Volume 15 | Issue 16
Thursday, November 26, 2015
Deadly E.coli bug found, thousands at risk Observer investigation reveals water samples sent for testing contain human faeces and superbug EXCLUSIVE Mathew Joy Mathew Groundwater serving five panchayats in rural Bangalore contains E.coli, we can reveal. Borewell water serving the panchayats is causing skin, breathing and intestinal health issues, according to doctors battling to treat hundreds of afflicted villagers. The Daily Observer collected samples of the groundwater and had them tested at a private laboratory. The results are horrific. We sent the samples to test for potability on November 19, and the results came out on the November 26 showing presence of E.Coli. The Vrishabhavathi is a tributary of the Akravathy River and runs parallel to Mysore Road. It has been nicknamed “Kengeri Mori” – the Kengeri Drain – by locals who use it as a fast flowing garbage disposal system. Industrial pollutants and waste products are also routinely tipped into the river and officials have been struggling to make its waters safe for the past decade. High levels of toxic pollutants such as arsenic and zinc have already been found in the groundwater. A Bangalore Water & Sewerage Board treatment plant “treats” only 30 per cent of the water that passes through it, and even then the effect is negligible, according to a recent report. Even the coconuts growing by the river are polluted, say locals.Samples taken from the river by our reporter and given to an independent testing lab-
Vrishabhavati river flowing towards Byramangala Village. Testing showed presence of E.coli in the river oratory in the city have revealed that E.coli is present in the borewell water the villagers depend upon. The test results also shows ‘turbidity’- cloudiness caused by particles – of 21.2 per cent when the legally permissible limit is just 5per cent. Calcium, magnesium and chlouride levels were all higher than expected norms. Coliform bacteria, caused by human faeces, were also present. Doctors in Byramangala say they routinely see skin and breathing problems caused by the river’s waters, which are drawn through a series of borewells serving the five pan-
The borewell that distributes water to the village; samples were taken from this borewell
chayats and 100 villages in the area. The residents know not to drink the water but still it for all other domestic purposes, including washing themselves and their food. The only source of drinking water for his village is either the water purifier installed by Toyota or Kaveri water supply in the main road. Both are several kilometres away. Narasimha Murthy, a farmer in Byramangala village, has been aware of the issue for 10 years and struggles to find safe water. He also claims that he and other farmers who use the Vrishabhavathi water for irrigation are in poor health because of it. Arun, a medical shop owner, said, “Most medicines sold are for skin allergies.” Sreevani B.K, a 22-year-old worker at the nearby Coca Cola plant, said: “For the last two months, more than half of the village is suffering from severe bone pain." Prema, a 38-year-old juvenile health assistant, added: “Skin diseases, typhoid, are common among kids. The excess calcium related problems and wheezing can be related directly to the water. Every house is affected by this. “The government neglects water purification for the village. Even my 14-year-old son is not healthy because of living
here." Anushree, the mother of one-year-old Supriya, said: “She is suffering from fever and vomiting. Bangalore water troubles us.” Anushree says she uses the water only for household purposes. Abhinaya, a 20-year-old engineering student, said he constantly suffers from joint pain and fever. “The polluted ground water causes health problems for the entire locality,” he added. Prakash, a Panchayat office employee who was brought up in Byramangala, also faces lack of potable water and health problems. He says that his family of five has faced typhoid, skin problems and breathing problems. He added that the evenings in the villages are very hard as mosquito density is very high. Dr Raju of Byramangala PHC, (Primary Health Centre) who has been working there for the last year, said that there are frequent cases of respiratory problems because of the pungent smell of the water body. He added that there are a high number of skin diseases, typhoid and joint pain which he feels are connected to poor water supply. Dr Raju also points out that there should be measures taken immediately to keep a check on mosquito density as once malaria breaks out in the
area it would be hard to contain it. Dr Raju and Dr M.B Chitra who was the previous doctor at Byramangala also feel that there is lack of medical staff at the village PHCs. The Panchayat of Chowkahalli has 31 villages with only four purifiers for them, confirm Prakash C.P a panchayat member. According to research conducted by the Department of Environmental Studies at Kuvembu University, the water of Vrishabhavathi River has high readings of Lead, Chromium, Manganese and Iron which makes it unsuitable for drinking or irrigation. L. Gururaj, Executive Engineer, Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board said, “ Nearly 4800 crore is to be funded by the government. We have not recieved the fund,” He added, “Who will pay the money for anything to be done about the river.” E.coli is a waterborne organism that if left unchecked can lead to death. It is usually found in human and animal faeces. The common symptoms of the disease are nausea, severe abdominal cramps, fatigue, and fever. Children under the age of five, the elderly and patients suffering from immunocompromised diseases such as cancer and AIDS are at a greater risk.
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2 THE OBSERVER
Thursday, November 26, 2015
Blind faith in new tech could help save sight
Protesting farmers to take trains back, without tickets
Aparajita Khandelwal
Parvathi Benu
A Bangalore medical company is about to conduct clinical trials with a device that helps prevent blindness in newborn babies – at a tenth of the price of existing tools. Bangalore based tech firm Forus Health has come up with “3Nethra Neo”, an alternative to the much costlier “RetCam” used to screen for Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) ROP is a disease of the eye found in prematurely born babies where the blood vessels grow abnormally. If not caught early, it leads to blindess and is common in developing countries. The survival rate of premature babies has gone up over the years and with it their medical needs. Ever greater numbers of infants need to be screened for ROP. If ROP isn’t detected within two months of the child’s birth then blindness follows, According to the eye care hospital Narayana Nethralya, 27 million babies are born in India every year, of which 3.5 million are premature. Eight percent of these premature babies weigh less than 2 kilograms, 47 per cent of them develop diseases and over 10 percent of them develop ROP, or 2.7 million ROP affected newborns. The eye hospital also commemorated “World Prematurity Day” on November 17 by inaugurating an E training service model called WISEROP. Dr Anand Vinekar, Programme Director of KIDROP (a tele-medicine network to tackle ROP) and WISE-ROP said, “We have just completed the initial validation of the 3Nethra Neo. It appears to be both safe and easy to use on infants. “It is portable and more compact than the old imported device. The on-going trial comparing it to its American predecessor has shown encouraging results. “We are very pleased that our scientific collaboration with Forus Health has received a grant from Wellcome Trust, London, UK to further the Research and Development in relation to this device. The clinical trial with 650 babies is expected to be finished in six to eight weeks and the results will be published thereafter.” Forus Health claims that 3Nethra Neo has a
Farmers from Northern Karnataka who staged a protest in the city over water scarcity say they will attempt to return home today – without tickets. Hundreds of farmers arrived in Bangalore on Monday from Hubli, again without tickets, to protest at Freedom Park over the lack of water in their area. The farmers say they are living on “tea and biscuits” because of the crisis. Rail staff in Bangalore refused to allow them to board trains from the city back home yesterday as none of the protesters had money to buy tickets for the journey. The farmers, members of Rait Sena Karnataka, have been trying to raise awareness of their plight. “We came here from Hubli without any ticket. The railway officers there let us travel. But the Railway Police Forcein Bangalore are not co-operating with us. We will go home today, that too without a ticket,” said Salim Sanganamalla, a committee member of Rait Sena. He said that the 200 farmers who came to the city for the protest are all victims of crop loss. “We are very poor people. There is no water for farming and this has hit us very bad. We cannot afford to buy tickets,” he added. The farmers said that they have no place to stay and therefore will continue staying at Freedom Park. Some of them, especially women, are facing health issues. “Many of us are not well. We expect some kind of help from the government,” said An-
A demonstration of “3Nethra Neo”screening device for ROP. imaging camera that is able to screen the edge of the retina unlike RetCam. “One unit of the RetCam costs approximately Rs. 1 crore,whereas its Indian counterpart, the 3netra Neo, costs just about 10 lakhs.” said PadmanabhaHolla , co-founder and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Forus Health. He added: “We have used ‘appropriate’ technology. Unlike others our priority is to serve the masses and not to make the doctors happy. “Since our target market is India, money is a constraint. Ours is a screening device so it does not require a high priced sensor. “Also, we used LED lights instead of Xenon lights, so, we could do away with the cooling mechanism. In addition to this our engineering costs are low. “The RetCam has used expensive material which has hiked its price. For India, we need something that is not priced exorbitantly.” Dr Shyam Vasudev Rao, Managing Director of Forus said, “We are excited to launch this world class innovation which was made in India to bridge the social and technological gap. We are certain that our collaboration with NarayanaNethralaya and WISE-ROP will help us realize our dream of providing low-cost and state-of-the-art imaging to prevent blindness in our infants.”
Farmers protesting at Freedom Park napoorna, a farmer. Another farmer, Kasim, said that though the Railway Police did not co-operate, the Bangalore City Police were helpful. The group included men, women and children. Sources from the Railway Police said that they prevented around 400 farmers from boarding the train without ticket. “No one is permitted to travel without a proper ticket. No exceptions,” said an RPF officer. He said that around 30 RPF inspectors were checking tickets. While one group of farmers are all set to go back tonight, the others say that they will not leave Bangalore until the issue gets solved and they get water. Kasturi, another farmer, said that back home, they have been surviving on biscuit and tea for the past four months. “My family knows that I’m here for a purpose. I do not miss them. I won’t go back until the issue gets resolved,” she said. Bangalore City Railway Station officials said that they are unaware of the protest or the problem.
In the city today
According to the research held by the Energy and Wetland Research group, at present only 33 lakes are left in the city. In the programm, “People’s Campaign for Right to Water” that was conducted by National Law School of India in its premises for fixing accountabilities, making amends and improving governance on disappearing lakes of Karnataka. Of 177 lakes at present only 33 lakes are left. Talking about health impacts people are facing due to the excess of froth in the lakes,
Dr. Kshithij said, “There is no medical facility or proper medical care given to the affected people with the froth, nor is the government taking any measures to improve the conditions.” He added, “Various diseases are caused and the a bacteria which they have introduced did not work.” According to the Lake Development Authority, the restoration of 25 hectare lake costs Rs 10 billion, so it is impossible to restore all the lakes in the city.
Commissioner of traffic police MA Saleem announced that over 700 autorickshaws had been seized today in the city because of refusal to accept passengers and demanding higher fares. Chickpet traffic police station confirmed that 440 autos had been seized in the city’s West division alone. A police constable at Chickpet traffic station said: “All traffic stations received a wireless message from the additional commissioner.” He said that under Chick-
pet’s jurisdiction, 50 auto rickshaws had been seized and another 50 in Upparpet.” Siddique Ahmed, 41, is an auto driver whose vehicle was seized. He said: “I am handcapped. Where should I go? “I had a customer with me when it happened. The rule I broke was that I hadn’t displayed my license in the back as per the rules. They’ve fined me Rs 2,000” The checking drive was conducted all over the city today by the city traffic cops between 6 AM to 8 AM.
A national Seminar on Access to Copyrighted Works for Persons With Disability was organised in NLSIU Bangalore along with Centre for Intellectual property Rights and Advocacy. The panel discussed on India's key role in bringing the Marrakesh Treaty that focuses on Blind Visually Impaired and Print Disabled Persons.
Thursday, November 26, 2015 3
THE OBSERVER
Lawman’s departing shot claims corruption rife in judiciary, Lokayukta
Members of the Legislative Assembly and Council gathered for a group photo with legislators retiring from the upper house Aditi Mallick Aparajita Khandelwal A retiring member of the state assembly from the Bhartiya Janta Party, blames the judiciary especially the Supreme Court - of weakening institutions created to battle corruption. Lehar Singh Siroya, a former treasurer of the Bhartiya Janata Party’s state unit, was suspended from the party and relieved from his post two years ago for accusing senior BJP leader L. K. Advani of corruption.
The legislator, who retires from office in May, 2016, said: "The judiciary is corrupt and it is unfortunate that all institutions are being diluted by the Supreme Court and the High Court.” He added, “The Chief Justice of India was also caught under the Disproportionate Assets Act.” The state’s Lokayukta currently faces calls for his removal from office after an alleged scandal involving his son. Siroya added: “The
Lokayukta is more corrupt than police and it is also politically biased.” He also blamed the government for having lack of will power to tackle corruption and ofpolitically pressuring the Lokayukta. Talking on the working of the legislature Siroya said: “The government has several shortcomings. Bills and amendments should be given time to be deliberated on in both the houses of legislatures.The govt should be careful when it brings about amendments.
“Earlier they used to take five years to make and frame all the laws but nowadays everything is being done in a hurry and no time is left to debate or discuss. “Only if they are given time will they be long lasting and meaningful. Otherwise again and again it’s being changed, like the bill regarding Lokayukta that was passed in a hurry. ”We are forced to pass it out of compulsion because we can’t reject.” Mr Siroya was attending a
gathering of all 25 retiring legislators with Chief Minister Siddharamiah in the State Assembly.
Lehar Singh Siroya
Mentally challenged girls face womb removals Laxmi Narayani Parents of mentally challenged girls are being offered hysterectomies for their daughters. The procedures are being conducted routinely in the state as counsellors tell parents the removal of their daughter’s womb will prevent future issues surrounding menstruation and pregnancy. Many parents, concerned about the menstrual cycle and how to handle it, are agreeing to the womb removal. Others have refused. “This was the first question that was asked to me after my daughter reached puberty. But I’m stubborn in not doing it. “I don’t want to remove my daughter’s uterus. The reason provided to me by other parents for removing the uterus was social insecurity and handling issues. “I’m quite sure I can take care of my daughter and I blame the parents for the side-
effects to their children post removal,” said Latha, the mother of a 20-year-old mentally challenged girl, who she did not want named. The girls often have medical issues like seizures and fits, for which occupational therapy is undertaken. “Many have serious issues and after many years of treatment and therapy, they could be set to a routine. Physiotherapy and occupational therapy can help them grow better,” said a therapist at Vani Vilas Hospital, who asked not to be named. Hysterectomy is a surgical operation to remove all or part of the womb. “Hysterectomy is recommended in the context of severity disability in Karnataka. The percentage of disability should be more than 60 per cent and IQ less than eight years of maturity. This year Victoria Hospital has recommended six patients,” according to the Head of Department,
who declined to be named. “It is socially safer because parents want to avoid sexual assaults and pregnancy among mentally challenged girls,” according to Dr Rataja Jadhav, a gynaecologist at Apollo Cradle Hospital. She added: “We do recommend this as an option to the parents of some mentally challenged girls. The decision is up to them. Parents were hesitant before but now they do opt for it. It is done in a laparoscopic way for minimum side-effects.” Janavi, the mother of a mentally ill son and a member of Karnataka Parents Association for Mentally Challenged, said: “A mother has difficulty taking care of menstruation so hysterectomy benefits a mother and a child. I recommend hysterectomyfor the betterment of both mother and the child. Also we don’t need any government hospital to certify the patient for the surgery.” Sara (name changed), had her 44-year-old daughter’-
Victoria Hospital Bangalore suterus removed nineteen years ago against the will of her family members for the well-being of her daughter. “When I felt my daughter was not able to manage her menstrual cycle at the age of 25, I took this decision which I do not regret. Social insecurity was also one of the many reasons.” "I have been in this profession for the past thirty years. It is terrible for a parent and the patient to undergo hysterectomy. Some parents regret it and don’t come forward to discuss about this. It is a painful transition that a family undergoes,” said Premila, a special education teacher at Kar-
nataka Parents Association for Mentally Challenged. The Census 2011 states Karnataka’s registered cases for mentally ill were 114887, out of which 54558 are females. According to the data from Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Health Sciences, Karnataka, in India 33.3% of hysterectomies are performed in the age group 2025 years, 22.2% in the age group of 25–30 years, 38.8% in the age group of 30-35 years, and 5.5% in the age group of 35-40 years. No data records are kept for procedures performed on mentally challenged girls under the age of 18.
4 THE OBSERVER
Taxing times as B Rs.83.45 cr
AMouNt owed
1
Unknown NAMe Manyata Promoters Pvt. Ltd. diReCtoR Reddy Veeranna dAyANANd pujARi, SpoKeSpeRSoN “There is some miscalculation. We pay taxes under category 14, which is a special category for IT parks and industrial buildings. BBMP expects us to pay under category 8.” pRofitS
AMouNt owed
pRofitS NAMe
Rs.8.51 cr
two of the alleged property tax defaulters told the observe the list of the top ten property tax defaulters was released o private hospitals comprise eight of the ten tax evaders. five Spokespersons for Manyata promoters pvt. Ltd. and Subram parks. However, they said the BBMp expects them to pay ta Based on BBMp property tax guidelines, Category Viii build conditioning — are required to pay Rs.18 or Rs.20 per sq.ft. XiV are charged Rs.8 per sq.ft. or less, depending on the sc A spokesperson for Central Mall, another defaulter, said the
2
Unlisted
Vydehi Hospital, Hoody
diReCtoR
Kalpaja DA
SpoKeSpeRSoN
Refused to
comment.
AMouNt owed
3
Rs.7.97 cr pRofitS
Unlisted
Vydehi Hospital, Whitefield diReCtoR Kalpaja DA NAMe
SpoKeSpeRSoN
Refused to
comment.
AMouNt owed pRofitS
Rs.5.34 cr
Unlisted company
Subramanya Constructions diReCtoR Bala Subramanium Nagesh CouNSeL foR diReCtoR “BBMP seems to be unaware of the rules at categorize us under genral rules. The claim that we are tax defaulters is illegal.”
4
NAMe
AMouNt owed
Rs.1.72 cr
Rs.1014.08 cr NAMe Total Mall, ORR pRofitS
Hoody Aditya Birla Group SpoKeSpeRSoN Refused to comment.
diReCtoR
5
Thursday, November 26, 2015 5
BBMP comes knocking
oindrila Sarkar tanay Sukumar
er that BBMp demands property tax from them under the wrong category. on Monday by M. Shivaraju, the BBMp taxation and finance Committee chairperson. Realty developers, malls and e of these alone had a combined profit of nearly thirty times the taxes owed by all ten. manya Constructions said that they should be taxed under the category for industrial buildings, that includes it axes under another category. they said they are working with the BBMp to resolve the conflict. dings — non-residential use of property provided with central air AMouNt owed ., depending on their area. However, industrial buildings, under category Rs.73 lakh cale of industry. ey are tenants in the building and are not responsible to pay property tax.
10
Bhagwan Das Sharma CoMMeNt Could not be traced NAMe
AMouNt owed pRofitS
Rs.91 lakh
Rs.1,116.04 cr
9
Hometown, Munekolalu Road owNeR Future Group (CEO: Kishore Laxminarayan Biyani) NAMe
“Since we are not the landlords, we are not the defaulters. The landlords have defaulted.”
SpoKeSpeRSoN
AMouNt owed pRofitS
Rs.1 cr
Rs.15.76 cr
8
Soul’s Space, Outer Ring Road diReCtoR Vikram Kashyap, Joint Managing Director of BL Kashyap & Sons Ltd. KuMAR A, MARKetiNg MANAgeR “The neccessary action will be taken. We are not a defaulter. There is some confusion with calculation and it is underway. As and when we clarify with the BBMP we will certainly pay whatever is due. We are not against government rules.” NAMe
AMouNt owed
AMouNt owed
Rs.1.37 cr
Rs.31.85 cr NAMe United Glass Bottles Mfg. Co. CHAiRMAN L. Ramachandra Khoday SpoKeSpeRSoN Refused to comment. pRofitS
pRofitS
6
Rs.1.25 cr
Rs.1,116.04 cr
Central Mall, Marathahalli owNeR Future Group (CEO: Kishore Laxminarayan Biyani) SpoKeSpeRSoN “Since we are not the landlords, we are not the defaulters. The landlords have defaulted.” NAMe
7
6 THE OBSERVER
Thursday, November 26, 2015
Death of construction workers go unreported in booming Bangalore Oindrila Sarkar
“
Many construction-related deaths are unreported. Their families are told that the man didn't turn up for work whereas the body is thrown & disposed of via conveyor belt.
“
The number of construction workers dying at work in the city has quadrupled in the last two years, and union bosses say most deaths go unreported. Labourers protesting in the city claim that employers often brush the deaths of workers under the carpet in an effort to avoid compensation payouts to families. According to statistics, 19 construction workers lost their lives at work in 2013. So far this year, 78 workers have died in Bangalore Urban. There were 65 deaths in 2014, according to data from the City Crime Records Bureau. Kalupa, who works for Jindal Construction in Bellary, said, "Many construction-related deaths are unreported. Their families are told that the man didn't turn up for work whereas the body is thrown & disposed off via conveyor belt." He was protesting at the labour commission office in Bangalore. The protest had workers from Bellary, Tumkur, Korar, Bangalore and Mangalore. They started an indefinite strike on Tuesday. The workers have unionised under the Karnataka State Building and other Construction Workers Federation. They say they will not move until the Department of Labour addresses their basic problems. Lingaraju, district vice-president of the Centre of Indian Trade Union (CITU), said: “The welfare board collects a one per cent welfare cess which has amounted to Rs.3500 crores this year. “Out of this, the board wants to spend Rs.800 crores for
--Kalupa, Jindal Construction worker
Karnataka State Building and other Construction Workers Federation protesting in front of the labour commissioner’s office
marriage halls in districts." He added, “There is too much delay and inefficiency in release of funds, especially the workers’ students scholarships, pensions & maternity benefits.” DS Vishwanath, Commissioner of Labour, refused to comment on the protest. Labourers who work in dis-
tricts far from Bangalore come every second month demanding benefits. They are promised the money but they have yet to receive anything. Gillamoor, a labourer in Bellary, said: “I have work for only six months in a year. We work in terrible conditions. We don't even have bathrooms and have to walk for miles when we
need it.” She added: "When my child was born, the maternity benefit was released after two years. The government has homes for other unorganized labour like beedi workers but we have no houses to live in. My money goes in paying housing rents." Noor Pasha, who has come all the way from Soundulu in
“
I have work for only six months in a year, and we work in terrible condition. I don’t even have a bathroom and have to walk for miles. When my child was born the maternity benifit was released after two years.
“
-Galamma, construction worker
Bellary district, said: "I am fed up of filing applications. For death certificate, marriage certificate and identity cards, we are asked to pay for our own benefits. The welfare board is full of thieves. "We are also protesting the metal rate jump and huge hike in prices of steel, sand, cement and other construction materials." NP Swamy, president of Karnataka State Construction Workers Central Union, said, "Nobody believes the poor labourers’ account of uncorroborated deaths happening on construction sites. So many go missing and no compensation is paid. There is an unholy nexus between real estate and the government." Hanumanthrao Havaldar, District Secretary, Bangalore North (CITU), said, "Labourers are punished for unionising and their contracts cancelled but we have sat on an indefinite strike from today because we are exhausted dealing with the Labour department."
THE OBSERVER Editor: Sanskriti Talwar | News Editors: Payal Gangishetty | Chief Sub-Editor: Regina Gurung Sub-Editors: Tanay Sukumar, Rajarshi Das, Raina Paul, Prabhpreet Singh Sood Layout Editor: Rishi Sabharwal, Sutanu Guha | Picture Editor: Reema Mukherjee | Social Media Manager: Sana Husain