The Observer An IIJNM publication
Complaints of phishing with police are on the rise in Bengaluru | P 2
Vol 18, Issue 3
Tuesday, September 11, 2018
Anuradha Sriram
Troubled waste pickers at the Jayanagar Center. Credit Anuradha Sriram
Vinay Swaminathan, executive engineer, solid waste management, BBMP, said: “These workers recently joined work in the hope that they will be taken on the rolls. So we have not paid them salaries.” Mansoor Ahmed worked as a scrap dealer and waste picker in Hasiru Dala and was a part of Clean City Recyclers’ Association, now has his own waste-segregation centre at Jayanagar. 10 waste segregators workunder him. The BBMP has not paid the rag pickers despite numerous requests. “BBMP doesn’t respond
properly. They give no concrete answers when asked why our salaries have not been paid,” he said. Hasiru Dal is a nonprofit organization which creates a livelihood for waste pickers through other businesses. It represents thousands of waste pickers, itinerant buyers and scrap dealers. It is also focuses on social justice for waste pickers. M Sandhya, health officer at BBMP, said:“Approvals from government are pending, and that is why salaries haven’t been released.” anuradha.s@iijnm.org
Trash, disease abound at Russell Market Akanksha Kashyap
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ussell Market, one of city’s oldest markets, has no respite from garbage. People of the area suffer skin infections caused by the trash. “We are amid garbage all the time. Due to it, we suffer from a lot of skin diseases,” Muneer Pasha, a meat trader, informed The Observer . Shopkeepers from the market visit the nearby Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital frequently. “We go to Bowring Hospital almost once a week to get injections for the skin problems this unhygienic atmosphere causes,” Abdul Matin, another meat seller at the 91-year-old market, said. “Out of the 60 OPD patients we have from there, 40 suffer from tenia or scabies. Both these diseases are caused by poor hygiene which results from the huge amount of garbage present there,” officials of the hospital’s dermatology department noted. Garbage is not the only issue
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Kho kho fraternity hopes game will get global status Ileena Dutta
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Complain that BBMP gives no clear reply
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Government looks to bring different transport modes under one umbrella | P 2
Not paid for eight months, waste pickers plan strike ot paid their salaries for eight months, Bengaluru’s waste pickers will strike work on October 15.They will hold a protest outside the BBMP head office for the release of payments due to them. S. Ismail, a dry-waste picker, informed The Observerthat he has worked without his salary for eight months. “It has been a tough time for me and my family. I have taken loans from a bank. Now I am not in a position to repay them.” Kumuda,a scrap dealer, said she took a loan of Rs 1 lakh to meet her expenses. She is waiting for her salary to repay it. “I get suicidal thoughts when I see my children hungry. I am not able to provide for them.”
The Observer
Russell Market is awash with garbage | Credit: Akanksha Kashyap bothering the shopkeepers. Drains at the market are clogged. The traders say their business is affected. “No one wants to come to our shops. We have to deliver fish or meat to people’s homes which increases our work,” Muneer Pasha said. Fruits, vegetables and flowers are sold till late in the night, causing large quantities of waste to be generated. According to the Municipality Solid waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000, a municipal corporation is responsible for mananging the waste it generates. “The garbage used to be picked
twice a day; but now it is lifted just once in a day with an occasional second time,” Amjad, a vegetable seller in the market for 38 years, said. Garbage is picked once, at around 7.30 am,” Raj, a flower seller, added. BBMP executive engineer Babu said: “Every day the garbage is taken in the morning. It being a market area, whatever waste is generated after disposal takes time to be disposed of.” Environmentalist A.N. Yellappa Reddy, a member of the board of governors at the Foundation for Ecological Security, informed The Observer: “The corporation is responsible for all the garbage collected at the marketplace.” K Rasool Khan, director of KK Plastic Waste Management, said: “I don’t believe it is so hard to dispose of garbage from Russell Market, because the only waste generated there is fruit and vegetable waste.” akanksha.k@iijnm.org
he recent visit of Indian men’s and women’s kho kho teams to England will give the sport further international exposure, says Sathya Kumar, coach and academic-in-charge at the Sports Authority of India (SAI), Bengaluru. The team played a Test series and a few exhibition matches against England from September 1 to 4. “Kho kho is the mother of all games. Kho kho opens doors to all games as it builds balance, strength, endurance, coordination and response,” Sathya Kumar informed The Observer. The first Asian Championship in kho kho was held in Kolkata. This was followed by The Netaji Subhas Gold Cup Tournament organised by the Hyderabad Sports Association. In 2000, India played kho kho in the second Asian Championship with Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Nepal. The third such meet was held in Indore in 2016. South Korea participated in the meet. “The participation of South Korea in the third championship... was indeed a big achievement for this traditional sport,” senior SAI coach C.V. Ramesh said. Kho kho is mostly confined to rural schools and colleges. Most urban schools pay utmost attention to the development of international-level sports like hockey and football. “In Bengaluru, most schools affiliated to the School Games Federation of India con-
duct kho kho tournaments,” the coach said. In June, Nepal visited India for a five-Test series, giving the sport a boost. “The state government and the Sports Federation have played a major role in uplifting kho kho. SAI provides the Federation cardinal support, but they don’t have any say in the selection of players. SAI, Bengaluru, provides worldclass infrastructure for various games at the international level...,” N.P. Rameshan, a sports engineer at SAI, told The Observer. Murali Krishna, a player at SAI, who left his job at the South Central Railway to play kho kho, said he is optimistic about the sport and believes kho kho will attain a global status in the near future. “Kho kho’s priority is rising. In 2015-16, the SAF Games, played in North East India, had it. It is considered the biggest achievement for the sport. Kho kho will get the green signal to be played in the next Asian Games, which will be held in 2022,” he added. ileena.d@iijnm.org
News Briefs National: Delhi government has launched doorstep delivery of 40 services such as marriage certificates and driving licence for a fee of Rs 50 per service. Applicants will have to call 1076 and fix an appointment with a mobile sahayak who will visit their homes to complete formalities. Business: India is slated to challenge China for the top slot in farmed shrimp production and export in the year 2019-20. Its production target, set at 7 lakh tonnes, India might end up producing 6.5 lakh tonnes – on par with China, says the Society of
Aquaculture Professionals. International: The US has decided to close the Palestinian mission in Washington, in the latest decision of President Donald Trump. The US has been angered by a Palestinian bid to have Israel investigated at the International Criminal Court for war crimes. Sports: K.L Rahul is leading the fightback against England with a solid 70 run partnership with Ajinkya Rahane. India, playing in the first session of the final day of the 5th Test match, needs 367 runs to win with seven wickets in hand.