The Observer An IIJNM publication
Delay in pipeline work disrupts lives of residents of Ranasinghpet | P 2
Vol 17, Issue 11
Monday, November 20, 2017
creased, the number of crimes solved is low, citizens (particularly women) are discouraged from lodging FIRs, and so on. The
problem is largely because approved police vacancies have not been filled and some of the police force is deployed for non-police duties. This is felt on a daily basis in poor traffic management.” Tanvi Shenoy, a student at the National School of Journalism, said strong citizen-police interaction is important. “I think such an interaction is extremely important to maintain law and order. But people often have no way of knowing where and how they can be useful to the police. Furthermore, the general public probably has a sense of mistrust when it comes to police, thinking they are corrupt or inefficient. I wish police campaigned better to involve the public. The BTP, for example, have tried to reach out with an active Twitter account. Maybe they could try to reach out like that more.” Ekta Sawant, a post-graduate student of economics at Azim Premji University, feels that the young population of the country could play an important and more active role in improving the efficiency of the police. “I see myself working with police. Not all youth think of maintaining law and order in a public space. So if some want to help in doing that, why not? Youth relate more to youth. I am bringing the youth point up because more than 50% of our population is young.”
Shopkeepers of the Shrungar complex fear they will lose their client base after shifting to a different place | Credit: Shiny Kirupa
than what we pay now.” He would probably shift his shop near his home in Marathahalli. Riyazz Hussain, owner of Mona Cottage, which sells Kashmiri shawls, carpets and stone jewelry, said: “Now that we have been asked to move out, we are selling most of the products at a 60 % discount. Due to our relocation we are probably going to lose our years old clientele base.” Rasheed, owner of a watch shop in the complex, said: “This shop brings sweet memories. My grandfather started it 47 years ago and I took over the business and have successfully run it after my father. I will have to pay higher rent for another place.”
One policeman is responsible for 1,000 people Manikankana Sengupta manikankana.s@iijnm.org
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Shiny Kirupa shiny.k@iijnm.org
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hopkeepers at the Shrungar Shopping Complex on MG Road are worried as the period of their tenancy is coming to an end. The extended lease came to end with the Karnataka High Court’s order to vacate the complex by January 31, 2018. Establishments in the complex, such as Bookworm, Mona Cottage, Queens restaurant, AM Jewelry, Nobles Art Expositions, etc. are set to relocate. The Bookworm owner said that the land is owned by the Thambuchetty family. “They gave it to a private firm named DNL Enter-
Shortage of policemen in the Karnataka capital, with over a crore people, is leading to crime rates rising | Credit:: Rachel Dammala Recruiting Director of ABC Consultants, informed The Observer: “The city police do not function efficiently. Crime rates have in-
prise for a 32-year lease from 1968. When the contract got over in the year 2000 they were supposed to vacate, but somehow they got another 10 years hold.” Abdul Nazar, who has run a perfume shop in the complex for over 11 years, told the Observer: “The lease ended long back when the DNL exited in 2013. But we all hoped it would somehow get extended.” Manoj, who runs the Ganesh Fruit Juice Centre, said he did good business in 20 years. “The shop was set up by my father long ago. We got accustomed to this place and people. Shifting elsewhere is very difficult. A new place would demand higher rent
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Diabetes now common among young people and women | P 5
Bengaluru needs more cops arnataka has seen an enormous amount of migration after the IT boom in Bengaluru. This has caused a steady increase in the state’s population. But there aren’t enough law-keepers. Latest data compiled by the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) states that every police personnel in Karnataka caters to 541 citizens, 23 per cent more than the United Nations standard of one cop for 440 citizens. However, the ground reality may be worse. Srinivas BT, a writer at the Kengeri police station, informed The Observer: “One policeman is responsible for almost 1,000 citizens in the city.” Elaborating on the reasons, he said, “We get just 15 days’ leave in a year. There are no holidays for festivals and celebrations. It can be a tough job.” Bengalureans say the shortage of men in uniform is affecting them adversely. Gaurang Nagaraj Udiaver, 55,
The Observer
This is how Narayanapura lives: Power cuts and filth all around Sreejani Bhattacharyya sreejani.b@iijnm.org
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esidents of the Narayanpura area in Pai Layout near the Tin Factory, K.R. Puram, lack basic facilities. The Observer noticed that the roads in the area have huge potholes. The bad roads make it very difficult for vehicles to move, causing traffic jams. “It is difficult to walk on these roads, especially at night,” Kala, a resident, said. The residents complain that there is an acute water shortage in the area. Vineeta, a pre-university student residing in the area since her birth, says: “Water comes here two days in a week. We have to buy water from shops to survive on the other days. Each water drum costs Rs 600 to Rs 700. For an average family they last two days. We cannot manage the whole week with the drums as they are too expensive.” There is load shedding too. “There is no power in the afternoon on most days. Electricity is there only in the morning and at night,” Vineeta said. The Narayanpura area has people living in temporary sheds with plastic sheets for roof. Garbage is dumped around these dwellings. Garbage trucks are parked in the area, making it a breeding ground for mosquitoes. The residents also complained that the area has no proper waste-disposal system. They have to dump trash near their houses,which makes the surroundings unclean. When contacted, V Suresh , corporator of the area, informed The Observer: “We will clean up the area as soon as we can and try to address the grievances of the residents. We had put up streetlights some time back in the area. We will do whatever is possible.’’ The residents see no immediate solution to the problems of water shortage, power cuts or garbage strewn around their area. They are left with unfulfilled promises of the BBMP officials, .