By Deepu Aby

POLICE busted a counterfeit gang in the city yesterday and recovered Rs 19 lakhs and a huge array of forged seals.

Bangalore Police paraded four of the seven man gang and claimed the arrested came after a lengthy “collective effort” across departments.

Three of the gang is still being sought.

The four nabbed were ar-

rested by Bangalore police in Yeshwantpur for cheating and money laundering.

Police seized a large number of forged documents, fake seals, bogus identity cards and unaccounted Indian money.

Lokesh , G D Shadakshari aka Manju, M S Vadivelu aka Jaganath and Nagaraj N E aka Mohan K were arrested in an operation led by S N Sidharamappa I P S, north division Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) and

Counterfeit cash seized by Yeshwanthpur Police

Mr. Chandrappa, Yeshwantpur sub-division ACP. “Busting the racket was the result of a collective effort by the police and indeed it’s an achievement.

But three others including a Raghavendra alias Raju also has to be arrested in connection with the case,” said Sidharamappa.

Officers also seized a Maruthi Swift car, 46 fake seals including the seals of nationalized banks, sales tax department, accountants and lawyers. The scale of the bust is huge.

Cops also recovered 175 seals, bank documents, 37 marriage certificates, 11 income tax return forms, 16 accountant seals, two lawyer seals, 47 duplicate pan cards, 17 ATM cards, one roll of fake electricity bills, fake election voter ID, fake driving licenses, VAT certificates, six fake bank statements, 38

two rupee stamps, four fake s a l e deeds and 36 bank cheque books.

T h e gang obt a i n e d loans from nationalized bank with forged bank documents and fake identity cards.

Arrested men: Clockwise, Mohan K, M.s T h e m o n e y Vedivelu, G.D.Sadakshari and Lokesh was lent to individuals and institutions at high prises, Vinayak Steels, Sai interest rates, according to Traders and M K Traders trading steel, iron and sanithe police.

The racket worked under tary wares. It operated from the names of R M traders, Vidyaranyapura, Kalyan NaBalaji traders, Vijay Enter- gar and Kamakshipalaya.

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March 22, 2013| The Daily Observer

The disappeared electorate Contd from Page 1>>> PEOPLE purged from the updated electoral rolls have spoken out about being denied their right to vote.

The 20 people, from all walks of life across Karnataka state, represent just 0.006 percent of the 3, 32, 131 names removed from the latest state voter roll.

Predominantly from lower castes or of Muslim descent, they say their rights have been trampled by the BJP as they attempt to cling on to power at the May 5 elections.

This came after the Ex-Mayor sparked fury at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleging them for deleting a total of 3, 32, 131 names from the electoral list, which was updated in January 2013.

Ex-Mayor, P. R. Ramesh, had filed an RTI, seeking the details of the voter list of the previous elections and the updated voter list, which revealed that more than three lakh names have disappeared from the updated list.

Most of the names that were deleted where either Muslims or the economically weaker sections.

Congress party leaders and minority community leaders had affirmed the allegations of the Ex-Mayor and they had all gone together and registered a complaint at the Election Commission (EC).

The EC, after investigations confirmed that the names have been deleted.

Among the ghost voters are merchants, fruit sellers, steel and timber salesmen, construction laborers and housewives.

They range in age from 21 to 84-year-old Sardar Khan, who said: “88 out of 100 Mus-

lims names are willfully deleted. All parties are except Congress is useless. Now only if Congress wins, can some help be done to Muslims here. According to BJP, we Muslims are either killers or thieves or stabbers or terrorists. BJP leaders are not honest at all. They want only money and power.”

Not only do they claim that they are being discriminated based on religion, they also say that some of were forced to vote by the leaders in the previous elections, even if

had voted for the BJP last elections.

Gundappa Rao, 54, a construction laborer, said: “I voted for BJP only during the previous BBMP elections. I do not know why they took away my name from the list. I did not do any harm to them and I am not even a Muslim. Now I can’t vote until my name is registered again on the electoral list.”

Muslims especially have a lot to worry about because of the deletion based on religion. While some are angry

By Priyanka Roy

The dropout numbers among Muslim children in Karnataka are higher at high school level, claims the State Department of Education.

The findings produced by the department show that while dropout rates in other categories have increased by 5.40 percent, the dropout rate among Muslim children has increased at a pace of 7.66 percent.

Mr. Puroshottam, the Project Director of Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, said: “The dropout rates are certainly higher among Muslim children and it’s not only in this state but all over India. Family pressure and religious constraints are mainly responsible for this.”

He mentioned that most of the children take up labor jobs at a very early age so numbers are higher among Muslim boys compared to girls.

But girls are no exception as they are forced by family members to leave school and help with domestic work.

Mr. Puroshottam added: “The rate is higher among high school level children who are mostly aged between 11-17 years.”

Though the state education department doesn’t have data to show the exact number of Madrasa schools in the city, but they mentioned that both recognized and unrecognised schools exists in the city.

Mr Irshad Ahmed, the principal of SJM School one of the Madrasah Institutions in the city, said: “We have less number of st dents in the school and the enrolment rate has also dropped than in earlier days.”

Muskan, a student of SJM, who is studying at class six, said that she has three brothers and two sisters of whom one have already dropped out of school at class eight.

Mr.Puroshottam said that the numbers are higher in rural areas for lack of awareness and economical issues.

The Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, a section of State Education department, has conducted various awareness programs for the children, their mother and head of the religious institutions.

Also they have urged the government to extend financial help for the Madrasah Schools for renovating its infrastructure and maintaining sound educational models.

The voter ID cards issued to two purged voters.

they do not have their voter ID cards. Now, they are denied the right to even apply for one.

Manjula, 27, a sales woman, said: “I voted last time without having voter ID card as they told me it’s ok if I vote without one. This time when I applied for one, they are refusing to give me one stating that I am from a poor background and my vote is not that worth. It is making me to think that this time also I will vote without card.”

There have been cases as well, where the innocent ghost voters claim that their names have been deleted from the list even though they

with the fact that their name did not appear on the list, there are a few others who fear that there is more hard times for them to face in the near future.

Mohammad Nafeez, 40, a meat merchant, said: “As it is, it is hard for us to meet our daily wages and routines.

Not that so much misery is enough for us, the government has suddenly decided to delete our names from the electoral rolls. God knows when they will throw us out of the city as well, stating the excuse that we are Muslims and that we do not have any place in a city which is ruled by pro-Hindu party.”

Credits: Tenzin

By Hansa V Photo Credits: Satyajith GD

Dropout rates high among Muslim children

One of the muslim students of S. J. M. School.

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The Daily Observer| March 20, 2013

W

ATER

W

OES

Lest we be left with mirages Nagesh Hegde

THIS year the global theme for the World Water Day is ‘Water cooperation’. We Indians need to emulate some of the best examples of water cooperation elsewhere in the planet. Like for example the river Danube. It flows through some 18 countries and each drop of its water is used and reused some 80 times during before it reaches the sea.

And it remains quite clean till the end.

There is a great lesson in it for us.

We generally quarrel a lot a about water. We misuse it a lot. And we dirty it with impunity as if there is an endless stock of it underneath our feet. Although 70 per cent of our planet is covered with water, 97.4 percent is saline. A large proportion of the remaining fresh water is bound either in the form of permafrost or is hidden deep underground. Hardly 0.86

percent of the total water is available to us. We need to use it judiciuosly.

But our consumerist society is recklessly polluting it and throwing it away.

We need to become water literate. Generally we are unaware of the enormous amount of virtual water that is hidden in our day to day goods and services. A litre of milk, for example uses up nearly 500 litres of water.

In some places like Gujrat the farmers consume up to 1800 litres of water to produce one litre of milk. A litre of mineral water will have consumed nearly 50 litres of it before it reaches our hand. One kilogram of rice will have used up 5000 litres and one kilogram of meat some 12,000 litres of water.

During the days of traditional, organic agriculture it was possible that water consumed during food production generally went back to nature to join the water

cycle. But the modern industrial society is contaminating the entire cycle with chemicals.

Truckloads of hazadrous pesticides keep going from cities to farms and trainloads

inda in Punjab to hospitals in Amritsar.

For those farmers who put food in our plate water has become a carrier of disease and deformities.

We can feel virtual water in

of cancer patients keep pouring in to city hospitals from villages. We already have a ‘cancer train’ which transports farmers of Bhat-

every consumer good, from shoes to clothes to papers to plastics ad nausem. Each and every cosumer item will have consumed and wasted

a large quantity of this vital resource.

As a growing nation we are becoming an effluent society and play a poignant role in converting a renewable resource into a non renewable one.

This cannot go on forever.

We are an intelligent species and our brain with its gray matter is immersed in water.

We need to think clearly and think of achieving a sustainable and peaceful society sharing the available water with everyone else and making every drop of water rejoin the water cycle in its purest form.

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle should become our water mantra. We need to teach this mantra to everyone else. Lest we will be left with mirages everywhere.

(Nagesh Hegde is an environmental scientist and a visiting professor at the Indian Institute of Journalism & New Media)

Officials grapple with water loss

By Aheli R

Water loss is not a new phenomenon in India.

However, Bangalore has been given an unpleasant surprise this summer.

Non revenue water is the water that is pumped from either the river or the borewells but does not generate any income, due to loss of water. Loss of water can either be through leaks or through metering inaccuracies or in

yet some other cases theft of water from the pipelines. The probability of water loss has hit the city very hard indeed; more so when a drought is possibly just around the corner.

Naseema Khanat, a woman living in K.R. Market says, “It is difficult for people like us because the municipality tank comes once in three days.

So we have to use water judiciously and exercise extreme caution. Not to mention, fight

with our neighbors to be first in line to collect water.”

Some citizens have not felt the impact yet but believe they soon will. Vinay Vishwanath says, “Thankfully I’ve not felt the pinch so far. Koramangala always got metro water and the HSR layout is so far unaffected but I guess it’s really just a matter of time.”

According to Mrs. Sarala Kumari the PRO of Bangalore Water Supply and Sew-

erage Board, “The international standards have around 16-20% of non-revenue water.”Leakages are apparently a part and parcel of water supply.

There is around 30%-37% of leakage in Bangalore.

There is a project underway to reduce it to 25%.”The water that is being supplied to the poor (excluding the leakages) will be around 20%.

The project is called Unaccounted For Water (UFW)

and it has been undertaken

by Larsen&Turbo (L&T). It is a 6 year project that commenced sometime early this year. The first three years will be dedicated to survey and replacement of leaking pipes.

The project will also include installing 16 or 17 meters that will be installed in South Bangalore to determine the leakage.

In spite of repeated attempts, the L&T remained unavailable for comments.

The Daily Observer| March 22, 2013

05

Water supply still a pipe dream for Nayandahalli slum dwellers

By Nikita Malusare DESPITE a pledge of Rs 14,873 crore in the recent budget, residents housed under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Rural Mission scheme years ago are still awaiting water supplie.

The scheme has provided the very basic homes the former slum dwellers craved but the drinking water facilities promised for each home have yet to materialise.

Some 1,096 families in the Nayanadhalli slums, who shifted three years ago to their new apartments built

by Karnataka Slum Development board under the JNNURM scheme, rely on 12 public water taps outside their homes. These water connections supply water every other day for only an hour in the morning.

There is no direct potable water connection to their rooms. Chandramma, 42, a pourkarmika said, “We have borewell connection to our taps but the water is not potable and it last for only one hour.”

The rooms have bathrooms and toilets but no taps for the water connection.

Rajeshwari, 19, said “It has been more than three years that there is no water in these pipes.”

The JNNURM scheme was introduced by the central government in 2005 , and aimed to make cities slum free by providing them housing with good infrastructure facilities.

Two programmes were initiated under the scheme, Basic Services to the Urban Poor and Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme.

Bangalore was among the seven metropolitan cities of India eligible to receive hous-

ing aid for the urban poor un- Slum Development Board. have three floors. The resi- for the upliftment of the poor der the Basic Services to the Basvaraj, 52, has been dents living on the top floor nobody keeps a check on its Urban Poor scheme. staying at Kengeri since his find it difficult to fetch water implementation.

It promised housing along childhood. to their homes so they have “Orders are passed but with a supply of drinking He said, “We go door to built news small houses who does follow up whether water, street lights, roads, door knocking and beg for around the building. the machines or the facilities drains, rooms with bathroom water when we don’t get waSouraja, 28, garbage provided are still in the workand toilet, drainage of storm ter for three or four days. I collector said, “I don’t have ing condition or not. Slum water and good sanitation. can live without water but not strength to climb the stair dwellers complain about the The Karnataka breakdown of Slum Development the borewells but Board acts as an imask them how plementing agency many times they for the programme to have run behind construct houses and the officials to provide infrastructure repair it.” to urban poor.

In BangaRajeshwari , 29, lore a total of works at Bangalore 18180 slums Museum and starts were sanctioned her day at 5am to fetch for Rs. 522.23 potable water to avoid Crores in diflong queues, “If I am ferent phases late I am sure I won’t under BSUP get water then I have but only 11326 to walk two kilometres houses were down the lane and get completed which a pot full of water for cost KSDB Rs. Rs. 5 each. I can’t af288.60 Crores. ford it everyday.”

While in The residents of Mysore, 6328 the Nayandahalli dwellings were government quarters sanctioned uncomplained many times Nayandahalli residents are still unsure if they will get water supplied to their homes der the BSUP to the leaders and also programme at a the KSDB board but cost of Rs.203.96 nobody paid attention, they my grandchildren” case with a bucket full of wa- crores. claim.

Bungalows near the ter, so to save me from the Out of which 5,314 housThe MLA Mr. Munniraj at Kengeri quarters have no pains, we have built a house es were completed for Rs. times provided tankers to water problem. on the ground floor.”

131.87 Crores.The costs of them.

They have direct cauvery Local leader of Kengeri the houses are shared equalKishor Kamat, a lo- c o n n e c t i o n slum quarters, ly between central and state cal leader and agent of the to their taps Ravi, who is government KSCB, disagreed with resi- which prothe president For schedule caste and dents: “ We have no problem vides water of the KSCB of schedule tribes and other here, we get water very well every alterKengeri slums backwards classes are exon time.” nate day. said, So many pected to pay 12%.Human Another small government But each years we didn’t rights advocate R.S. Vijay, quarters built in 2008 under b u n g a l o w have any prob- talking about the lengthy proJNNURM, at Kengeri, has has their lem. Only from cedures and involvement of only 64 families. Even their p e r s o n a l last year we the local leader, politicians rooms are not directly con- public water are facing wa- said, “The money goes from nected with BBMP water. the hands of the government tap outside ter problem. ” They use water from the their homes Vinay, a to the politicians and local two public water taps outside that provide water for two human rights activist, blamed leaders. It is big chain.” their apartments. Two bore- to three hours every morn- the implementation of the JN“To convince the poor for wells are dug which do not ing and night, confirmed the NURM and said, “Nobody is building houses you first need connect to their taps. Recent- owner of the Bungalow J.N. willing to provide these ur- to convince the leaders who ly they affixed a new borewell Jayasimha. ban poor with facilities. Even will let the construction comwith the aid of Karnataka The quarters at Kengeri when there is a board set up plete without any hassles.”

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The Daily Observer| March 22, 2013

Every drop counts, say YMCA campaigners.

By Kakoli Mukherjee

INDISCRIMINATE use of water and the rapid decrease in groundwater levels are the grave concerns facing Bangalore today.

In a campaign organized by the environment wing

of Young Men’s Christian Association(YMCA), people from different walks of life came together to raise awareness about the pressing need to conserve water.

Sumangala S Mummigatti, Transmission Executive (Science) at All India Radio

(AIR), Bangalore was the Chief Guest on the occasion.

She said: “Though we are taught in our childhood that 71percent of the earth is covered by water, it is necessary to know that only 0.2 percent of that water is potable.”

“Unless we store and harvest rainwater, we will be facing a very grim situation soon.” she added.

Popular Kannada actress, Priyanka Upendra, was present in the event.

The actress presented badges to the members and said: “Water scarcity is a serious problem being faced in states like Karnataka and Maharashtra.”

“We are distributing pamphlets to make people aware of the various ways to save water. I would also like to urge people not to waste much water this Holi and go for a dry Holi instead.” she added A workshop on water conservation techniques was

held for young people by the YMCA. SV Rathnakumar, General Secretary, YMCA, Bangalore, said: “We have been organizing this campaign annually for the last 28 years.”

He added: “We are trying to focus on leakages of pipelines and strict

Priyanka Upendra does her bit for water conservation.

Bangalore pollution three times the safe rate

By Aheli Raychaudhuri

AIR pollution monitors around Bangalore detect almost three times the daily safe rate, according to a new report by the State Pollution Board.

The report also found that an average Bangalorean spends around 240 hours stuck in traffic jams breathing in the toxins, leading to health problems and a loss in productivity.

To monitor air pollution in the city, the KSPCB installed around six “air-monitoring systems” that check the quality of air around Bangalore.

Safe particle limits should be between 60 to 70 particles per million.

Sadly, the Bangalore results (particulate measure) regularly crosses 200 units every day.

A workshop organized by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) and Centre for Science talk-

Increasing number of vehicles in Bangalore causes maximum pollution

ed about the rising pollution emissions in Bangalore.

Air pollution is one of the biggest problems in the city.

One of the reasons is diesel emitted by vehicles in the city.

Noise pollution is another cause of grief in terms of pollution. This is mainly due to incessant honking by cars.

India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Egypt are the world’s worst offenders in terms of

enforcement of laws against wasting water.”

Sheikh Rajiya, a student participating in the campaign, said: “Every locality in Bangalore faces water shortage nowadays.”

“If we do not come out and raise awareness about this, then one day we will have no water to drink” she added.

Credits: Kakoli Mukherjee

Credits: Kakoli Mukherjee

Don’t waste water, have a dry holi: Priyanka

noise pollution.

However, due to active campaigns the board believes pollution levels are reducing.

Diesel is considered clean when it is 10ppm (parts per million). However, the diesel sulphur level in India is as high as 30ppm.

In Bangalore, vehicles are responsible for 41 and road dust contributes 67 per cent to the pollution respectively.

Mr Acharya said “Transport contributes to 42% of pollution and road dust is approximately 20%.”

Ms. Anumita Roychoudhury, Executive Director-Research Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said, “There are more than 1,200 vehicles that are registered everyday, of which 20 are cars and close to 900 are twowheelers. The city is badly gridlocked too.To counter the problem of pollution, buses and metro rail are excellent transport modes in the city.”

ObserverTeam An IIJNM Publicaton (For private circulation)

Editor Shreya Mukherji Sub-editor Urmi Sengupta Special Correspondents Hansa V Satyajith G D Nikita Malusare Page Editors Rohan P Sneha Banerjee Krishnaprasad S Deepu Aby Varghese Proof Reader Kakoli Mukherjee Aheli Raychaudhuri Priyanka Roy E-mail editor@iijnm.org