Issue4 final

The Observer An IIJNM publication

Vol 17, Issue 4

Thursday, September 14, 2017

The Observer

@theweeklyobserver On the Web: issuu.com/ theweeklyobserver/docs/ the_observer

The Observer spoke to a cross-section of people present at the Rally for Resistance held to protest against the murder of activist and journalist Gauri Lankesh | Turn to page 2

Rs 300 a day: City Market vendors lose half of their earnings to extortionists Say they have not complained to cops out of fear Manashaa Ganesan manashaa.g@iijnm.org

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hopkeepers at KR Market have allegedly become victim of an extortion racket. Each of them, several shopkeepers informed The Observer, has to pay Rs 300 every day to the racketeers.

Kannapa, who has run a shop in the market for years, said: “We depend on the government for help, but there is none forthcoming I would not want my children to work in a market, no matter what. At the end of the day, little money is left to sustain our families.”

Ibrahim, a fruit vendor, said: “The corporation allows some to put up their shops outside and on the pavements inside the market.

Every day, Rs 10 has to be given to corporation people. They collect money from the vendors both in

Illegal shops on the road outside KR Market,(Right) A pile of garbage dumped in the KR Market parking area | Photo: Manashaa Ganesan the morning and in the evening.”

But it seems not all vendors in the market have to pay the racketeers.

A BBMP official who did not wish to be named said: “It has been happening for a long time now. The shopkeepers are migrants from Tamil Nadu. They do not have any other place to set up their shops.”

A traffic constable The Observer spoke to corroborated what the official said.

The shopkeepers have not complained to police so far, fearing that doing so will land them and their families in trouble. They said they have to pay about half of their daily earnings to the racketeers.

City Market sub-inspector V.

Praveen said: “So far, no complaints have been filed by anyone.

If such a thing happens, we will look out for them and file an FIR against them.” An assistant subinspector, refusing to identify himself, said: “If any further information is needed, visit the BBMP office of the City Market.”

Besides the forcible collection of money, the shopkeepers said,

there are other issues that deplete their profit.

The cold storage is not maintained properly, leading to huge quantities of vegetables, fruits and flowers going waste. The market does not have a proper waste-management system, they said. The lack of proper roofing makes matters worse, they complained.

20 soft-toy sellers struggle to Crime rises in Bengaluru; make a living along highway only murder cases fall 64% increase in cases of dacoity, 29% in chain-snatching cases

Pracheta Panja pracheta.p@iijnm.org

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bout 80 soft-toy sellers on the Bengaluru-Mysuru Road are struggling to make ends meet. Living in bambooand-tarpaulin hovels, they have open spaces for toilets, live without electricity, and have to buy water from tankers.

Rakhi and Dinesh, residents of the slum, informed The Observer: “We buy stuffing from a nearby market, make toys and sell them to make a living. Sometimes, sales are good, but there are times when we cannot provide our children sufficient food.”

The 20 families, mostly from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, live amidst snakes and insects, they said.

They migrated to Anchepalya, opposite Rajarajeswari Medical College and Hospital, Kumbalgodu, 12 years ago.“Years ago, there used to be a school where our children used to go. But after a few months, the teacher

Sreejani Bhattacharyya sreejani.b@iijnm,org

B The slum-dwellers, like Rakhi, make a living by producing soft toys | Photo: Pracheta Panja stopped taking classes and it was shut down.

Most of our children are illiterate like us,” said Sonu, a resident of the slum. >>‘Were told to move out’, page 2

engaluru saw an increase in crime from January to July this year compared to the same period in 2016, according to monthly data obtained

by The Observer from police.

Dacoity cases went up by 64%, rising from 36 to 59.

Chain-snatching cases spiked from 145 to 188, a growth of 29%.

Speaking to The Observer about crime-prone areas, DCP (south) Sharanappa SD (in photo) said: “Girinagar,

Hanumanthnagar, Konanakunte and Subramanyapura are areas… where crimes happen frequently.

Motor vehicle thefts and chain-snatching incidents are common here. A lot of chain-snatchings are carried out by outsiders. A major reason for this is lack of preventive measures taken by the victims.”

However, murders decreased from 142 cases to 129, a decline of 9%.

Robbery cases more than doubled, rising from 163 to 354. Under the Pocso Act, 2012 — enacted to protect children from sexual assault and exploitation — 207 cases were booked in January-July this year compared to 174 in the same timeframe in 2016, an increase of 19%.

Gambling cases spiked from 181 to 210, indicating a rise of 16%.

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CITY

The Observer Thursday, September 14, 2017

‘There is a growing sense of fear’ Bengaluru saw people from all walks of life come together in memory of journalist Gauri Lankesh on September 12. Activists, lawyers, students, politicians, artists and a host of others joined in the Rally for Resistance organized by the Forum Against The Assassination of Gauri Lankesh killed. We are in a country where laws are so regressive that you can get jailed for forming associations.

Manikankana Sengupta and Rayan Mitra The Observer asked those participating in the rally and others: How much freedom of expression exists in India now?

How safe do you think the common citizen is in India?

Edited excerpts from their interviews: V. S. Sridhar, English professor and a close friend of Gauri There is anger and concern over dissent being curbed for the past few years.

This is extremely bad for democracy because ideological differences have to be answered by arguments, not weapons.

He is not safe. We can almost say, metaphorically, that the bullet that went to Kalburgi, others and Gauri is also directed against many others. It is a message that if you do not behave, this is what is going to happen.

Maria, German choreographer and dancer I thought India had freedom of expression… where people would not be afraid to speak their minds out, but now I realize it’s not as free as I thought.

I don’t think one is completely safe here anymore. With my different looks, I get a lot of negative attention. I must say I have been influenced by this incident. I don’t feel safe anymore.

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Kalpana, activist The moment you are not afraid to raise your voice, you achieve freedom. However hard they try to suppress it, there will be voices which will rise.

In this state of the nation the common man lives a ‘living death’ in many ways. Just look at the beef ban. How can a government decide what people can eat and not eat?

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Sudeepthi P, fashion designer People have come here to fight and to stand against what has happened, so I think people are coming out and standing for the right thing. It is time to change.

It is all about internal politics. She raised her voice and put her angst in her paper. She was fighting for dalits, and asking for their rights. That is the reason she was killed….

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We can mark this as a turning point, people have

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decided to not to be afraid

Satish, activist I think it is totally suppressed. On social media sites, you find a lot of hatemongering, Gauri Lankesh was expressing her views. The disturbing result is here.

Just because it was Gauri Lankesh, this made front-page headlines. There are a lot of common citizens who have been killed because of their religion and caste. I think we can mark this as a turning point.

People have now decided not to be afraid.

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Prajval Shastri, professor at Indian Institute of Astrophysics Although we have a progressive constitution and we have been a republic, there has been regression in the recent past. There is a climate of fear. People are afraid to speak what they think.

There has been a growing sense of fear.

You need to think about what you say and how. There has been a drastic change in the way voices of dissent are dealt with.

It are unacceptable.

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Surya Kumar, artist It is not about freedom of speech; It is beyond that. We do not have freedom to wear and eat what we want…. We are going back to the Middle Ages where the state tells people what they should eat or what they should not.

It is like somebody raiding your fridge to check what you are eating and what you are storing. I do not think anybody is going to feel safe in India, where you are killed for expressing what is right.

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Madhu A, activist Her death evidently reflects the state of freedom of expression in India. The blame game after her death is more unfortunate. Why did Gauri have to die is the question we should ask ourselves.

I think the message they delivered by murdering Gauri is that ‘You should not talk’. But look out here, things are changing slowly but steadily; youths today are not afraid to stand up and question.

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Sravanthi G, activist There has never been freedom of expression in our country. The voices of dalits, Muslims and others have always been suppressed. But people are now standing up for freedom of expression.

If you look at the manner in which the government is functioning…, none of us is safe. People are being lynched and

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Hundreds turned up for the protest rally against the murder of journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh from Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna Railway Station to the Central College ground . Gauri, 55, was shote dead at her home on September 4 | Photos: Manikankana Sengupta

Were told to move out: Soft-toy sellers >> Continued from page 1

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fficers came here and asked us to move out from here saying they plan to extend the metro to the area,” Rakhi said, adding they do not have

Charana M, research scholar and activist Gauri fought for the sovereign aspect of life and how we see our life. It’s about expressing what we feel. Freedom of expression is one of the many things a civilization deserves.

These are hard times for global politics.

We are seeing how right-wing parties are coming up. Whenever a situation (like this) arises, resistance also rises. It is hope you cling to.

any other place to go.

“They have to get identity proof to avail of facilities provided by the government.

Once they get that, they might get to set up permanent shops,” said a member of the Kumbalgodu Gram Panchayat.

According to data of the Karnataka Slum Development Board (KSDB), there are 2,804 slums in the state, of which 597 are in Bengaluru. Anchepalya is one of the 407 non-notified slums.KSDB chairman R V Devaraj could not be reached for comment.

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The Team Editor: Manikankana Sengupta News Editor and Photo Editor: Manashaa Ganesan Page Layout: Pracheta Panja, Rayan Mitra, Saket Tiwari Copy Editors: Shiny Kirupa R, Sreejani Bhattacharyya