The Observer an IIJNm publication
ola and uber cab services have crushed us, complain bengaluru’s autorickshaw drivers | P 2
Vol 17, Issue 10
Tuesday, October 17, 2017
The Observer @theweeklyobserver On the Web: issuu.com/ theweeklyobserver/docs/ the_observer and theweeklyobserver.in
City market shopkeepers question the need for renovation under smart City project | P 2
Car owners defy SC ban on dark windows WHAT TOP COURT SAID
Police admit that they have failed to enforce order
the use of the black films has been proved to be criminal’s paradise and a social evil, and has jeopardized the security and safety interests of the state and public at large. — sC in its april 2012 ruling
Saket Tiwari saket.t@iijnm.org
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ars in Bengaluru continue to have dark film on their glasses despite a ban imposed by the Supreme Court more than five years ago. Vehicles with windows that allow less than 70% visual light transmission (VLT) for windshields and 50% VLT for windows are a common sight. The law also bans stickers or any other opaque material on the windshields and windows. The Supreme Court had in April 2012 said: “On plain reading of Rule 100, it is clear that a car must have safety glass having 70% VLT for windscreens and 50% for side windows.” The ruling came in the wake of public interest litigation that said cars with dark film were being used to commit crimes against women. Till September 2017, Bengaluru traffic police had registered 18,457 cases against cars with
WHAT IS TINTING
status symbol: Police say youngsters who use tinted windows are considered “cool dudes” by their peers | Credit: saket tiwari
tinting is a process where glass is covered with polyethylene terephthalate film. It prevents heat and radiation from entering the vehicle. It is also employed in shop fronts, offices and homes.
tinted windows, which was only 17,555 previous year. Violators are fined Rs 100 for a first offence and Rs 300 for a subsequent one. Police say they have tried to stop the use of tinted glasses but not met with much success. “We are doing our best to curtail the use of tinted glasses, but traffic police... cannot look after each and every vehicle that passes by,” Boralingaiah M.B., DCP-South
a car cannot alter any part of the vehicle after receiving it from the manufacturer, who provides the vehicle under the guidelines of the existing law. Rule 100(2) of the Act says: “70% and 50% visual light transmission (VLT) standards are related to manufacturing of safety glasses for windshields (front and rear) and the side windows respectively.”
East, informed The Observer. TP Shivakumar, DCP, TrafficWest, said: “Although we impose fines and take necessary action, the number has not come down. Tinted glasses are mostly used by youngsters as these have become a status symbol. They say those using tinted windows are considered ‘cool dudes’ by their peers.” Section 52 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, says the owner of
Traffic inspector Ravi Kumar said that Kengeri police have booked 414 cases against cars violating the law this year till July. Data accessed by The Observer shows an increase in number of cases booked last week over the previous week. Adugodi traffic police collected a total of Rs 23,900 by penalizing 191 vehicles in the year 2017. A sales manager of Akshaya Motors on Mysuru Road, a Mercedes Benz dealer, said: “When somebody buys a car, then as per their demands, we add panels like bumper, headlight guard and interior decoration..., but we don’t go beyond law as tinting is banned.” Jagannath Reddy, head of physics department, Ramaiah Institute of Technology, said: “Tinting is meant to minimize sunlight falling on the eyes of driver during. But some people misuse the technology. It is difficult for police to stand at every nook and corner of the city. We citizens should be responsible.” Following the 2012 SC ruling, Bengaluru traffic police gave car drivers and owners 15 days to comply with the order. They set up film-removing centres at 10 places in the city.
With personal attention, this school Cops: Don’t respond helps kids with learning disability to lottery messages
Shiny Kirupa R shiny.k@iijnm.org
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ameeksha, a school in Cooke Town, has taken upon itself the task of educating children with learning disabilities like autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Weak students have shown improvement, say the teachers. Principal Mary Selwaraj, a business studies and economics teacher, was the brain behind the initiative. Confrontation with her son, who was having difficulty in reading and writing, inspired her to start the school. Speaking to The Observer, she referred to Rohini, 26, who joined Sameeksha at the age of nine. “She has a heart problem. It was difficult for her to concentrate as she was weak and tired. She isn’t physically active but is hardworking. She works in the school coun-
Personal attention by the teachers, pictured above, makes students overcome their learning disabilities selling and motivating children.” The Observer spoke to two students who overcame the odds. Angela Louis, a class 10 student: My parents thought it was just laziness that I did not study well. When I was in class 1 or 2, they came to know I had a problem in my learning process. They admitted me here in 4th grade. I was identified as having reading
difficulty. I was a shy and timid person. But counselling transformed me into what I am today: bold and confident. Attention and care by the teachers helped me. Now I teach fellow students. Sarah, a class 9 student: Both my parents went to work and returned late. That affected my studies. I needed someone to share my immediate feelings with. The teachers gave me space to share my problems. Their rebuke led to improvements in me. Maths and science teacher Sunita Mahendar said they spend time and energy with kids. English teacher Antony Raj said handling a class with four or five students with different disabilities is challenging. The secret to managing this is patience. She recalled she was appointed not on the basis of her educational qualifications but on the basis of her patience and dedication.
Pracheta Panja pracheta.p@iijnm.org
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t’s a new-age way of ripping people off. Several Bengalureans, including educated people, have lost money by responding to messages that say they have won a lottery. Fraudsters send messages, by email or text, asking for details of the recipient’s bank account, saying the money won in lottery would be credited to it. Police say people should use their common sense and never respond to messages that promise to make them rich quick. Senders of such messages are frauds. Aloka Pyne, a homemaker, told The Observer she lost Rs 50,000 after she responded to a call. “She said that she was calling from the State Bank of India and asked for my account details. My
account has some issues that they wanted to fix, she added. I and my husband were convinced and gave the account number and debit card details. Then we realized that our account balance had become zero,” Pyne said. Another victim, software engineer Mohd Maidul Islam Molla, said: “I lost Rs 5,000 by falling into the trap of a telecaller.” In 2014, a Bengaluru couple lost Rs 1.3 crore to an online lottery scam. Joint commissioner of police (crime) N Satheesh Kumar said: “We tell people all the time to beware of such calls. If educated people fall prey, we cannot do anything. They must understand what to respond and what not to. We help uneducated people by making them aware that they should not give important credential to anybody.”
CITY
2 Palike: Garbage marshals can fine people, will get stipend Manikankana Sengupta manikankana.s@iijnm.org
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he BBMP has decided to employ garbage marshals to improve waste management in the city. It will give the responsibility to ex-servicemen who will play a crucial role in the segregation of dry and wet garbage. Laxmi Narayan, assistant executive engineer, BBMP, informed The Observer: “Retired army men will be employed for this project. They will have the right to fine citizens for littering. They will be paid a stipend.” Depending on the success of the pilot project, the plan will be implemented across all the 198 wards in the city. The initiative will enlist the help of citizens and residents’ wel-
The observer Tuesday, 17 october 2017
Cabs have crushed us: Auto drivers But commuters say Ola, Uber are convenient Sreejani Bhattacharyya sreejani.b@iijnm.org
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or the past few years, autorickshaw drivers in Bengaluru have seen their monopoly melt away. Commuters have taken to app-based transport services Uber and Ola, preferring a convenient mode of travel to one where they had to haggle over fare. The autorickshaw drivers are cut up, saying they find it difficult to survive the tough competition. Sheshagiri Deshmukh Nagaraj, an autorickshaw driver who operates in Srirampura, informed The Observer: “I was attached to Ola for some time last year. I could not handle the intense pressure and rude behavior of customers. I have been driving autos for 25 years. Working in a corporate environment did not work for me. My income has gone down after I left Ola, but what can I do? I have a family to look
Who iS iT aT faulT? Both travellers and autorickshaw drivers accuse each other of harassing them | Credit: Saket Tiwari after. I cannot drive for 24 hours.” Raghuvalu K, who operates in the Mantri Square area, said: “Our biggest problem is the intense competition we face. They have the technology, proper management systems, and better pay scale; we have nothing. How can we compete with such big companies?” Travellers have a different story. Autorickshaw drivers be-
have rudely, ask them for extra money, and refuse to go to their requested destinations. Allister Sequiera, 26, who uses Ola for most of his travel needs, said: “I don’t have to haggle over fare, and I don’t have to always pay cash. The vehicle comes to pick me up; I don’t have to chase it like I would chase an auto. The rides are comfortable and safer. All this
Why renovate again, ask KR Market shopkeepers Piling garbage in the city has created a major waste-management crisis | Credit : Saket Tiwari fare associations. Santosh Prabhu, an environmental engineer in the civic body, said: “The plan is to have one marshal in each ward. The proposal has not yet been approved by the council. We are waiting for the final response.” Priyanka Das, who has lived in Bengaluru for the past five years, informed The Observer: “This is a good initiative. The rains and the festive season have made the city’s garbage problem worse.“ Bengalureans hope that the garbage marshals will improve the Technology City’s sanitation scenario for the better. Das, a homemaker, echoed their thoughts by saying: “Hopefully, this will bring some muchneeded change.”
THE TEAM Editor: Saket Tiwari Page layout: Manikankana Sengupta, Manashaa Ganeshan Web page: Shiny Kirupa, Rayan Mitra Copy Editors: Sreejani Bhattacharyya, Pracheta Panja Photo Editor: Pracheta Panja
Say Smart City work will disrupt their business
DSS demands will be met in four months, says mayor G.Manashaa manashaa.g@iijnm.org
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Rayan Mitra rayan.m@iijnm.org
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R Market will be the first beneficiary of the Rs 1,700-crore allotted to Bengaluru under the Smart City project. But shopkeepers are not convinced the promised renovation is required. Improvement work was taken up in recent years. Most shopkeepers are unaware that more renovation is slated to take place. “If business is flourishing, we don’t care about anything. Money is the only thing we work hard for,” a young shopkeeper at the market informed The Observer. “Renovation once again?” Wasim, a shopkeeper, said. “It took place a few years ago. Renovation causes interruption in our business.” BBMP executive engineer M Lokesh said: “The project will focus on organizing business and run the market in a structured manner. The market lacks systematic space management. It generates a lot of green waste which is an issue of concern and will be dealt with in this project.” KR Market, also known as City Market, is Bengaluru’s largest facility for wholesale business. “The project is yet to start,” government contractor Kabadi
at 10-20% more than auto fare. Sometimes the price is the same. Then why should I leave the luxury of a cab and board an auto?” Some commuters The Observer spoke to complained they have been harassed by autorickshaw drivers. Vishal Jaiswal, who hired an autoricksaw at HSR Layout with his brother, said: “When we asked the driver to go a little farther than the place we had mentioned earlier, he started shouting at us. He did not go there and we had to get off. That day we decided to switch to Ola.” KP Lokesh, an autorickshaw driver who operates from the Mysuru Road Metro station, said: “Two years ago, the situation was not like this. Ola and Uber drivers get many incentives which we don’t. There are no rules to regulate how many such cabs and autos should operate. Uniform rates are not charged. People naturally shift to cheaper and more comfortable modes of transport. Our livelihoods are at stake. My income has dropped by 30%.” Ola has a 4.1 rating on Google Play Store with 50 million downloads. Uber, an international company, has a rating of 4.3 with 100 million downloads.
K R Market, the city’s biggest facility for wholesale business, will get new facilities under the Smart City project | Credit : Rayan Mitra
The BBMP says the renovation work will address the problem of stink-causing green waste generated in KR Market told The Observer. The flower market alone generates much waste. The place is filled with the smell of rotten flowers. A frustrated passerby complained about the dumping of waste near the flower market. “I have seen the place like this for a long time. I avoid this place because of the stink.” “We all are busy with the white-topping of the potholes”, said Lokesh. The BBMP is well ahead in planning and will start with KR Market and Russell
Market soon, he added. The Smart City project, with a budget of 1,700 crore, aims to renovate and reconstruct heritage sites in the city. It also envisages repairing roads, providing better drainage, and revitalizating the Shivajinagar and Kempegowda bus stations and Russell Market. After City Market, the Malleswaram Market will be renovated. Cubbon Park will be redeveloped. BBMP plans to secure dying ecosystems like the Ulsoor lake.
lum-dwellers of Bengaluru lack basic facilities like clean water and toilets, says the Dalit Sangharsha Samithi (DSS), which staged a protest before the BBMP headquarters on Monday demanding these. The Observer spoke to a few DSS members about the issues. DSS convener Parthiban said: “Dalits in all wards must receive these facilities. The BBMP must provide them house documents. Only half of the households have received them. Once a party wins an election, they keep in mind only those who voted for them.” Mayor Sampath Raj said: “The DSS has raised demands that will be fulfilled by the end of the fourth month starting now. I will call for a meeting in 3-4 days. The corporators and persons in charge of wards will be present at the meeting. Facilities will be provided to everyone.” DSS secretary Jaya said: “Even basic infrastructure is not provided. Sometimes due to heavy rain, drain water mixes with drinking water. We had to protest because our complaints were not taken seriously.” “We get water once in ten days. We spend almost Rs 400 on water every week,” said Clara Celena, DSS accounter. Other members said: "We do not have basic facilities, like proper toilets, for years.”