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
C
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
S
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
I
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.”