Issue 4

Volume 16 Issue 4

An IIJNM Publication

THE WEEK THAT WAS Phalguni Vittal Rao phalguni.r@iijnm.org

REGIONAL Karnataka to save Cauvery water for its towns and villages The Karnataka State government unanimously passed a resolution to ensure no release of water from the Cauvery basins to Tamil Nadu, defying the Supreme Court directive to provide 6000 cusecs of water between September 21-27.

NATIONAL India describes Pak as “Ivy League of terrorism” India hit back strongly at Pakistan when Eenam Gambhir, first secretary at the Permanent Mission of India in New York, exercised India’s Right to Reply at the U.N. General Assemby in New York and called Pakistan “now host to the Ivy League of terrorism” in the wake of the Uri attacks in Kashmir leaving 18 jawans dead

INTERNATIONAL Charlotte curfew ends after peaceful protests Protesters massed on Charlotte’s streets for a third night Thursday in the latest sign of mounting pressure for police to release video that could resolve wildly different accounts of the fatal shooting of a 43-year-old black man Keith Lamont Scott in North Carolina.

29 injured explosion

in

New

York

Twenty-nine people were injured after an explosion rocked Manhattan's Chelsea district on Saturday night. Police officials arrested Ahmad Khan Rahami following a gun battle with the officers and charged him with attempted murder.

BUSINESS Twitter shuts engineering unit in Bengaluru Twitter has closed down its global engineering work at its Bengaluru development centre and is laying off its employees. The company’s move would affect its global engineering workforce only in Bengaluru.

SPORTS India wins 4 medals at Rio Paralympics India closed its account at the Rio Paralympics 2016 with 2 golds, a sliver and a bronze medal. DevendraJhajaria, the gold medallist in javelin, managed a record of 62.15 metres and broke his previous world record of 63.97 metres at the Athens Paralympics 2004

ENTERTAINMENT Visaranai India’s official entry at Oscars Visaranai, the Tamil documentarydrama crime thriller has been chosen as India’s official entry for Best Foreign Language film at the 89th Academy Awards to be held in 2017.

Source: The Hindu,Livemint

Saturday, September 24, 2016

Uber awaits decision on license, vows to get a toll free number Karishma Jayapaul karishma.j@iijnm.org BENGALURU: Officials at the Karnataka transport department say Uber needs to have a working toll free number to obtain a license to function in the state according to the Transportation Technology Aggregators Rules, 2016.

“We have made compulsory rules for a complaints redressal system, among many other things and the rules have been challenged by them [Uber],” said H.G. Kumar, additional commissioner for transport, and secretary, state transport authority.

“They don’t want to take any responsibility regarding either complaints or any inconvenience to the passengers; they don’t want to look into it,” said Kumar. “But we have made a customer care centre compulsory. Everything is made compulsory for them. A complaints redressal system should be operative. So that is why they have gone to the High Court and got interim orders.”

Uber filed a court petition earlier this year seeking a review of the Karnataka-imposed rules which they called, according the Economic Times, redundant and “regressive.”

Bhavik Rathod, general manager of Uber Technologies Inc. Bengaluru, was unavailable for comment, but in a blog post on the Uber website in June 2016, he writes about his experience with the Karnataka On Demand Transportation Technology Aggregator Rules, 2016: “Regulations for our sector reflect how governments are embracing the value that Uber brings. At the same time, these regulations need to enable, not

India is one of the 77 countries where Uber operates as a taxi aggregator service thwart a nascent industry that is shaping future mobility in cities across the world.”

“It’s equally important that we work together with the government to help meet legitimate regulatory requirements that will support the future of mobility. However, it’s unfortunate to see the turn that this industry has taken today. Instead of rising above differences and helping build the future of this sector, it’s disappointing to note how baseless allegations are being levelled to confound and complicate matters,” wrote Rathod.

Ola, Uber’s biggest competitor, has accused Uber of flouting the country’s laws as a “foreign owned company.” Rathod has disputed that characterization of the company, which was founded in San Francisco, U.S.A. and which opened its first office in Bengaluru, in August 2013.

“Uber has the deepest respect for the laws of India. What makes Uber ‘foreign’? The fact that we are

established in San Francisco but have a hyper local team solving problems that are locally relevant?

Or that, just like our competitors, we received most of our funding from ‘foreign’ investors?” Rathod wrote in the June blog on Uber’s website.

According to the common advisory released by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways under section 93 of the Motor Vehicle’s Act, taxi aggregator companies must have a 24-hour, seven-day a week call centre.

The Transportation Technology Aggregators Rules, 2016, which went into effect in April, also states that the taxi aggregator company must not only have an “adequate mechanism to obtain passengers feedback and grievances” but also provide “toll free numbers” and that drivers must maintain a register for feedback and complaints inside the taxi itself. The register must be “easily accessible to the passenger,” according to the regulations.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

Diagnostic centre operating without registration in Attiguppe Divya R divya.r@iijnm.org BENGALURU: Chetana Diagnostics is operating without a certificate of registration, according to an investigation conducted by The Weekly Observer.

According to T. Divakaramurthy, Assistant Administrative Officer for District Health-Bengaluru Urban, a search from 2010 shows there is no registration for the privately-owned “Chetana Diagnostics” in Attiguppe.

“By law, registration with the Karnataka Private Medical Establishment (KPME) is mandatory to operate. It is also mandatory for a private medical establishment to display the certificate of registration to the public.” says Dr. Rajani, Ex-district health officer, Bengaluru Urban.

Numerous visits to Chetana found

doctors. The reports are signed by two consultant doctors for Thyrocare - Durgaprasad,N Agarwal and Caesar Sengupta. Over a telephonic interview, Durgaprasad confirmed, “He is an outsourcing consultant for clinics including Chetana Diagnostics.” “It is illegal to have a diagnostic centre in the house without adequate infrastructure and with Laboratory in diagnostic centre in Attiguppe registration certificates not displayed to the pubThe diagnostic centre is set up lic,” said attorney Rajendra Desai. in a two-storied house with two Desai, who has no connection with rooms on each floor. The centre reg- the diagnostic centre personally or ularly collects blood samples. The professionally.

According to a 2012 story in the collected samples are then sent to Thyrocare,Mumbai for Times of India, Agarwal and Sentesting. Prakash confirmed the gupta came under fire when they centre handles physiotherapy, blood signed a report given by a medical tests, X-rays, thyroid test and other technician in Mumbai, who was medical tests prescribed by the charged with providing fake reports. no certificate of registration displayed for the public. Prakash ,Chetna’s owner declined to comment on the licensing and registration certificates.

City’s migrant population up 30 lakhs Cherry Agarwal cherry.a@iijnm.org BENGALURU: The most recent census shows the arrival of more than a quarter-of-a-million migrants to Bengaluru, a population shift that, say experts, has added to the city’s increasing urban poverty.

According to India’s 2011 Census, Karnataka experienced a 4.7 per cent increase in population from rural to urban areas, with a concentration in Bengaluru, which has approximately 30,00,000 migrants.

Migrants cite employment and marriage as the main reasons for their arrival to Bengaluru. “I didn’t get any education. I moved to Bengaluru in search of employment.

Now I sell corn because there are no jobs,” said Munniraju, 38, a migrant from Tamil Nadu. Munniraju moved to Bengaluru in 1999 and currently lives in Thippasandra with his family.

But Dr. T.V. Ramachandra, associate faculty, Centre for Infrastructure, Sustainable Transportation and Urban Planning at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru, says there is another reason for the migration issue: poor urban planning.

“Our urban planning is towards concentrated growth. All facilities are created in Bengaluru, so naturally, people are migrating towards this zone,” he said, adding, “Bengaluru is facing a crisis. If the government had distributed the development of industries [throughout the city and its suburbs] rather than congesting particular areas, it would have distributed the load.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

DOODLE WOODLE

Courtesy: Asvino Signi

e e

BENGALURU

2

METRO Migrants flood to city in search of jobs THE OBSERVER

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 With meagre salaries and high land-costs, the majority of migrants settle in slums that encroach on because lake shorelines, which are “no man’s land,” said Durga Madhav, a post-doctoral fellow at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru. A 2009 report by the Institute for Social and Economic Change shows that 15 lakes have been encroached upon by slums.

Although an increase in the number of people living in a city should decrease poverty, Karnataka is an exception to the rule.

“A higher degree of urbanisation is seen associated with

Alleviation, Government of India.

Further, the wide disparity in assets between the urban and the rural populations with no sign of absorption of the rural population into decent work places adds to the urban poverty, according to experts.

Gangappa and his family of five migrated from Dharamavaram, Andhra Pradesh eight years ago to the slum in Mathikere in northern Bengaluru.

“I was a cotton cultivator. The lack of water led to failure of crops and I moved to Bengaluru with my wife and two young daughters,” said Gangappa, who is a 40-yearold and a daily-wage labourer at a construction site.

they say they are better off than before. “We live better now. I can provide food now which was scarce in the village,” he said.

Despite increasing trends in migration, there has been a decrease in the number of inspections conducted by the Chief Commissioner’s Office of the living conditions of migrants, according to the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

The Ministry also stated in a press release that no study has been conducted by the government to measure the living standard, health and safety of migrant workers.

Times of India reported in 2013 that 16.45 per cent of Bengaluru’s

Source: Ministry of Labour and Environment

Slum in Mathikere houses Yangappa and other migrant families

lower levels of poverty with exception of states like Karnataka and West Bengal,” said S.R. Hashim in the 2009 Urban Poverty Report published by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty

Gangappa’s family is indicative of other new arrivals to Bengaluru.

He, his wife, daughters and a new born grandchild live in a small, single, windowless room. And yet,

population was residing in slums.

Despite illegal occupation of government land by people looking for temporary settlement the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is working towards

providing them with basic infrastructure.

“When people migrate they look for temporary settlements.

Government land becomes easy target resulting in encroachment,” says N Manjunath Prasad, the

Commissioner of BBMP, adding, “Despite that BBMP is trying to build basic infrastructure and give them land-titles,” to alleviate urban poverty.

Loose wires, open transformers Symbolic solidarity pose threat in Journalists’ Colony

Flags hoisted to block waves of Monday’s Cauvery Violence

Mahak Dutta mahak.d@iijnm.org BENGALURU: Open transformers and loose wires hang in the several parts of the first cross Journalist Colony have been left ignored by not only officials but also by the people working in one of the biggest car servicing markets in the city.

“We do complain about the frequent power cuts and other electricity problems in the area and the concerned people come and repair the faults, but they have not taken any steps to repair the broken wires,” says Syed, a local worker in a car repairing workshop.

“The hanging wires pose danger to shop owners, many of whom work daily with heavy machinery and others in the area”, say residents.

R.Narayan, Assistant Executive Engineer of the Vidhan Soudha Division, said, “The matter of power cuts is not very severe in the area and if and when there is a problem we cater to every such problem as soon as the residents bring it into our notice.”

The division receives some 10 to 15 complaints every month, Narayan said. “The frequency increases when it rains but we ensure necessary steps to repair the electricity faults,” he said.

“This colony had been occupied by journalists some 40-50 years back and was a fully developed residential area at that time. But with growing commercial developments, it turned out to

become an area full of car service workshops. We have to work with these big machines even if the space does not allow us to,” says Amjad Pasha, owner of a local workshop in the area.

“These loose wires in this congested street have not caused any injury or causality so far, but we do experience heavy flooding which

Narayan added: “I have been overseeing the entire division. There have not been any cases of people getting injured due to electric shocks. I myself do go on inspections often.”

“As an individual I am not satisfied, as a lot can be done to improve the wiring connections. We can also remove

Disaster yet to happen: Loose wiring connection at the first cross Journalist Colony in Bengaluru increases the danger of electric shocks. Even the transmitter bursts out at such times,” Pasha adds.

hazardous insulation wires but because people object it we can’t really do much.”

Major outlets around the city have put up the state flag on their walls to stay away from violent mobs

Rishiraj Bhagwati rishiraj.b@iijnm.org BENGALURU: Shops across Bengaluru, including many high-end showrooms, are trying to save their properties by hoisting the bi-coloured Karnataka flag in the wake of the state-wide protests over the Supreme Court’s judgement on sharing of Cauvery water with Tamil Nadu, even days after the curfew has been officially lifted in the city.

Over 350 people were arrested Tuesday on charges of vandalising public property after pro-Karnataka protesters set fire to scores of vehicles and mutilated commercial property mostly belonging to Tamil owners.

Following this, curfew was imposed by the police in the city.

The curfew was lifted on Wednesday. High-end outlets like Triumph motorcycles, Nike and Brik Oven have stuck the red and yellow state flag on their glass walls facing the road.

“We weren’t asked to do this but looking at the situation on Monday, we realised putting up the flag would be the safest way out.

The flag does not say anything about our stand on the issue, we

only hope it will keep the stones away from the glass walls,” says the showroom manager of Triumph Motorcycles. The flags could also be seen on roadside bookshops and other stalls.

“A sense of fear still exists among the common man after what happened on Monday, but the police have not asked these shops to put up the flags in order to stay out of harm’s way,” said C.P. Madappa, Sub-inspector in the Ulsoor Police Station. “Some do it as a mark of solidarity while others out of fear,” he said.

He added that in order to prevent further unrest, the police are keeping a close vigil on all shops in the city, especially the ones owned and run by people from Tamil Nadu.

“Well it’s funny, but the scene looks a bit like pre-war Germany where residents were forced to hoist the Nazi flag in their houses.

While I don’t think that was an exaggeration, I believe the fact that these shops have continued to stick the flags up even after the curfew has been lifted is logical. Nobody wants avoidable damage,” said Dr. Priya Nagaraj, resident of Shantinagar.

BENGALURU

THE OBSERVER

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER, 24, 2016

METRO

Drive against illegal hoardings, Amendments in motor vehicle law will 88 complaints filed by BBMP mean hefty fines for violators Nivedita Naidu nivedita.n@iijnm.org

BENGALURU: Some 88 complaints have been filed by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) officials against illegal hoardings in Bengaluru as per the Bengaluru Metropolitan Task Force (BMTF) records. The BBMP began a drive against illegal hoardings last year.

Mr. Nagaraju, an official of the advertisement department of BBMP said, “The city is growing by leaps and bounds and hence the problem of unchecked use of space for advertisements is on the rise.” He added there is no estimate of the lost revenue due to illegal hoardings.

The advertisement department of BBMP looks after the use of the city’s space for advertisements in accordance with the Karnataka Open Places (Prevention of Disfigurement) Act, 1981.Recently the BBMP has launched a survey of illegal advertisements.

“BMTF’s job is to investigate the case, recognise the owner of the hoarding and submit the charge sheet in case of law violations,” said Mr. N.H. Siddhappa, the Deputy Superintendent of police of BMTF. Most of the hoardings that violate use of space are put up at

3

Yogita Chainani yogita.c@iijnm.org night. To keep a check on these practices, zonal offices which oversee illegal advertisements for the BBMP, employ squads known as “Prahara Teams”.

Commissioners and officers are also active on their Whatsapp groups where violations and irregularities are communicated.

Mr. Nagaraju said demand notices for payment of fines and penalties are sent to defaulters.

Violators can also pay fines and penalties online, which has increased transparency in transactions as the electronic records cannot be tampered with.

Mr Nagaraju said, “Criminal proceedings against violators are yet to take place. There is no discrimination while dealing with illegal advertisements; illegal political ads are also penalised,” he said, adding, “Getting rid of illegal advertisements will eliminate visual pollution.”

Citizens can report illegal hoardings to the public relations officer at their respective zonal office. The citizens can also visit the BBMP website and post their complaints on the online portal.

Source: Bengaluru Traffic police

The proposed new revision in fines, which, if approved, would go into effect in 2017, calls for a fine of Rs. 500, instead of Rs. 100, for riding without a helmet. Fines will also be imposed on helmet-less passengers. Other offences like speeding or driving a car without insurance or a registration number would result in a fine of Rs. 2,000, up from Rs. 300 and Rs.500, respectively, under the proposed revision.

“Traffic violation cases could decline if the proposed revision of fines takes place in 2017,” says Additional Commissioner of Traffic, R.Hithendra.

In 2015, up to 22,000 traffic violation cases were registered, of which 60 per cent comprised drunken driving cases, said officials.

The proposed amendment to the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 will have other affects as well. For example,

use of fancy number plates, over speeding and riding a two-wheeler without a registration number will invite a penalty of Rs. 1,000, the previous one being Rs. 300 and Rs. 500.“The escalation in fines is definitely going to be trouble for me and my friends, since we often end up breaking traffic rules,” says 25-year-old Rohit, a resident of Bangalore.

In an interview with Times of India, Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, described the proposed amendment as the "biggest reform" for road safety.

Ramakrishnan, Head Constable of Traffic at the Cubbon Park police station, said that the proposed amendment is only to inform and make the public aware of safety issues and traffic rules. The government, he added, is yet to approve the amendment, which once approved will be applicable in all states.

“This is a tedious process, but once it is implemented the rules and fines will come down heavily on violators of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2016,” he said.

State Transport to Uber: Follow ‘Rules’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE1 While Ola has received its license to operate from authorities, Uber continues to wait for approval – and they continue to do business, complains Ola. On being asked why Uber is still functional in the state, the assistant secretary of the Karnataka state transport authority said that they cannot take away Uber’s license until the verdict from the High Court is out.

“Some of the aggregators including Uber have filed Writ Petitions in the Honourable High Court of Karnataka regarding the validity of the rules and the Honourable High Court of Karnataka has passed the Interim Orders not to take coercive action to obtain Licenses.”

Meanwhile, Uber’s online customer care service associates say they understand the need for a customer care number and “Though we don't provide it right now, we are currently working to provide a call centre,” said Shequene, a customer care executive.

“Ola has got the license and they have the customer care services as well. Now Uber has taken the matter to the court and it has been pending in the court of law for the past two months,” said Mr. Maruti Sambrani, additional commissioner of transport of Karnataka.

“Arguments have taken place and the verdict is going to come out shortly. Once the verdict comes out, they would definitely have to align with the transport department of the state.”

Sambrani added, “They applied for the license but it has been rejected since they do not want to come under the rule of the state.

They want to run their show on their [own], but we are planning to bring

Bhavik Rathod- General Manager, Uber, Bengaluru. them under the jurisdiction of law.

It is reserved for judgement shortly.

And once the verdict is out definitely they will have to work with the state transport department.”

“We went on Monday to submit all our documents but the RTO inspector did not accept our application. And when we asked for a written letter explaining why the application hasn’t been accepted, we didn’t receive any response. So we have also sent a letter via speed post seeking an explanation for this.

However, the licences have neither been given nor rejected for anyone,” said Rathod in an interview to Sindhu Kashyap for ‘My Story’ on June 9, 2016.

Mohammad Ashfaqe, a customer care executive from Uber, said the company has a new emergency button on its app for customers in the event of an emergency. “On initiating the SOS trigger, you will have the option to connect with the police via a phone call. Instant alerts with complete

Source:The Hindu Business Line

“

Once the verdict comes out, they would definitely have to align with the transport department of the state.

-Maruti Sambrani, Additional Commissioner, Transport of Karnataka

”

rider, driver and trip information will be sent to our Incident Response Team that is on standby 24x7 so our response agents can monitor your trip real-time, provide instant phone support and relay critical trip information to the police,” said Ashfaqe.

But customers remained miffed about Uber’s lack of a customer care and demand a toll free number.

“They are a Rs. 60 billion worth company; don’t you think they should be having at least one phone line?” said Sunil, of Bangalore, who said he is frustrated with “irrelevant” responses by the customer care executives who have yet to help him resolve his issue.

Karan Sajnani, an engineer working in Bangalore, said he was verbally and physically abused by an Uber share driver. When he threatened to file a complaint against the driver, Sajnani said the driver brushed it off saying he can do as he pleases.

Sajnani soon found out why the driver was confident about getting away with such allegedly unprofessional behaviour.

“There is no way to file a complaint because Uber likes to call it ‘feedback’,” said Sajnani, who claims he was verbally and physically abused by an Uber driver. “They did get back to me on the same day, but it was an automated comment. I am an

engineer so I know how it works.”

“Even the email and message option that they have on the app are standard template responses,” said Aneesh Muralidharan, a resident of Bangalore. “I am a developer myself so when I see a template response [with] just data filled in between, I know it is a template response.”

Muralidharan said he booked an Uber cab for an elderly female relative who was allegedly harassed by the driver. “They have a support line for drivers in which if you call they will refuse to talk to you and they wouldn’t even bother to check if you are okay,” he said.

Until a customer care centre is established, said Sambrani, complaints can be reported to the State Ministry of Transport. “If you have any problems with Uber concerning over charging, you can complain against the vehicle along with the vehicle number after which we will cease their license according to the nature of the complaint. You can complain on our website.”

The website is www.rto.kar.nic.in.

Uber operates in 28 cities across India and is the third most active country amongst the 77 countries it is present in according to the official Uber website. “Uber is the world's most valuable, privately-held company at an estimated $ 62.5 billion. Ola, on the other hand, is valued at $ 5 billion,” according to The Business Standard’s article on March 24, 2016.

When Sajnani, who complains about Uber’s automated online customer care service, was asked if he would continue using Uber, he said he finds Uber cheaper. “I do use Uber every day. Ola is atleast 3 times the fare of an Uber. So I never use an Ola, I always use an Uber.”

BENGALURU

4

UNWIND The crowd was tamed and so was the shrew THE OBSERVER

SATURDAY, 24 SEPTEMBER, 2016

Phalguni Vittal Rao phalguni.r@iijnm.org BENGALURU: Be it the enticing chemistry between Petruchio and Katherina or the comical laughter of Grumio and Gremio, the audience was left charmed by Shakespeare’s rib-tickling comedy - The Taming of the Shrew - performed by the students of Christ University on Thursday.

The play is known for its controversial portrayal of the natural order to be a man’s capacity to tame a woman through sex.

Petruchio, the lead character in the play was enacted by Mohammed Lehry. The play is a comedy where Lehry constantly tries to “tame” Katherina, played by Lavanya Krishna. The captivating introduction of the play displayed Petruchio’s playful personality. This was brilliantly complimented by his servant Grumio, played by Shraddha Raj, who modulated her voice to sound like a man such that it suited her character’s appearance.

Grumio proved to be the ultimate crowd-pleaser. Raj jumped and tumbled across the stage captivating

the crowd through her antics.

Krishna in Katherina Minola’s role successfully lived up to her character’s traits as she displayed an uncaring attitude towards everyone.

The chemistry between Petruchio and Katherina cast a spell on the audience who sat holding their breath. The momentum reached sizzling heights when Petruchio, with intentions of controlling her, wooed Minola with his masculinity before their farcical wedding.

The play had many women playing the role of male characters.

Supritha Majunath played the role of Baptista Minola, Katherina’s father. To bring life to her character Manjunath employed a typical British accent throughout the play hence, delivering a spectacular performance. Gremio, performed effectively by a relaxed Kajol Chugh, was another female in a gentleman’s role. Chugh had the audience in splits with her characteristic snort adding flavour to play.

Despite the lack of a good setdesign due to budget constraints, director Sukriti Pant and set designers Celesta Siby and Aishwarya Gopalakrishnan, made

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The students’ performance at Christ University left the audience in splits effective use of movable props to compensate for the lack of a of grand set. With the music propelling the plot ahead, the costumes added

to the play’s grandeur. The attempts of reviving a Shakespearean comedy left the crowd wanting more.

Bengaluru: ‘Junkland Journeys’ launched in Bengaluru confluence for “how the world is won by a whacky read Pillai’s first book ‘Off The Arunava Banerjee addict who discovers god in a dog,” Record’ which took you into some Indo-Israeli trade arunava.b@gmail.com is based in Bombay (now Mumbai) of the intricacies in a very interest-

Consul General, Israel, Yael Hashavit (Left) with colleague Mikhail Shirazi.

Nivedita Naidu nivedita.n@iijnm.org India’s Silicon Valley is chosen by the Israeli government to host the exhibition “Open door to Israel”.

Through this initiative the motive is to promote Indian-Israeli trade relationship. The Consulate General of Israel is hosting the exhibition Open a Door to Israel until September 25 at the M.G. Road Metro Station, Bengaluru. The exhibition gives a virtual and interactive tour of Israel.

Yael Hashavit, Israeli Consul General said, “Israel is smaller than India, we cannot take India to Israel, instead we got Israel to India through the exhibition.” Israel is looking to encourage trade with India across all industries, be it space, academics, travel or automobiles, she added. The exhibition also marks the completion of 25 years of Indian-Israeli diplomatic relationship in 2017. The exhibition is open with no entry fees. The Israeli Government wants to encourage Indian students to take up academic courses in Israel.

Hashavit said “The next project would focus on academics in Israel.

Indian students are talented and hardworking; we want to welcome them to Israel.” India has an Israeli embassy in Delhi, a consulate in Mumbai and Bengaluru.

As the Saturday Sun was setting on Bengaluru, a few people picking up books, flipping through its pages, looking for the next good read, the Bookworm outlet at MG Road, started filling up with a crowd of literary enthusiasts. They were here for the launch of AjithPillai’s Junkland Journeys.

Soon, some 40-odd people were neatly seated in the conference room at the first floor of the bookstore as Pillai accompanied by writer and journalist Amrit Shah and literary critic Arul Mani talked briefly about the book, before having it put up on bookstore shelves.

Junkland Journeys, a story of

in the 80s and reflects the realities of the slum in contrast to the urban reality of the city from a reporter’s perspective.

“I came up with this idea when I was working as a reporter for The Sunday Times in Bombay,” Pillai said, adding, “It is based on my experiences as a reporter. While I was working on the crime beat, I reported on a lot of drug related cases. I had become a sort of a counsellor to a lot of drug abusers by then and met this man who was living in a slum in spite of being from an affluent family. The next time I met him he was clad in saffron; he had become a god-man.”

Commenting on the book, Arul Mani said, “Some years back I had

ing time when the marketing and advertisement departments were taking over the editorial. I read the book (Junkland Journeys) with great interest because I thought that this would be a great opportunity to be in conversation with the man who wrote Off The Record and that is how I happened to be here.”

Answering a question from the audience on why he chose to produce the book in hard cover, Pillai said, “I think there is a special pleasure you get on seeing a book. A printed book has a better feel and that is how it should be.”

Pillai added that the book will also be made available in electronic format as well.

Supercars steal the show Keyur Joshi keyur.j@iijnm.org The Hindu organised an auto expo for the first time in Bengaluru.

It was a two-day event that was held on the 10th and 11th September at Manayata Tech Park, White Orchids. Bengaluru’s auto expo saw many exoticsports cars, super bikes and vintage cars on display.

Maserati, Lamborghini and Audi were the showstoppers in the event.

Inthe exotic car manufacturer segment, Maserati introduced their

Quattroporte sedan and Gran Turismo Sport;while BMW showcased their luxury segment leader, the 7 series and the Mini Countryman.Mini is now a fully owned subsidiary of BMW. MercedesBenz displayed their crossover GLA, which is the most popular car in this segment. In addition to that, the new generation C-class, which is the highest selling luxury sedan in India, was also on display.

Hybrid cars are gaining more popularity among buyers day by day.Hybrid cars and plug-in hybrids have negligent emission levels

The Porsche 911 at the Bangalore Auto Expo.

which thereby help in reducing the impact of global warming.BMW’s electric hybrid supercar i8 was also showcased in the expo. Indian government provides subsidies to hybrid vehicle manufacturers amounting to about 29,000 for twowheelers and 1.38 lakhs for cars in order to encourage them to introduce more eco friendly products in the country.

Renowned bike manufactures like Harley-Davidson were also present in the event. Indian Motorcycles showcased bikes like Chief, Scout and Roadmaste have a cult following and are considered as reputable brands among bike lovers.

There were also companies like Nissan which showcased their SUV Terrano and small hatchback Micra.

The Ford stall had all segments right from the hatchback Figo and the hugely popular SUV Endeavour.

Skoda which was also a part of the event showcased Octavia. Hyundai displayed the compact SUV Creta and the compact sedan Xcent while Maruti Suzuki showcased their premium their whole line of cars from Swift to Ciaz.

Brace for a return to bloody '90s on the LoC, of course with higher caliber weapons.

Shekhar Gupta @ShekharGupta Devendra Jhajharia is a true testament of the fact that grit, will power & faith can make you achieve great heights!

Congratulations champ! sachin tendulkar @sachin_rt War can't be fought in tv studios. Very easy for retired generals/chest thumping anchors to talk of war. War must always be last option.

Rajdeep Sardesai @sardesairajdeep THE WEEKLY OBSERVER TEAM EDITOR- IN - CHIEF Aarohi Pathak ASSISTANT EDITORS Rishiraj Bhagawati and Ahana Chatterjee COPY EDITORS Nivedita Naidu and Cherry Agarwal LAYOUT EDITORS Divya R, Sumukh Kadekar, Karishma Jaypaul PHOTO EDITOR Arunava Banerjee, Bibin PB SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR Ayushee Chaudhary STAFF Sandra Branger, Aneesh Srinivasan, Supriya Dedgaonkar Mitali Goyal Yogita Chainani Mahak Dutta Phalguni Vittal Rao For comments, feedback and for letters to the editor, mail us at observethis16@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter @ObserveThis16