The Weekly Observer Vol 14 Issue 17

The Weekly

Observer Volume 14 | Issue 17

BRIEFS

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Out of Africa : Out of pocket Nikhil M Babu

“He was a messenger who touched our life for a short span” Parents of a braindead toddler, whose organs saved the lives of four other children, have spoken about their son's short life - and his life-changing donations.

(Page 3) ‘Je Suis Charlie’ cry India’s funny men The 7th of January was a dark day for all journalists as two masked gunmen entered the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris and killed eight staff members including the editor.

(Page 6) RTI lays bare BESCOM’s faults The electricity issues in and around Bangalore are completely in conflict with the claims made by Bangalore’s electricity board according to the reply for an RTI.

(Page 7)

Young African students coming to Bangalore claim that they are being conned out of thousands of dollars by colleges in the city.

Our investigations have revealed that at least 27 students were conned by different colleges.

Passports of the students are being confiscated by the colleges on their arrival. In one of these cases the students alleged that passport was even pawned by the principal of the college for money.

Stephen is from Uganda and a student of Sree Omkar College of Management and Commerce, Bangalore.

“The Principal, Dr. Suresh leased out my passport and took around Rs. 20,000 from a money lender, Martin,” claimed Stephen.

“As the date for repayment lapsed Martin traced me with the details in the passport. Principal denied it at first but he eventually accepted it and I had to go through a lot of trouble to make him pay up.

But some pages are torn and I have to get a new passport now,” he added.

Barel Eriki from Congo who studied in Oxford College, Bangalore confirmed that passports were confiscated by his college as well.

Around 20 Ugandan students of Omkar College alleged charges ranging from cheating to violence against the principal leading to intervention of Karnataka State Human Rights Commission with temporary measures.

KSHRC headed by Justice C.G. Hungund is probing into the issue as five students have lodged a complaint. The commission has given an interim order asking the principal and officials to stick to the rules so that the students can complete their studies.

Andrew, in his early 20s, one of the complainants said, “When he (principal) came to Uganda for the admissions he brought the picture of another college instead of ours.”

The students came to India after a team including the principal went to Uganda and convinced their parents about the college.

Andrew can’t help shaking his head and smiling when he remembers about the college. “On the first day of our college I said to my friend

The fake brochure cover of the college taken for admission to Uganda actually shows Infosys, Mysore campus. with a laugh: Hey what are we doing here, bro? This is not the college that we are supposed to go to, let’s go to our college.”

It took a bit for the reality to sink in.

(Continued on pages 4 & 5)

Caught on camera : big cat in Kengeri Apoorva Choubey A local laborer in Kumbalgodu managed to take a picture of the leopard that has been troubling the villagers for the past ten days.

Mahesh, a resident of Gangasandra, along with his friends, sighted the leopard on the night of January 2, when they were drinking behind the BGS School. They escaped, but not before taking a picture of the leopard.

Mahesh said: “My friends and I were behind the BGS and IIJNM campus on 2nd January. We saw the leopard at 1 o’clock in the night. I took a picture of it standing on the boundary wall of the school.

“It did not advance upon us and we sneaked away. I gave the pictures to BGS officials to forward them to the forest department. However, no patrolling is being done in the area.

We have not seen even one official or guard from the forest department,” he added.

In spite of repeated sightings of a leopard in Kumbalgodu, forest officials have not been vigilant in the area.

Shivaiah, Manager at BGS School, said: “We informed the forest department as soon as we heard about the leopard. The officials, Nagaraj and Ramesh, after setting the cage, asked us to inform them in case the leopard was sighted.

“We have been guarding the area

Picture Exclusive

The leopard spotted outside BGS International School near the cage every night. At least four guards from the school keep a watch on the dog but the leopard hasn’t been caught. The officials didn’t even bother to come back and check,” he added.

Geeta Basavaraj, Principal of BGS School, said: “We are doing the best we can. The guards are alert all the time, but it is not our job to catch the leopard.”

She added: “The forest department must take this problem seriously. Planting a trap in the school is not the solution; the security of kids and local residents is in danger. We expected them to take batter actions

but they never came back for either enquiring or patrolling.”

Nagaraj, a 30-year-old farmer in Gangasandra, said: “I saw the leopard standing in my own farm one week ago. It was 8:00 pm and I had gone to work on my silk farm. The leopard saw me and ran away.

“I went and complained in the Kaglipura police station but they asked me to talk to the forest department. The forest department must catch the leopard; all the villagers are scared,” he added.

Meghashree, a house maid at Devegere, said: “My husband and I were returning from the city that night with our two-year-old daughter. The leopard was just outside the main entrance of the BGS School.

We were scared to death but it didn’t attack us as we passed on the bike.”

Rangaswamy, a shop owner at Gangasandra, said, “I saw the leopard near BGS School four days ago.

I was with my wife, Sujata, who works at the school.

“We have stopped going out at night out of fear. The forest department is not doing anything. They have not even spoken to one villager, let alone patrol the area.”

Sujata, a mason, said, “I saw the leopard in the farm near the Ganagsandra main road about a week ago. The forest department is not patrolling in the area. They have not handed over any crackers to scare the cheetah(sic) away. We have

not been given any instructions by them.”

Manjunath, a resident of Gangasandra, said, “I saw the leopard two days ago, near the Mango grove in Devagere. It was the size of a small cat, not as big as described by the other villagers.”

Ramesh, an official in the forest department, said, “We think the leopard has moved away towards Siddanapalya or Agara village. We patrol the area every night between 8 and 9 but we have not sighted the leopard.

“We also burnt crackers to scare the leopard and handed some to the villagers in Gangasandra. The people need not worry anymore,” he added.

Mahesh saw the leopard on January 2 in Kumbalgodu

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The Weekly Observer

Old soldiers neglected in city home CL Ramakrishnan “The government lacks facilities for the men who sacrificed everything for the nation. That’s the misery of the country,” mourned an ex- serviceman.

Lack of funding has left the city’s oldest home for physically disabled ex-servicemen a ramshackle shadow of its former self.

Red Cross Home, one of the oldest homes in the country, has had to reduce its shelter capacity by 98.5 percent.

The home situated in Ulsoor once catered for 200 old soldiers but now has only three due to the lack of funds.

Mr. Anandha Prasadh, 91, paraplegic exserviceman, said: “I have been in this Red Cross Home for 17 years since 1997. When I came here there were 22 other physically disabled ex-servicemen along with me. It

The Army Day was first celebrated on January 15th 1948 when Late Field Marshal K.M. Chriappa took over as the in-charge of Indian Army from his predecessor General Sir Francis Butcher and became the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army. In order to pay tribute towards the bravery and the valor of the Indian Army the Army Day celebration takes place in the Nation’s capital Delhi and various other places throughout India tomorrow with the exhibition of tanks, missiles and aviators for display. When the entire nation is geared up to celebrate the 67th Army Day tomorrow the home for physically disabled Ex-servicemen in Bangalore is struggling to keep the home up and running due to the lack of funds. was a fully fledged home then, but eventually all died.”

He added: “The government is not capable of taking care of the physically disabled ex-serviceman who sacrificed everything for the nation. Today there is no one to take care of us. That’s the misery of this country.

One of the rooms at Red Cross Home

Everyone thinks the army has no corruption which is wrong; it’s the most corrupt part of the government.

“Our army is huge but is not as efficient as it was 50 years back. In those days the army had real power but nowadays it is shown that army has power but it does not.

I joined the defense from 1944 when the war was it its peak and served for 20 years till 1966. I did not get married because my life was not secure being in defense,” added Prasadh.

An attendant of Red Cross Home who did not wanted to be named said, “I have been the attendant here for the past 25 years. Few years back, the home stopped admitting physically disabled ex-servicemen due to insufficient funding.”

Jayraj, the caretaker of Red Cross Home said: “The Indian Red Cross Society in Delhi is not providing us with required funds. They have also stopped us from admitting new inmates. Total monthly expenditure is around Rs.2, 50,000 lakhs for three inmates.”

Contradicting the claims of Red Cross Home, the Director of Dissemination of

Sankranti fervor down a notch this year Natasha Singh Devdutta Sukhdeo Shruti Suresh KR Market is abuzz with traders and people preparing for Pongal and Sankranti on 15th January.

Merchants of sugarcane, sweet potatoes, groundnuts and flowers are earning large profits as the sale of these increases during the festive season.

But the excitement and celebrations, according to the shopkeepers at KR Market, has mellowed down, as compared to last year.

Riyakhat, a florist at K.R Market, said, “Last year the demand was a lot higher than this time. Lesser number of people has turned up this year.”

Pongal is the Tamil new year and

Sugarcane sellers have a busy day on the eve of Sankranti

Anand Prasad, 91, paraplegic ex-serviceman Indian Red Cross Society, M.K. Singh affirmed that there are efforts to get in additional inmates and provide more facilities to make the home a sustainable place.

He said, “We stopped taking in more inmates as there is lack of funding and the infrastructure was crumbling. The defense departments also setup several home in Pune and other places. We are still working to keep the home up and running.”

Nowhere to tick if you are a transgender on govt web portals Agnivesh Harshan

The flower market saw a rise in prises and a dip in customers this year is celebrated with fervor in Bangalore owing to huge number of Tamilians living in the city while Sankranti holds a different meaning for different communities. It is marked not only as the start o thef harvest season but also the start of longer and sunnier days.

A trader of flowers at SKS flower Mart, Gopal said:"The rates of flowers increase manifold during festival months. Usual rate of a 4ft long garland costs anywhere from Rs. 60 to 80. Today for Pongal sales, it costs Rs.180."

"But this is not a steep increase compared to the rise during festivals like Vijayadashami and Diwali, when the same thing costs Rs. 200 - Rs. 280," he continued.

Prices of sugarcane at Sankranti

are Rs50 a piece which otherwise cost around Rs20.

Suman, a seller of sugarcane said, "The usual rate is Rs. 40 for a pair but on the occasion of Pongal, ir has been increased to Rs. 60 a pair."

K Kumar, who has been selling sugarcane for the past 15 years said, “Most people prefer going to Shivajinagar to buy sugarcane and flowers, since it is cleaner. But goods are sold here in wholesale and thus, it’s more profitable.”

Mr.Anil Bhaskar, a customer, said, “This year the prices are high for sugarcane. However, that does not deter us from buying it as this festival has a religious significance.

We have been following this for years.”

Five government web portals are in breach of a Supreme Court order to recognize transgender as a third gender.

The portals for ration cards, universities, PAN cards and national banks do not give the extra option for transgender people and simply asks if the applicant is a male or a female.

The Supreme Court judgment that dates back to the April 15, 2014 granted transsexuals the right to be treated as a third gender apart from the existing generic genders to safeguard their constitutional rights and the liberty to identify their self with the male female or the third gender.

Veena, the treasurer of the NGO Sangama, said, “The government does not want to recognize us which is why they are still unwilling to follow the Supreme Court directions.

We suffer without these identification cards and are condemned to lead a downtrodden life. Most of us compromise and identify ourselves as a female which is a great blow to our pride.”

PAN cards, necessary for tax payments and procuring legitimate employment, has been denied and thus the community is economically crippled and forced to continue its traditional occupations of beggary and prostitution.

Danish Sheikh, a lawyer at the Al-

ternative Law Forum, said “The Supreme Court had given out its verdict in mid April stating that transsexuals in India will be considered as a backward class and will have the right to self identification as a third gender.”

“However in October 2014, the central government asked the Supreme Court to provide clarification for its judgment as they thought it to be impractical. Yet it is still a violation of the Supreme Court directions as even after the prefixed time for execution of law has exceeded the government still has not implemented the judgment,” he added.

Some government offices like passport office and UIDAI (Unique Identity Authority of India) have the transgender option in their application forms but other departments are yet to introduce them.

The income tax department spokesperson said, “We have not received instructions from the government to include this feature in our application forms; we are helpless till we receive further orders.”

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“He was a messenger who touched our life for a short span” Shruti Suresh Parents of a brain-dead toddler, whose organs saved the lives of four other children, have spoken about their son's short life - and his life-changing donations.

Amit, Yatharth’s father said: "He was born in a single body but continues to live in four bodies. He is now getting the love of all their mothers."

On December 11 last year two months before his third birthday, Yatharth was admitted to MediHope Hospital in Bangalore. Doctors there could not find the cause of his persistent fever. Following a seizure, Yatharth, who would have celebrated his third birthday on January 20, was given an injection that worsened his condition and he suffered a cardiac arrest.

On December 14 he was shifted to Manipal Hospital by his parents, in the hope of resuscitating him. But he was declared brain-dead and his parents Rajalaxmi and Amit Upadhayaya gave their consent to harvest and donate his organs.

A 'Green Corridor' was set up in Bangalore five days later to transport the heart from Bangalore to Fortis Hospital in Chennai where a Russian family was given Yatharth’s heart for their 33-month old child.

A software engineer working with Tata Consultancy Services, Amit remembers his son's moments which colored their lives and the walls of their living room. Yatharth's mother, Rajalaxmi, unable to bear the pain of losing her baby, shifted to Delhi.

There was colorful scribbling on the pale yellow walls, a teddy tucked near the window and a cycle standing in the corner of the room. On the bed covered with pink linen and a superman pillow cover, sat a father who lost his son.

Amit and Rajalaxmi have been

Yatharth with his parents during happier times married for the past six years and were living in Bangalore for the past four years. On 20th Jan 2012, they were blessed with a son, whom they named Yatharth. Unfortunately for them, the joy was short-lived.

According to Amit, mostly everyone names their children something or someone they want to see them as when they grow up, but the child may not grow up to be that name or the icon.

Amit said: “In its true meaning, ‘Yatharth’ means fact, and I didn't want to name him something that I expect from. He is what the fact is who he actually is.

“He was a very kind child, who used to say that he wanted to help the poor. He used to buy candy from outside his school and give it to the poor children. He was never selfish, before eating he would always feed his teddy bear first,” he continued.

Yatharth was studying in the preKG at the Little Me school in Mahadevapura. Amit said that Yatharth

was not much interested in watching TV. He loved cycling and painting.

“He was bright at studies. Also, he used to keep cycling in the room there and on the terrace,” said Amit pointing to the place which is now empty and where a small cycle is kept.

Amit, who is a native of Dhanbad in Jharkhand, said that the birth of Yatharth was the happiest moment of the couple's lives. His wife, according to him, had lost her father earlier and also her mother post their marriage.

When Yatharth first developed fever, his parents took him to a nearby hospital. The doctor who attended him at the MediHope Hospital told them that it was mild fever and that he would be okay with medicines.

Next day again, Yatharth developed fever for which the doctors suggested that they conduct a few tests while he was under observation.

Amit said: “On December 11, the doctors told us that it is better to get him tested for dengue and typhoid.

But when the test results came, there was nothing wrong. In the meanwhile, Yatharth again developed high fever.

“The doctor then injected him for fever. Following the injection, he collapsed. It was later told that he suffered from febrile seizures due to the high temperature. His windpipe choked leading to heart attack,” recollected Amit.

“To revive him, the doctors tried CPR, but failed. Following this, we rushed to the Manipal Hospital. The doctor there said that due to cardiac arrest, supply of oxygen to the brain had stopped and that he was partially brain dead. After performing the needed tests, the doctor confirmed that Yatharth was brain dead,” continued Amit.

When asked if his family supported his decision to donate his son’s organs, Amit said: “I told my wife that we could save some other parents the pain and help their children live. It was Yatharth’s chance to live through other children. She and my father were supportive.”

He said, “When the doctors told me that his brain was dead, I told my dad about wanting to donate his organs. My dad was supportive. The hospital got in touch with the Zonal Coordination Committee of Karnataka (ZCCK) and the formalities were done. I was in the waiting room at the time the Green Corridor was set and his heart was transported.

When I came out, I was told that three of his organs were donated in Bangalore while his heart in Chennai.

As organ donation committee, ZCCK, mandates that privacy be maintained, the recipient details were not shared with the Upadhayaya family. Amit knows that three of his

organs were donated to families in Bangalore and that Yatharth's heart was given in Chennai to a Russian child who was a month younger to Yatharth.

Yatharth’s heart, liver, kidneys and cornea were donated.

“I had read about the Green Corridor in Bangalore about six months back. It sounded great that people were donating organs to help save other lives. I had discussed it that time with my father about how wonderful the thoughts of such people are. I never thought this would befall me,” said Amit.

“Unfortunately, through my son I had to contribute to the whole process,” he told.

Despite going through such a tough phase, Amit said: “He was too small to make any contribution to society. If people spoke about him they’d say the three-year-old who died.

“By donating his organs, he has given a new life to four more children. I know the pain of losing a dear one now; I did not want any other family to go through the trauma. I am glad that in this manner my son has contributed to the society. The other parents will also have their blessings for Yatharth,” he added.

Amit recollected the moments when Yatharth used to keep cycling in the room.

He said: “He used to say I want to become like dad. He used to wear my helmet, wear my laptop bag and ride his cycle imitating me.”

“Every day we open the newspapers to news of hate and crime. That is not good, I just want that everyone lives a life of love and touches humanity at the deepest level.”

Amit has now moved to Delhi for a month where his wife is residing after Yatharth’s death.

Religion disrupts organ donation Divya Kishore “Pledging your organs is not an easy task because family, society and religion come as a hurdle in your way,” said Naveen Neeraj, 29, an electrical engineer.

Naveen pledged his eyes when he was in college. Though his family was against him, he managed to convince them. “I was inspired to pledge my eyes from an advertisement, in which Bollywood actor Amitabh Bacchan endorsed eye donation,” he said.

Naveen donated his eyes at the age of 22

Naveen felt proud after donating his eyes and hence, decided to spread awareness about eye donation. “I began spreading awareness from my home and made sure that they pledged their eyes,” he said.

He added: “I started doing seminars in colleges, including my alma mater. In 2007, I pledged all my body organs to Organ Retrieval and Banking Organization of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi.” He did so as the Zonal Coordination Committee of Karnataka for Transplantation (ZCCK) of Bengaluru was not that popular.

According to Dr. Varsha Mokshani, Head of Department of Vydehi Hospital, Bengaluru, “People are scared to pledge their organs because of their religion. Sometimes patients or their families tend to ask for the religion of the donor before their transplant. “ “There is more number of Hindu donors as compared to Christian and Buddhist donors in our hospital, whereas there are hardly any Muslim donors,” she added.

Complicated process

“There are 23 organs and tissues that can be donated. However, we can transplant organs within 24 hours because they are not preserved for long time. Most of the organs are preserved for 4-6 hours after death and they are kept in a solution similar to body fluid that is very expensive,” said Dr. Varsha.

She also added: “It is a team of doctors that includes, a neuro surgeon or a neurologist, a physician, a treating doctor and the hospital administrator, who first clears that the person is brain dead and his/her organs are well enough to be donated.

This is a very tough and complicated task that needs to be done in a few hours only.” Her hospital and a group of doctors are also doing campaigns in nearby apartments and institutes to make people aware about organ donation.

According to Dr. Varsha, young people are more open to organ donation than older people. She said, “They tend to think logically and not religiously. However, old people are keener towards donating their entire body rather than pledging their organs because they believe that if one

or two organs of their body are removed after their death, they will take rebirth without that organ.”

According to the news reports of The Hindu, if two cases of brain deaths are reported every day to the ZCCK the backlog of patients waiting for organ transplants can be drastically reduced.

The government’s initiative to make it mandatory for hospitals with intensive care units (ICUs) to report brain deaths to the ZCCK is now being followed by the hospitals.

Manjula, Chief Transplant Coordinator of ZCCK said, “It is not proving very worthy because the waiting list of the patients is increasing dayby-day and the number of donors is less.”

“Since 2007, there are only 10,000 odd people who have pledged their organs in the state of Karnataka. There is a proposal to make NIMHANS, the first organ retrieval centre of the state but it is still in the process. As of now if any brain death occurs in any hospital, we have to take the body to the transplantation centre and this makes the process more expensive

Dr. Varsha thinks that there are more young organ donors for the patient,” she added.

According to the statistics from ZCCK, 1174 are waiting for Kidney transplants, 321 for liver, and 30 for heart, 6 for liver and kidney, 3 for kidney and pancreas and 15 for lung transplants.

Akshita, transplant co-coordinator, Multi-organ Harvesting Aid Network (MOHAN) Foundation said, “Our organization counsels and spreads awareness about organ donation. We also help people in transplants like giving them the details about where and how it is done,” she said.

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The Weekly Observer

Conned into college “When he (principal) came to Uganda for the admissions he brought the picture of another college instead of ours.”

- Andrew

Continued from page 1) Andrew claimed that Suresh refused to give him hall tickets even though he had paid the tuition fees. “When I asked why they are not giving the hall ticket, principal along with the manager – slapped me.

Now I am doing B. Com through correspondence as I can’t go back without a degree. But I have lost one and a half years and a lot of money,” he added.

Winnie, from Uganda, a student of the same college, complained that the principal withheld her hall ticket and she lost a year. Complainants said that they are representing the rest of the Ugandan students as well.

“If all these things can end, India would be a better place to come and study and it would feel like home,” said Winnie.

The students complain that they were asked to pay only $800 per semester initially but were forced to remit a sum of $1000. “We even had to pay extra fees for uniform, examination fees and for the hostel also,” said Rhoda, who dropped the course.

“As we couldn’t pay the extra money before the deadline, the principal chased all the girls and boys out of the hostel and locked it. Many people fell sick as they were sleeping outside on the veranda,” said Stephen.

The students have to renew their Residential Permit (RP) from Foreigners Regional Registration Office each year so that they can stay in India. For renewing the RP they need a bona fide certificate from the college.

Mouses Rutaarwa, member of Association of African Students India, said, “The principal won’t give bona fide certificate and the students will have to go through a lot of trouble.”

The KSHRC order says “The principal of the college shall issue bona fide certificates required for the renewal of their residential permits… and also to issue NOC in the event of any student taking admission in another college and to issue hall tickets, in accordance with the rules.”

“I was arrested by the police as I couldn’t renew my RP on time, but later Bosco, a Ugandan activist talked with them and got me out without any case registered,” said Junia, who was a student of the college. “I was even forced to sign an exit permit.”

“FRRO shall renew the residential permit of the students pursuant to submission of appropriate documents… and to avoid forcing or coercing the students to sign exit permit, except where compelling reasons of national security otherwise requires, depriving their liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedures established by law” reads the KSHRC order.

Bosco said: “Most of the times students are picked up for wrong reasons. I have experienced a lot of cases like that and I fight against it.”

Students said that the college won’t even give them transfer certificate so that they can go to some other college.

“Around 20 of us joined the college together but only two are continuing now,” said Stephen.

KSHRC also recommended the Director of Collegium Education, Bangalore to take a serious view of the issue.

“The front page of the brochure was ‘Infosys Campus’ Mysore. Second last page…I think there was a ‘small photo’ of the college.”

- Principal Dr. Suresh G.

The solo building circled in red is the Sree Omkar College. The light-colored website is actually not part of the college. And the students are misled usi for the website and brochures.

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and paying the price When asked about the photos that they showed to the students when they went to Uganda the Principal of Omkar College Dr. Suresh. G, said: “The front page of the brochure was of - ‘Infosys Campus’ Mysore.”

When The Weekly Observer asked why it was not mentioned he replied that, “It is not necessary to mention and that on the last page there is a photo of the college.”

When we insisted that there was no photo of the college in the brochure, Principal replied: “second last page…I think there was a ‘small photo’ there.”

The principal said that they have reported to the KSHRC but the Principal denied the charges regarding passports being confiscated.

The KSHRC order also states “Not to subject the students to torture or cruel treatment and to consider extension of the residential permit in the interest of improving communications and

development of friendly relations among countries.”

“The human rights commission is on the case, but those things are moving slowly. Well that’s the life over here,” Stephen sighed with a shrug.

Larger picture Ribert Manzi from Rwanda is in Bangalore from 2009 onwards. “A batch of around 450 students came from Rwanda to Bangalore in 2009, but the student influx has decreased to less than 50 in 2014,” he said.

Exorbitant fees and discrimination are a few of the reasons he thinks for this decline in number of students.

Okito Christophe, National President of AASI said, “The number of students from Africa is decreasing not only in Bangalore but in other cities as well.”

SEA College

d building shown to be the main college building in the brochures and the ing this. The yellow circled board is a fake one, made using some software

“If all these things can end, India would be a better place to come and study and it would feel like home.”

- Winnie (left)

“The principal won’t give bona fide certificate and the students will have to go through a lot of trouble.”

- Mouses Rutaarwa (right), member of Association of African Students India.

African students of another college in the city claim that they lost thousands of dollars and a year as they were not registered in the university.

“We all lost $3000 and a year,” said Harry (name changed), from Africa, a student of the South East Asian College Trust, Bangalore.

“At the time of exams we didn’t get the Hall Tickets, but the college gave us numbers and allowed us to write the exams,” he added.

The college authorities said that the students have not submitted some documents and that was the problem.

“But they didn’t say this during the time of admissions. And when the results came five of our results were withheld,” said Adam (name changed). “It was really horrifying.”

The Principal later said that the students were not registered in the university.

Out of the seven students who joined the college none of them are still pursuing LLB. Two of them left and five others changed the course.

“I got my result but got scared of it and I also changed the course,” said Harry.

“My cousin had joined the college but after seeing all of this he left the college and joined in a different college. It was really hard to convince our parents as we are teenagers and they thought that we were failing and lying to them,” he added.

Alice, one of the students who is studying in a different college in the city now has have filed a case against the college in the High Court.

The Principal of the SEA College of Law, Dr. Mallaiah first said that the students have not left the college and have just changed the course.

But when our reporter said that he has talked to the students who have left the college, principal said, “Actually they were not able to cope up with the law course and left.”

He said that the college got hall tickets but the students didn’t write the exams.

Later he changed his stand and said: “The University changed the rules and because of that the students didn’t get the hall ticket. They wrote the exam using dummy numbers.”

He said that Alice filed a case only for transfer of college.

When quizzed about why No Objection Certificate was not given in the beginning, he replied: “In the beginning we didn’t give it since we have to follow the procedure, we can’t give it straight away, you know.”

The principal said that there was no case going on. But when our reporter asked about the case that has been going on with Alice in the high court, the principal again changed his stand and said: “Then let’s see what happens.”

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The Weekly Observer

‘Je Suis Charlie’ cry India’s funny men C. L. Ramkrishnan

T

he 7th of January was a dark day for all journalists as two masked gunmen entered the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris and killed eight staff members including the editor. Later revealed to be brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi, these terrorists took the lives of 12 people including Stephane Charbonnier, the editor, and seven other employees of the newspaper in addition to two cops and two civilians.

Hebdo is known for its satirical cartoons, mostly criticizing religion.

This attack was allegedly in response to their cartoons on Islam.

As the incident created worldwide impact, Indian satirists and cartoonists were asked by The Weekly Observer to give their views on the foregoing events.

“If your religion allows you to kill someone then that is not a religion at all,” said Shekar Gurera, Accredited Senior Indian Editorial Cartoonist of the Press Information Bureau.

“What happened at Charlie Hebdo was partially wrong. People used their own religion to create terrorism and you can find them everywhere. The cartoonist did his work but it was not necessary to reply in this way. But when it comes to terrorism, I don’t justify an act of people who retaliate violently,” he added.

“But at the same time, it’s the

matter of respect of one’s freedom and the duty of the cartoonist to use the freedom of expression in a proper way. Cartoonists represent the mass and they should respect every religion. The cartoons at Charlie Hebdo have no respect for religion. According to Indian mentality, those cartoons were not right because we don’t make fun of religion.”

“The terrorist are killing someone to retaliate for an issue that does not involve killing. It was better that one would reply in a similar fashion.

Journalists are entitled to their own

We all denounce the dastardly act with harsh words and it’’s an act of cowardice by terrorists.

-Cartoonist V.G.Narendra

views otherwise but there are certain restrictions which we need to follow,” added Shekar.

Rohnit Phore, Editorial Cartoonist of Financial Express said, “All the cartoonists in the world have expressed their concern on the issue.

But after the incident, the hard-liners could find the cartoonists community an easy target in future. Above all, the print media could restrict their cartoonists to express their commentary.”

He added, “The French Newspaper comments on the Pope and Jews as well but tolerance matters. Killing

If your religion allows you to kill someone then that is not a religion at all.

-Cartoonist Shekar Gurera

the cartoonists at Charlie Hebdo is not the way to protest. The impact they made actually resulted in all eyes around the world getting stuck to those very cartoons.”

V.G. Narendra, Managing Trustee at Indian Institute of Cartoonists said, “We all denounce the dastardly act with harsh words and it’s an act of cowardice by terrorists. They want to throttle the freedom of expression. All cartoonists over the world have come together to fight against terrorism.”

He added: “We have to draw our own line of control and it should not

The French Newspaper comments on Pope and Jews as well but tolerance matters.

-Cartoonist Rohnit Arora

hit below the belt. The cartoons, especially when it comes to religion, should not go of out of control. We must criticize them nicely but at the same time, send a message. France is always open to criticism and Charlie Hebdo just followed it. After this incident the cartoonist should be more careful in expressing their views. We should stand firmly and do the work within our own frame work.”

Balraj, Editorial Cartoonist at First Post said, “Anything that has been done doesn’t deserve someone to be killed. France has a tradition of doing caricatures which borders on the same themes so I don’t think you can nullify by killing those cartoonists who have drew those images. It’s not that Charlie Hebdo has done something wrong. The French law has given them the freedom of expression.”

He continued, “It’s not that they have drawn caricatures only on Islam; they have also drawn on the Pope as well as Jews. Freedom of expression is not absolute and there is a line which has to be drawn. But, cartoonists should not be scared because of this incident.”

“The support which Charlie Hebdo has gathered through ‘Je Suis Charlie’ has proved that terrorism can never silence cartoonists. But at the same time we cartoonists have to measure what we draw. I do stand by Charlie Hebdo as what was done was completely wrong,” added Balraj.

I don’t think you can nullify by killing those cartoonists who drew those images.

- Cartoonist Balraj

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

The Weekly Observer

7

RTI lays bare BESCOM’s faults Tushar Kaushik The electricity issues in and around Bangalore are completely in conflict with the claims made

by Bangalore’s electricity board according to the reply for an RTI. Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Ltd. (BESCOM) is responsible for supplying electricity throughout Bangalore. The RTI document claims that nowhere in the city can one find power outages for more than an hour per day on an average. However, according to a document on BESCOM’s website listing unscheduled power cuts, there have been power outages for over an hour in many areas almost every day.

For instance, from January 1 to January 12 this year, there have been power cuts for over an hour on all days except January 6. On 12 Jan, there was a power cut for 16 hours in four divisions – Kengeri, Peenya, Hebbal and Malleshwaram.

Residents of rural areas are more affected as Kamakshi, a resident of Golahalli in rural Bangalore, said that on some days there are power outages for 2-3 hours. When asked if this caused any problems in her daily life, she said, “Yes, it does.

Water is needed for farming. In the mornings, when there is no power, we can’t get water. It is at that very time that we need water.” People in rural areas depend on electricity-op-

erated irrigation pumps to water their fields, and hence power cuts at critical times affect the water supply.

She added that no warnings on these power cuts were provided to them.

Shobha, another housewife from Golahalli, said that they experience power cuts for three hours every day because of which her family also faces water shortage.

Another claim made by BESCOM is regarding the power cuts during heavy rainfall or highspeed winds. The RTI document states - “Due to natural calamities such as heavy wind and rain fall, the power supply is being interrupted which is not deliberately done by BESCOM.” However, Somashekhar, Assistant Executive Engineer for Coorg region in Karnataka Electricity Board, said, “95% of the times, these power cuts are caused by devices called protective relays installed by the department. These automatically disconnect the power supply when any problematic incident occurs.” He said that these incidents could be caused by many reasons like snapping of a wire, falling of a tree, a bird causing short-circuit, vehicles hitting poles and lightning.”

He added: “These cut-offs can’t be avoided, because they are important for the safety of the public.

However, their frequency can be reduced by using better quality insula-

The RTI gives the reason for all power cuts in Bangalore as “system constraints.” Somashekhar elaborated on these constraints, and explained that there could be multiple reasons for them. Firstly, he said, during peak demand periods, like in summer, power generation in Karnataka can only fulfil 40% of the demands, while 60% has to be purchased from other states. This is especially so because “a bulk of Karnataka’s power generation happens from hydel power plants, which reduces significantly in summers due to reduction in water flow in rivers.

Even other states don’t have surplus power in summers, and hence the power cuts.”

Veena Murthy, a previous resident of Prashant Nagar tors on electric poles, like in foreign countries. Over there, quality control is very high, and cost-wise they are least bothered.”

He said that another way to improve this would be to adopt underground cable systems, but their cost is 20 times more. He also said that sectionalising should be avoided, wherein a fault in just one place causes power cut for an entire area.

Sometimes, a particular resident of an area might influence the power supply in that area too. For example, Veena Murty, a former resident of Prashant Nagar, claimed that the reason for good power supply in the area was the presence of Ashok, a corporator in the area. Murthy said, “There were hardly any power cuts, and even when there were, power would be back in a few minutes.”

He then spoke about the second kind of system constraints. He added, “There are regions in the country which have enormous potential for hydel power generation at least cost, like the north-east.

However, erection of towers is an issue there.” Another problem, he said, is the transmission of power from its production point to the required point, which is complex and could have many issues.

The third kind of system constraint, according to Somashekhar, is lack of load forecasting, which basically means to anticipate power requirements for the future and plan accordingly for them.

Angry family members of rape accused file petition Natasha Singh Tushar Kaushik In a new development to the alleged rape of an 8-year-old by a teacher in a private school, the family members of the accused have filed a petition today with Laboram, deputy police commissioner.

The petition was filed at around 5:30 pm. The petition is written by Lata, wife of the accused. It starts by describing the family members – both the parents of the accused can’t hear or see, both his children are studying and his daughter is engaged. It states that he is the only source of income for the family, and then says how there are false accusations against her husband.

Lata then described her own activities on 7 Jan, the day her husband was arrested. Lata went to the school at 9.45 am on 7 Jan, 2015. When she found out the accusations against her husband, she refused to believe that he could do such a thing. An excerpt from the petition goes thus: “I pleaded with them to leave my husband, but they said they will kill him, and offered to take care of my family. They also used abusive language.

Then everyone pushed me and I lost consciousness because I have low blood pressure. When I woke up, my husband wasn’t around.”

Lata, her in-laws and both of her children went to file the petition.

Lakshmiamma, elder sister of the accused, complained about the injustice meted out to her son. Talking

Venkateshwara School was vandalized by an angry mob on Jan 7.

The mob also badly injured the accused

Lakshmiamma, elder sister of the accused about the mob violence, she said: “I tried to reason with the mob. I even fell to their feet and told them that my brother can’t do this, but they didn’t listen. I and the other family members had to be locked in a room by the other school teachers for our own safety.”

She said that the family was suffering due to her brother’s absence.

Her father, who is almost completely deaf, hasn’t been told about what happened, but has realized that something is wrong. Her mother, who knows everything, has stopped moving since the incident. The accused also has a 22-year-old daughter, a son in class 12th and another sister. The family hasn’t met the accused after he was discharged from the hospital, as he is in police custody now.

The petition filed by the wife of the accused today claiming that her husband is innocent Lakshmiamma reiterated that it wasn’t possible for her brother to do this, as he had always been a respectful and loving person. She said that he always carried chocolates in his pocket to give to children. She also complained that in spite of many media houses talking to her, nobody had published or aired her views.

The school itself is under heavy

cop cover, and the rubble inside caused by the mob still hasn’t been cleared. Srikantaiah, a member of the school’s executive board, said that the school might reopen on 19th Jan. He said, “Even if he is guilty, let the law take its coure and jusrtice will be done. No one should take justice into their own hands.”

8

Wednesday,January 14, 2015

The Weekly Observer

Getting Inked!

C

Ridhi Agrawal

olours, shapes, designs and quotes in different languages; if one wants an amalgam of all these, then getting inked is the solution.

Mr.Girish, a tattoo artist at Bramha Tattoo Studio of Bangalore elaborated on how the tattoo business in the city is a fast growing market trend.

He said: “Five years back, only five to six people in a crowd of thousand could be spotted with a tattoo. Now it’s a fashion trend.

Every 100 out of thousand people are inked.”

He added, “There are many amateurs getting into this profession.

People from the IT sector, who are not happy with their salaries, see tattooing as an easy way to earn more.”

Adithy Srinath, 27, has seven tattoos. All her tattoos were unplanned. The first of the lot, a butterfly, was inked in 2008. “This tattoo was a need whereas the rest became a part of an addiction,” she said.

According to her, every tattoo on her body has a meaning.

Music notes are her go-to stress busters at any given time. Infinity denotes her infinite faith and the way her faith plays a big role in the pursuit of her dreams. She has also got her mother’s name inked in her memory.

For her family, she has three stars inked on her left wrist. The butterfly is to remind her of her goals in life and to work towards achieving them. The last tattoo, which is an amalgam of Lord Ganesha and The Om symbol, gives her the assurance of God being around all the time.

She says, “These tattoos are important to me because they define me and people close to me. These are not random designs, but things that I relate to and think of on a daily basis.”

Ridhii Paul, 24, who got her first tattoo when she was 16, said, “My grandmother calls me titli, which means a butterfly. That became my first tattoo.”

Her second tattoo reads, ‘jusqu’ici tout va bein’ which translates to ‘so far so good’. According to her, “Your tattoo defines your personality. It’s meaningful to the person it is on and that’s all that really matters.”

She added, “It is not a lifestyle, as many people term it, and it is not rebellious either. It’s really how you perceive it.”

Adithy Srinath feels that these tattoos are important to her because they define her and people close to her Palak Mehra, 22, got her first tattoo in 2012. The infinity symbol on her back signifies her take on life: enjoy life as it comes and take life easily. She intends to get an ‘Om’ symbol as her next tattoo.

Aanchal Bathija, 23, has a tattoo which represents a swallow. It signifies luck and resurrection.

She said, “I’ve always wanted a tattoo and I got this because it is apt for my belief in luck and the role it plays in everyone’s life. It defines one’s nature and personality.”

This trend has been on a rise in Mumbai too. Arjun Kapadia, 27, a tattoo artist in Mumbai said, “There was a time when I made 80 tattoos in a month. I worked day and night to meet the demand. I now have an artist working under me who takes up the task if I have

Five years back, only five to six people in a crowd of thousand could be spotted with a tattoo. Now it’s a fashion trend.

Every 100 out of thousand people are inked

a busy schedule. In the past four years, I have inked around 1,500 tattoo.”

He shares expert opinion on why people like to get inked. He said, “People from all age groups come to get a tattoo. Most of them are 16-30 years of age. Some want a meaningful quote which psychologically affects or influences their life or lifestyle. For example, ‘this too shall pass’ is one of the common phrases.”

He added, “While some get it to keep up with the trend, others are just passionate. Some get tattoos almost every 6 months to express their love for someone: God, mom, dad, brother, sister, pets etc.”

He shares his list of things one should remember before getting inked.

He said, “Take your time. Take a lot of time in deciding upon a tattoo. In your excitement and anxiety, don’t be hasty while making a decision since it is a lifetime’s mark on your skin and it definitely reflects who you are.”

He added, “Do not drink or dope before you get inked. Check the hygiene of the studio by just checking out the artist's personality or by looking at how things have been kept in the studio: organised or disorganised, then understand the hygiene.”

“And last but not the least, tattoos are addictive. Your next tattoo should not be out of addiction but out of a certain meaning that makes you wish for another one.

Creativity and art are something very rare. Do not negotiate.”

OBSERVER Team: Editors- Pulaha Ray, Vignesh S. G., Chief Sub Editors - Saheli Sen Gupta, Aparna Singh, News Editors - Punita Maheshwari, Soumya Chatterjee, News Desk - Elizabeth Mani, Shruti Suresh, Sub Editors - Tushar Kaushik, C. L. Ramakrishnan, Natasha Singh, Agnivesh Harshan, Divya Kishore, Design Heads - Nikhil M Babu, Kimaya Varude, Design Desk - Ridhi Agrawal, Apoorva Choubey, Devdatta Sukhadev