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Single-coach metro trains in city soon -Page 3
Volume 15 Issue 36
THE
An IIJNM Publication
FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016
We’ll be honest when we find an office -Page 4
DAILY OBSERVER
500 citizens could bring down the govt, says ‘damning’ report author Regina Gurung Oindrila Sarkar A 7000 page damning report detailing land scams involving some of the state’s most senior officials was sparked by 500 letters of complaint from citizens. That was the claim made today by the report’s author, Anwar Manipaddy , who says he has no axe to grind but wants people to know that the scam has the potential to be bigger than India’s 2G scandal.
Anwar Manipaddy, BJP spokesperson
The Karnataka Waqf Board land report was compiled by Manipaddy after the land embezzlement scam came to light in 2012. Waqf is an endowment made by a Muslim to a religious, educational or charitable trust. The scam is estimated by Manipaddy to be worth Rs2,00,000 crore, bigger than the 2G scam of Rs1,70,000 crore . The BJP leader who was the former chairman of Karnataka State Minorities Commission made the report along with his committee members, Mr Benjamin & Ateeq Ahmed. He said that citizens had come forward to tell him about land being illegally encroached all over Bangalore and cited examples. But he declined to comment over allegations that only Congress politicians were named in the report, even though it covers a period of time when his party also held power. He said, “The government is scared that the cat will be out of the bag and they will fall from power.” Waqf is a permanent dedication of movable or immovable properties for charitable
purposes as recognized by Muslim law. The grant is known as mushrut-ul-khidmat while the person making the grant is called the waqf. The Karnataka state waqf board is a statutory body under the Waqf Act 1995. It was founded to protect waqf properties from encroachment. The report was initiated when the BJP was in power from 2008-2013.An open court system was announced in the districts to review complaints. Manipaddy said, “People came up to me with complaints when I was touring the districts and I asked them to send me letters. I was known for my toughness and have a record of suspending 54 govt servants
in my two and a half years tenure.” His visit Bidar, which has one of the biggest graveyards in Asia, revealed that it had been illegally encroached. He said, “When I started a full scale survey it was all over the newspapers. Peo-
The government is scared that the cat will be out of the bag and they will fall from power -Anwar Manipaddy
ple who knew about similar land encroachments sent me
letters which helped me look into other areas we did not know about.” He said that every piece of land has survey numbers and 57,000 acres of land were registered under the waqf board. Now around 20,000 acres of land is left. He said, “The board got to know that a report is being prepared and offered me big money which ran to a 100 crores in bribe.” The ITC Windsor Manor hotel and the HOPCOMS opposite to Lalbagh Gardens are both in the report as examples of land encroachment. The Council Chairman D.H Shankaramurthy had ordered the report to be tabled in the Assembly.
Rural jobs scheme funds not reaching panchayats Tanay Sukumar Gram panchayats in the state received just 0.2 per cent of all expenses made under NREGA in the last financial year. Now in its eleventh year, NREGA is a centrally-sponsored flagship rural employment scheme. The state has a negative balance of Rs.1625 crore, up from Rs.1536 crore last year. Launched in 2005 by the then UPA government, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme aims to provide a secure livelihood to people in rural areas by guaranteeing a hundred days of wage employment each financial year. Its beneficiaries are rural households whose adult
members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. The scheme funding
went up by 12 per cent, to Rs.34,699 crore in the budget for 2015-16. However,
the funds and expenditure summary for the year show a negative balance for 22 of the 34 states and union territories. After coming to power, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had labelled the poor funding to gram panchayats as “living proof of Congress party’s failure”. The execution of the scheme takes place at the gram panchayat level. Data reveals that all states have money left after transferring funds to the districts. At the state level, states transfer 12.5 per cent of the funds received, but the expenditure at gram panchayat level are 37 times the funds transferred to them. At 2554, Karnataka’s gram panchayats have the second highest number of complaints lodged against them under NREGA. Other stats in the report
show that only 35 per cent of the wages were paid within 15 days of work in Karnataka. One-tenth of households could complete 100 days of work. States like Mizoram, Nagaland, Goa and Manipur do not have a single household that completed 100 days of work. Most of the work is labour intensive and includes creation of infrastructure for water harvesting, drought relief and flood control. According to the government it is the largest social security and public works programme in the world. The scheme is being used in a big way for financial inclusions as it has been linked to the bank accounts opened under the Jan Dhan Yojana and biometric system of identification (Aadhar). It is a force behind the creation of rural assets.
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FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016
Baahubali gets national award: popular cinema beats quality cinema? Mindless stories taking over substance
Laxmi Narayani
Audience likes it, what’s the problem?
Reema Mukherjee
After 62 years of National Film Awards, does the most deserving team still get rewarded? The best film of the 63rd edition of the awards was won by ‘Baahubali’, a Telugu movie directed by SS Rajamouli. The movie was released worldwide in nearly 4200 screens Telegu, Hindi, Malayalam and Tamil with a budget of Rs.250 crore. It was declared a ‘superhit’ within a day by the Cinema Association for the ‘amazing’ special effects and outstanding performances by the artistes. But, the movie lacks essence. Story of the film offers no novelty and the screenplay is predictable. The jury listed six conditions in order for a film to qualify for the award. Bahubali’s plot is based on an ancient Indian kingdom. Shiva is the ‘superhero’, who lives with his step-parents and eventually learns that his father was a king and they have their own kingdom. Many controversies arose after the award list was released. Punjab filmmaker Gurvinder Singh said, “I don’t think any sane jury will give an award to a film such as ‘Baahubali’. It’s full of populous Hindutva iconography. It’s just a bad calendar art film.” Commercial films like ‘Baahubali’ do not contain issues that address the status quo of the society Mindless entertainment is taking over the
substance in the movie industry. There have been times when the six command-
SS Rajmouli’s “Baahubali: The Beginning” was the only regional film in the Bollywood-dominated list of winners in the 63rd National Awards announced recently. The decision has been widely criticised, with critics and veterans from the film industry openly denouncing the jury’s decision, with one even calling the film “the worst ever to win a National Award”. All this, despite the movie earning Rs.600 crore at the box office. The way movies perform on the box office is
With a visual effect supervisor like V. Srinivas Mohan, who has previously won National Awards for best special effects, Baahubali pleased a large audience, including international critics. What is different in Rajmouli’s Baahubali is that, the resources in the movie do not mess with its visuals and lets the narrative flow. It’s a movie that opens doors for Indian cinema to be a part of the elite movie club. It’s true that Indian cinema has failed to give its audience a visually appealing superhero movie comparable to what Hollywood repeatedly offers. Even Bollywood, after its 100 years of cinema, seems unable to manage any better than movies like Ra.One, in which Shah Rukh Khan couldn’t give life to his character. But, all that said, our cinema must not be compared with the content produced anywhere else. Each society’s cinema is meant to appeal to that audience, and whatever works for this audience defines what is good. In this age of short attention span and urge to get instant entertainment, a movie that works surely reflects a deep understanding of the market. Armchair intellectuals often associate quality of movies by the depth of the story. But they forget that movies are made to appeal to audiences. A movie with a deep story that fails at the box office is a failure to understand popular sentiment. In 3 Idiots and Taare Zameen Par, we have had ample movies that prove that stories with a deep message can do well at the box office, if made in a way that connects with audiences. It is unfair that in our obsession for armchair critique, we fail to acknowledge and accept a movie’s success for all that it is. Looking at the list of winners, one might be
In this age of short attention span and urge to get instant entertainment, a movie that works surely reflects a deep understanding of the market. Armchair intellectuals often associate quality of movies by the depth of the story. a reflection of what our audiences want. With Baahubali’s success, it is evident that it found mass appeal. Even international critics have praised the movie, with Mike McCahill rating it 4 out of 5 for The Guardian. Apart from being the most expensive Indian movie ever made, with an estimated budget of $40 million, the Telugu film had several elements that drew audiences to itself.
“I don’t think any sane jury will give an award to a film such as ‘Baahubali’. It’s full of populous Hindutva iconography. It’s just a bad calendar art film.” Commercial films like ‘Baahubali’ do not contain issues that address the status quo of the society Mindless entertainment is taking over the substance in the movie industry. ments have been compromised. In the 2005 National awards, ‘Black’, a Hindi feature movie was awarded the best film. But, later it was found that the movie was an
adaptation of English film ‘The Miracle Worker’ of 1962. In 2007, the High Court decided that sharing a similar story from other language will not take away the award that the jury decide. Then, what are the six commandments for? Usually, a commercial Hindi box-office hit ends up winning the award. Popularity of the lead actors and success in the mainstream media influence the awards in ‘Best Non-Feature Film’ category. The story, plot and the essence of the movie must decide what the movie deserves. Awards today are given on the basis of popularity amongst the audience. Even if the jury decides otherwise, the majority vote plays a villainous role. In the past decades there have been several controversies revolving around the decision of the jury members. For example, late in 1997, the jury was headed by a then Congress MP, who gave the best actor award to Kamal Haasan, where one of the jurists in the panel was the actor’s elder brother, contradicting Clause 21A of NFA regulations. Entertainment and art have a role to play in the society. Art is not just for art’s sake. A movie has a moral obligation to its audience.
mistaken that the awardees only come from mainstream cinema, but that’s not true. Movies like Dum Laga ke Haisha and Masaan, that are far from mainstream, were pre-
A movie’s stream should not decide the talent of the individuals who put their days and nights together in the making of the film. A movie with a deep story that fails at the box office is a failure to understand popular sentiment. sented with the Best Hindi film and the Best Debut Director, respectively. The line between mainstream cinemas and slipstream cinemas is becoming increasingly thin, with new filmmakers coming and changing the conventional definitions. Why then, is it difficult to let a Baahubali walk away with the Best Feature Film? A movie’s stream should not decide the talent of the individuals who put their days and nights together in the making of the film. Though we appreciate movies like ‘Masaan’ and “Margarita with a straw”, the 100 crore profit ultimately goes to mainstream commercial movies. While there are few movies like ‘3 Idiots’ which have succesfully given out a message, most other typical Indian dramatic films, fail to carry a story line.
FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016 3
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Mini metro to counter train drain EXCLUSIVE Bangalore metro will run single-coach trains from next month, because hardly anyone in the city uses the service. “I can only get to MG Rd on the metro if I live in Indiranagar or somewhere along that route. What’s the point?,” said one bemused commuter, the only one stepping from the 10:33 train at MG Rd this morning. “I only caught metro today as my usual auto wallah was drunk after the cricket match last night,” he added. The footfall plunged to new lows in February and the metro project is facing heavy losses, according to officials. Figures compiled by the metro corporation reveal that only 14,016 people used the service in the last week of February. The city has a population of over 10 million. One official, speaking on condition of anonymity, stressed that traffic should improve when other branches of the service come online. At that point they will consider restoring trains to their original size. The delays and chaos caused by drilling and building tracks
Workers put the finishing touches to the new mini metro trains and stations has left many Bangaloreans wondering if it’s worth it, given the restricted hop-on/hopoff points. An official at Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), said, on condition of anonymity: “Our trains go virtually empty. We thought the city’s traf-
fic woes will encourage people to use the metro, but it is not happening.“When three coaches carry as many passengers as a single coach can carry, there is no point using three.” Metro drivers protested last week over the move, as bosses also want to cut their pay.
Kolkata flyover firm sees shares slump
500 citizens could bring down the govt, says ‘damning’ report author Contd. from Page 1 On 31st March, 2016, the last day of the Budget session, the BJP and the JD(S) protested against government’s refusal to table the Report. A Recommendation Report was tabled instead of the Waqf report in the last assembly session, said Manipaddy. “The government has deceived the court by placing the recommendations.” A contempt of court notice was passed yesterday but the government has asked for two weeks to prepare.The government had referred the case to the Karnataka Lokayukta in 2012, but yesterday it refused to acknowledge the Lokayukta report which indicts a number of Congress leaders. It nullified the report by withdrawing the terms of reference. He alleged, “Heavy spending during election was started by the muslim leaders. When election came they asked the waqf board to sell the lands through muttawalis from where they could easily get 18-20 crores which could be used for election campaigning.” The present Waqf committee chairman Mohammad Yousuff and ex-chairman Reyaz Khan addressed the report as “vindictive.” They allege that the report is “baseless” with no concrete proof and see no reason why it should
be tabled in the Assembly. According to Reyaz Khan, “Principal of natural justice was not followed. The report was never presented or consulted. It is one-sided, biased, politically inclined and vindictive.” He said, “Rahman Khan, a former Congress minister has been charged for no reason. Manipaddy wanted his man in the committee and when that did not happen he turned against the waqf and compiled reports against it”. The Karnataka Waqf Board is an autonomous body. The committee proclaims “once a waqf land always a waqf land.” The Chairman said that Waqf has about 1,22,000 acres of land left. “We are not denying that some land had been encroached but that took place long back. “Why wasn’t this question raised when the BJP was in power?” asked Mr. Khan. “The telephone exchange built by the government opposite to Vidhana Soudha is also waqf land”On being asked about the people named in the report he said that some names are out in the open but he had not revealed any names. It is being circulated by people who have knowledge of the land embezzlement. He said, “Most of the people are from the Congress party, the waqf board, some are real estate agents and land mafia.”
One driver, Thomas T.T.E., said: “Because there are lesser carriages, we must take cut? What nonsense is this? They want us to take cut as train is cut.” A secret document leaked to the Observer, titled “Rail Loop(F)” produced by metro bosses, states that numbers are falling so sharp-
ly the single carriage plan will still not be economically viable but will reduce massive debts and overheads currently miring the flagship project. The train will run every ten minutes. The regular three-coach trains will be taken off track by April 15. A security staff member at a metro station said: “This makes sense. “Most of the security and ticketing staff have nothing to do all day because of fewer people entering the metro station. When we do get a passenger with a backpack we take our time to see if they have any bottles, metal items. “We know people are annoyed by this but we have to find something to justify our existence. What to do?” According to BMRCL’s audit report in September 2015, Namma Metro was losing 11,000 commuters each day. The losses had gone up by over 26 per cent to Rs.33.12 crore in the financial year 2014-15. The first single-coach train was flagged off on a trial run this morning from MG Road station towards Byappanahalli. The train had four passengers, including conjoined twins, who were asked to buy two tickets.
Parvathi Benu A day after the Vivekananda flyover collapse in Kolkata with the loss of 24 lives, the share price of IVRCL – the company building the road - has come down by 11.72 percent on the National Stock Exchange. The firm’s share price has also dropped 9.70 points on the Bombay Stock Exchange -the lowest in the past 52 weeks. The share prices started falling
after the Vivekananda flyover at Kolkata collapsed yesterday killing 24 people. IVRCL had the contract for constructing the flyover. Speaking about the accident,a company spokesman said it is the first time in their history such a tragedy has occurred. “All necessary process and quality steps have been taken as per standard operating procedure and after obtaining all clearances,” said B Subrahmanyam, the company secretary in a press release issued to the NSE on Thursday. A 0.9 km long section of the 2.2km long flyover collapsed yes-
At least 24 people have died after the flyover, near Girish Park, Kolkata, collapsed
terday near Burra Bazar in North Kolkata yesterday, killing 24 people. Around 66 people were injured and 14 were hospitalised, according to Kolkata Police. They also said that the rescue operation is still on-going and an FIR has been issued against the company. K Pandu Ranga Rao, Group head, HR and Admin, IVRCL has reportedly referred to the incident as an “Act of God.” At the same time, Naresh Verma, Corporate Communications Manager, IVRCL told the Observer, “We are really shocked that media has tried highlighting what we didn’t mean to say.”
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FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016
India’s medical council is corrupt, says state council head Irien Joseph The head of the state medical council has backed a British Medical Journal report slamming the Medical Council of India over ingrained corruption. Speaking exclusively to The Observer, Dr H Veerabhadrappa, President of Karnataka Medical Council said, “The Medical Council of India is a regulatory body. It is being criticized in various quarters. “The successive governments over the past two decades have bred corruption in the medical council, medical education and universities. “Now, law makers point to the council for all ills. First and foremost, most of the private medical colleges are owned by politicians.” A British Medical Journal report has called on the Medical Council of India (MCI) to take
Dr. H.Veerabhadarappa
@ ndtv Soldiers shot in head and chest after landmine blast, says official
Screenshort of British Medical Journal editorial urgent action on numerous ethical transgressions over healthcare in India and of hounding whistleblowers who have attempted to raise these issues in public. The report has also made recommendations to reform medical education and health care in India. “Its (the IMC’s)policies have been coloured by those with vested interests, leading to a lack of uniform standards in undergraduate and postgraduate medical education and mushrooming of private medical institutions, which are run as business ventures,” said the journal.
Dr Veerabhadrappa claimed, “MBBS seats in private colleges are given to students for 1 crore and PG seats for 2 crores. Under what law is black money circulation permitted? “So, cleaning the entire system will automatically correct all the maladies of medical education.” He added, “The government should permit private colleges to collect receipted money commensurate with expenditure, seats should not be filled without merit, and nationally, only National Board of Examination(NBE should conduct PG medical courses.” The Medical Council of India (MCI) is a statutory body under
the Indian Medical Council Act 1933, with the responsibility of establishing and maintaining high standards of medical education and recognition of medical qualifications in India. It registers doctors to practice in India, in order to protect and promote the health and safety of the public by ensuring proper standards in the practice of medicine. The BMJ report concluded that while some steps were being taken, allowing medical students to join courses based on paying a fee, rather than purely on merit, has harmed, and will continue to harm, India’s medical provision.
We’ll be honest - when we find an office Raina Paul The new Inspector General of Police of the newly formed Anti-Corruption Bureau, M.A. Saleem, believes that the unit will fight corruption efficiently. The new bureau, however, has yet to find a home. “It is only in its developing stage,” said Saleem. The Additional Director General of Police Karnataka Lokayukta, Dr S Parashivamurthy, said that they are in the process of identifying a space for the office and that it could be set up in Khanija Bhavan on Race Course Road. “It is not compulsory that all the police officials will be deputed to ACB. We all work
here under deputation, we can be the section of ‘Prevention of the PC Act of ACB and the transferred anywhere,” he said. Corruption Act (PC Act) investigation will continue there,” According to the IG, this new “Offices will be set up in 15 said the ADGP. organisation is different from days. After that, we will transfer When asked about the Lokayukta. It consists of police the cases financial implications involved personnel alone unlike the office he said, “I am not the one of Lokayukta which consists of who should comment, it is judiciary and the executive. not my department. Ask the He added that the ACB will government.” take cases which come under Amid many criticisms from the Prevention of Corruption the opposition overhow its Act while Lokayukta will take independence will be ensured, he up cases which come under said, “We will look into matters Lokayukta Act. which without bias.” He said the independence of come He had no comment on the ACB will be ensured even under the opposition government’s when there is no involvement statement that the Antifrom the judiciary. Corruption Bureau is “Even after ACB will be a system to protect set up, Lokayukta will politicians and senior continue to function officials. its role of filing the IGP Saleem also said cases against crime by M A Saleem, IG Police that he is happy to Courtsey: Twitter officials and any lapses assume office as the IG that do not come under of Police in the ACB.
@WSJ Foreign adoptions by Americans fall to the lowest level in more than three decades @abpnewstv #Paris : Explosion in a building in 6th Arrondissement locality. @BBCbreaking Belgian authorities decide to allow extradition to France of Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam @TimesNow Kolkata:What are forensic experts collecting now after rescue,relief teams cleared all rubble? #CrushedByCorruption @TheHindu After calling it an act of god, builder now says it’s an accident #KolkataFlyoverCollapse @IndianExpress Myanmar army MPs slam bill to create Suu Kyi ‘advisor’ role @Sportskeeda MS Dhoni in fine form in post-match press conference despite India’s loss
Team Observer Editor: Akshaya NA | News Editor: Oindrila Sarkar | Chief Sub-Editor: Tanay Sukumar Sub-Editors: Mouli Shree, Maqsood Maniyar, Regina Gurung Picture Editor: Raina Paul | Layout Designer: Aparajita Khandelwal, Reema Mukherjee Reporter: Irien Joseph, Parvathi Benu, Sanskriti Talwar, Payal Gangishetty, Laxmi Narayani