The daily observer issue 8

D

A

I

L

Y

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

VOL. 13 ISSUE 8

‘We had so many dreams’ Bhaskar Dutta, Apurva Venkat & Nikita Narvekar

Hundreds of students and parents protested outside a city school as the bodies of two teenage schoolgirls who committed suicide after a row with teachers were paraded in front of the school gates.

Sonali Gupta,15, and her 16-year-old friend J.Priyanka, students of the Mary Immaculate Convent Primary & High School in Adugodi, killed themselves yesterday by tying their hands and jumping into the Sankey Tank. They were students of the ninth and tenth standards respectively.

They left a suicide note in which they stated that they had taken the decision to kill themselves as they were unable to bear the constant criticism which was directed at them by the principal of the school Mary Laila and a teacher, Philomena Immanuel, due to their poor academic performance and ‘other school activities’.

In the note that they left behind before killing themselves, the two girls wrote, “We had so many dreams but you both spoilt all of it. Miss Philomena has to be punished. It’s not only our wish but also many others.”

They also apologised to other teachers for their actions.

“Sorry Miss Vanaja, we really love you”, they wrote.

Ending the letter the duo wrote, “We will miss you dear friends. All the best for your exams. Please don’t think about us. We are really sorry parents and especially our brothers Manu and Bruno.”

Speaking exclusively to the ‘Daily Observer’, Sonali’s mother said, “That teacher has killed my daughter. I don’t want anything. I don’t want money or compensation. I want my daughter back. Bring her to me alive right now and punish the teacher. She tortured my daughter and that is why my daughter did this.”

Sonali’s father Dayanand Sagar, a taxi driver, was

Sonali, (left), Priyanka, and the suicide note they left accusing teachers too upset to speak.

all absolutely crushed. “

While the bodies were being displayed outside the school, Priyanka’s brother said, “I want justice.

I don’t care about the media or anyone else. I just want justice.”

Kalpana, a former student of the school, alleged that Philomena was well known for her arrogant ways and that the management of the school deserved to brought to task for what had happened.

Speaking about the issue, a 15-year-old student, who did not wish to be named, said, “The media is being misdirected. Everybody is talking about how the girls were breaking school rules by celebrating Holi. This is not true.”

“I was a student of this school and so was my daughter. My daughter, who is now studying engineering, also faced harassment at the hands of Philomena. The school authorities must be held directly responsible for whatever has happened.

This is an absolute disgrace”, she added.

“On that day, the two of them were playing Holi outside the school premises with two of their friends. This does not break any rules. However, because they were celebrating the festival with two of their male friends, the school authorities summoned them and told them that they would also call their parents. They were also told that they would not be permitted to appear for their ICSE (Indian Certificate of Secondary Education) examination in March”, she added.

Commenting on the issue, Deepti, a batchmate of one of the girls, said, “I am shocked that they decided to take such a step. I want my friends back.

We are

Before the bodies of the two girls were brought to the school premises, police personnel made attempts to disperse groups of students.

“They taught us so many values here.

This is a terrible incident, but I really hope that the school stays open”, says Farah, an ex-student of the school.

The bodies of the girls at school. Philomena, the accused teacher and Principal Mary Laila

PAGE 2

Commenting on the incident, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Yashwant Savarkar said, “The principal and Philomena are in police custody. A case has been booked against them under section 306 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The

Dinesh, a psychiatrist and social worker who was present during the protests outside the school, said, “These are schoolgirls who are barely out of their teens. Can you imagine the degree of mental pressure they must have been subjected to in order to have taken such a step? I cannot even begin to imagine the pain that their parents are going through. The school management must be brought to task. I don’t know what I would have done if this was my daughter.”

According to some ex-students present, the incident should have been handled without tarnishing the reputation of the school.

Street Vendors Bill: Boon or bane?

“We want our friends back. We hope that the people responsible are brought to justice. We don’t even mind coming out and protesting just before our exams, but we really hope that the school’s reputation does not suffer”, said Shivani and Rachna who are batchmates of the two girls.

Sonali’s father Dayanand Sagar entire incident is extremely unfortunate. Now the crowd here is demanding compensation. That is not in our hands. We are trying to manage the situation to the best of our ability.”

Speaking exclusively to the ‘Daily Observer’, Transport Minister, Ramalinga Reddy, who was present at the scene, said, “This school has always enjoyed a good reputation. At the time of admission, there is always a long queue at the gates. The school holds parent-teacher meetings every two months. The issue of disciplining the girls should have been brought up there. Unfortunately, these girls did not take the right decision.”

Health special: An Observer check-up on the city’s health

PAGE 6

The Daily

Observer

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Street Vendors Bill: Boon or bane? thousands of vendors being forcible removed from their preferred areas of business.

The Bill, which was cleared by both lok and rajya sabha, is awaiting the President’s assent.

Arunkumar, an advocate and activist said, “The main disadvantage of the bill is that it restricts the mobility of the vendors.

But this bill destroys the very nature of the business.

“The bill restricts the number of vendors The Street Vendors Bill of 2013, heralded in a given ward or area to 2.5 percent of the as a protective measure for traders, has a ward’s population. This means that the surhidden clause that could see street sellers plus vendors will be relocated to other areas forced out of business. where there is no guarantee of profitable The bill will effectively hinder the flexbusiness. Moreover restriction in the numible and informal nature of a street trader’s ber of vendors will create more unemployed people, particularly in urban areas.”

But Arbind Singh, National Coordinator of National Association of Street Vendors of India, is happy with the bill.

He said, “The bill is quite good. It is an empowering bill for the street vendors.”

“The 2.5 percent limit set by the bill is fairly well, a city does not need more street vendors. Our only concern is the relocation clause and the railway vendors are not included in the bill. But the center has assured us that it will come up with a separate bill for the railway vendors.”

“It is good that the sector is regularized. I don’t think that formalizing the sector will restrict Murugan, a street vendor in K.R Market, who is unaware of the Vendors Bill new people to take up the business.” sales, according to activists, who say a 2.5 They are called street vendors because they Most of the street vendors are unaware per cent rule included in the bill will mean move around streets to sell commodities. of the Bill. Murugan, a street vendor in K.R Market said, “I am not aware of the law, I just heard that we have to get license from the BBMP to sell things here.”

Muthamma, who sells vegetables in K.R Market said, “We are struggling hard to earn for our survival. At least now the It is true that most of the government must do something for us. I street vendors are unaware of don’t know about the law you are speaking about.” the bill. We are organizing a Sunder, who has a permanent shop in national level conference on the bill on K.R Market said, “The street vendors must be regularized, they are hindering our busiMarch 29 and a month long ness. They bribe the police and BBMP ofawareness campaign will be conducted ficials and occupy the streets all around the market.” from May 01.

Arbind Singh added, “It is true that most of the street vendors are unaware of the bill.

- Arbind Singh (CoordinaWe are organizing a national level confertor of National Association of ence on the bill on March 29 and a month Street Vendors of India) long awareness campaign will be conducted from May 01.”

Sureshkumar Kumaresan

‘

2

Govt. seeks foreign aid to meet fiscal target Anannya Sarkar The Indian Finance Ministry has partnered with a foreign global investment bank in a bid to hit newly revised fiscal targets ahead of the election.

The man in charge of the scheme, in an exclusive Observer interview, admitted targets had been lowered and an outside firm brought in to help in order to portray the government in a better light.

The government ignored a partnership bid from the State Bank of India to work with Goldman Sachs, the global investment firm.

Stocks in ten government owned public companies are to be sold. The initial target of funds to be raised by the offering was 24,000 crore.

Today, this was revised down to just 16,000 crore and Goldman were introduced as the firm chosen to be the government partner.

The Department of Disinvestment, Government of India came up with the new Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) scheme with Goldman Sachs (India) Asset Management Private Limited which was launched today.

This is a part of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government’s scheme to reach the target of raising 16,000 crore by the end of this fiscal year.

The previous target for this fiscal year, according to the Disinvestment Policy of the Government of India (2009) was 40,000 crore.

Speaking exclusively to the Daily Observer, Agrim Kaushal, Director, Department of Disinvestment, Government of India, said, “The target was lowered in order to make it more achievable by the government. “ He added that this scheme was implemented to put the economic policy of the UPA government in a favourable light.

Commenting on the partnership with a foreign player for

this scheme he said, “The decision was taken on the basis of a bidding which was held in May 2013. Public sector companies could not be entrusted with this duty because Goldman Sachs, with their global standing, was in a better position to bid better.”

Vijesh Gonsalves, Executive Director, Goldman Sachs Asset Management (India) Private Limited, said, “The company came to India about two years back. Its worth about 200 million dollars to the net worth of the company as a whole. Therefore this bid was very important to us.”

On being asked about the delay in the implementation of the scheme, Gonsalves said, “It was the decision of the ministry. The upcoming elections also had a role to play.

He added, “The government seems to have been lagging behind in meeting its fiscal targets this year so we have been entrusted with this duty to salvage the reputation of the government on the economic front and we are positive that we can.”

The ETF scheme enables its investors to enjoy the benefits of investing in both stocks and mutual funds.

Under this scheme, the government will allow the investors to buy a basket of stocks from 10 public sector companies and the scheme will be open for only three days for investors buying stocks worth less than two lakhs.

900 crore hasd already been raised in one day as this scheme was opened to anchor investors who invest in bulk, yesterday.

The net worth of ETFs in India is only 10,500 crores compared to the international market worth more than 3.2 trillion dollars.

The ten firms: ONGC, Gail Ltd, Coal India Ltd, Rural Electrification Corporation Ltd, Oil India Ltd, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, Power Finance Corporation Ltd, Bharat Electornics Ltd and Engineers India Ltd

Who is going to benefit from first time voters?

Chitharth Mathivanan

A significant number of the 100,000-plus first-time voters in Bangalore seem to be favoring the ‘None of the Above’ (NOTA) option and believe all politicians are coming across as corrupt.

There are 102,737 first time voters within age group 18-20 in the four

constituencies of Bangalore. While political parties are trying to woo this voter group through various social media, the young voters themselves appear to have made up their minds.

Rohan, 19, a first year Bachelor of Commerce student at Jain College, said: “In Bangalore South I think Nandan Nilekani could beat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National Secretary, Ananth Kumar be-

‘

In Bangalore South I think Nandan Nilekani could beat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National Secretary, Ananth Kumar because as a previous Member of Parliament (MP) he didn’t do anything.

- Rohan (First year Bachelor of Commerce student)

cause as a previous Member of Parliament (MP) he didn’t do anything.

On the other hand, a former techie has a chance to triumph the election.”

He added: “I am not supporting any party. I think all the politicians are cheating us. But for the country’s top post I would support Narendra Modi personally, not keeping the party in mind. I prefer him to Arvind Kejriwal because we have seen development in Gujarat during his rule there. Arvind Kejriwal is always criticizing Modiji unnecessarily. This shows his inexperience in politics.”

Syed, 19, a second year Bachelor of Science student at St. Joseph’s College, said: “I will vote for the Aam Aadmi Party because recently we saw their victory in Delhi and as a Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal did well in his 49 days in office.”

“In my constituency, Bangalore South, Ananth Kumar did pretty well in his previous term as MP. As far as I am concerned, I think he is going to win these upcoming elections too. I don’t know about Nandan Nilekani,” he added.

Praveen, 19, an earth-mover operator, said, “I am going to vote for

‘

I will cast my vote in NOTA because of the corrupt politicians.

But I personally feel that the Aam Aadmi Party is doing pretty good when compared with the other parties.

- Swetha Naik (A first year student at Jain College) the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) because it’s our caste based party.”

Swetha Naik, 18, a first year student at Jain College, said: “I will cast my vote in NOTA because of the corrupt politicians. But I personally feel that the Aam Aadmi Party is doing pretty good when compared with the other parties.”

Nishan, 19, a second year student at New Horizon, said: “I am tired of seeing corrupt politicians. I am going to cast my vote in the NOTA op-

tion because till now, I haven’t seen the right leader like what we had earlier.”

“I don’t believe Gujarat to be a developed state and Narendara Modi, BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate, to be a secular leader even though the court has given him a clean chit.

Earlier, I completely believed in the Aam Aadmi Party and in the fact that we will see a change. But my dream was shattered when Kejriwal gave up his post as Delhi CM,” he added.

The Daily

Observer

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Cross infection cases ignored, says activist

Doctors do not use sanitizers and doors in the unit do not automatically close.

According to the hospital authorities, 1959 people died in the burns ward last year.

When asked about reasons behind the negligence of authorities to separate both wards, Resident MediVictoria Hospital which treats burns patients cal Officer at VicRAJU PEETHALA & toria Hospital, Dr. Kantharaj, reISHAN BHATTACHARYA More than 150 people die every month fused to comment on the issue.

Shariff, a relative of one of the in the burns ward at Victoria Hospital, of which around 80 cases are due to patients, said: “We admitted our cross infection, according to concerned brother yesterday and witnessed doctors and a campaigning NGO. 20 deaths throughout the day.”

Mehaz, one of relatives of a patient, The presence of the casualty and burns wards in the same building is the primary said: “It has been two days since I’ve cause for cross infection on such a large admitted my mother in the burns ward scale, according to activists trying to force and her condition isn’t improving.”

When asked whether she was aware hospital managers to erect a new block.

The casualty dept, which is open of the 20 deaths that took place yesterday, to the public, is housed in the same she said: “Yes, I got to know that there block as the burns unit, which does were 20 deaths yesterday. I’m not aware not have any proper infection bar- of the cross- infection at the hospital.”

Shivaram Reddy, a patient at the hosrier controls. Burns victims are also particularly susceptible to infection. pital, said: “The hospital authorities are

very careless when it comes to treatment.

Cleanliness is the main concern here.

Most of the infections here spread due to unhygienic conditions in the hospital.”

Vimochana, an NGO, that works to protect women’s rights, have repeatedly asked the hospital authorities to separate both wards. But despite their repeated requests, the authorities have failed to shift the wards till date.

Donna Fernandes, who works with Vimochana, said: “We have been requesting the hospital authorities to shift the wards for the last two years. We have also highlighted this issue in the press and nothing has improved till now.”

When asked about the response from the hospital authorities, she said: “They continuously kept on giving excuses over the last two years, saying that they don’t have the funds to construct a new block.”

She added: “They promised us saying that they will shift the wards by December 2013 and they failed to keep their promise.

As a result, the death rate hasn’t reduced.”

One of the junior doctors, on the condition of anonymity, accepted the fact that the cause of a significant number of deaths in the burns ward was cross infection.

When asked about what this cross infection exactly is, he said: “Most of the people in the casualty ward carry several diseases and the flow of patients into the block is high, as both the burns and casualty ward are present in the same block.”

3

State hostels for girls continue to remain unsafe SUSHMITA SEN As the state police struggle to ensure safety for women, now girls find themselves unsafe even in college hostels.

On Monday night, an unidentified man barged into the ladies hostel of Maharani College in Mysore, threatening them by claiming that he carried a bottle of acid. This is the third incident in the past year in the college hostel.

Nagaratna, warden of Maharani College Ladies Hostel said: “Around 2am an abnormal looking man entered the girls’ hostel. He threatened the girls by claiming that he carried acid.

“The security guard was unaware of an intruder entering the hostel premises. Also, there are only one or two guards assigned during the night and my shift is from 10am to 5pm only. I learned of the alleged attack next morning, although the entire incident is recorded on the CCTV camera.”

As soon as the attacker left the hostel premises, the girls immediately informed the police and the college authorities.

Dr. Sushila G.M, Principal of Maharani College: “There is a door between two sections (Arts and Science) in the college hostel which was left open that night. The man entered

through that door easily as there was a power cut. Earlier I visited the hostel and asked the girls to lock that door.”

C G Maheshwarappa, Joint Director of Maharani College, said: “A similar incident has occurred twothree months ago as well. No one was injured during that attack. But, there was only one security guard present during that night which is clearly the fault of the authorities.”

The Student Coordinator of Maharani College, who wishes to remain unnamed, said: “This is the third time that such an incident has occurred while I have been studying here. We students have requested as well as complained to the college authorities to provide enough security in the hostel but no such provisions have been implemented.”

The students protested on Tuesday demanding security from the college authorities as it is the third time they faced this.

MLA Vasu: “I am going to visit the hostel this evening for a meeting with the engineer, principal and joint secretary and other college authorities. I also have appealed to the state government to provide a separate building for the girls to live, as the current one is not safe and is in a bad condition.”

Weekend driving in city may prove fatal Black magic, but not for women mayuri J Ravi & Anagha Sawant A Saturday evening drive in Bangalore could be lethal if you’re under 35, according to statistics revealed today.

Weekend driving can be fatal for Bangaloreans, the city inflicted with third largest number of accidents in India.

Statistics from the City Traffic Police reveal that in the first two months of 2014, the city has already witnessed 876 accidents resulting in 124 deaths.

That’s almost 15 crashes and two road deaths a day.

Based on the analysis conducted by the city traffic police for the year 2013, most of the accidents happen over the weekends, especially on Saturdays. The accidents occur more in the evenings and late night hours.

47 lakh vehicles for around one crore of population, an average of one vehicle for every two people, And economic migration has all contributed to the increase in number of accidents in the city.

The report by police states that road traffic injuries are estimated to be the eighth leading cause of death globally and the main cause of death for young people aged 15 to 24 years.

In the case of Bangalore, the age group most involved in accidents is between 19-35 years.

Among the causes of accidental deaths, head injuries are the highest contributor. The World Health Organization’s report, as cited by neurosurgeon Dr. Venkataramanaof BGS Global Hospital, states 33% of road accidents lead to head injury. Bangalore reports around 8000 head injury cases a year due to road accidents.

DR. Venkataramana, who was addressing an event on ‘World Head Injury Awareness Day’ at the Traffic Training Institute in the city, said, “Public, police and private hospitals’ participation is important to stop such road accidents. So we have taken an initiative to conduct seminars for the school and college students and traffic police.”

Attacking prevailing myths about accidentvictims, he said, “Pouring water into the mouth of the person who is injured is a myth. We should not pour water in the person’s mouth. The water may get choked-up.”

Speaking at the same event, B. Dayananda, Ad-

ditional Commissioner of Police, Traffic, Bangalore, said, “Most of the time, a traffic policeman is the first person to reach the accident spot and provide the victims with first aid and shift them to a hospital. So we are training the traffic policemen on World Head Injury Awareness Day.” Jagadish, ACP, Traffic West Division said: “The main causes for accidents are violation of traffic rules, drunk and driving, bad roads and vehicle congestion. Road conditions are also important to reduce accidents.”

He said that BTrac project was initiated in 2010 to help the city traffic police manage traffic and assist traffic regulation. The project aims at creating traffic awareness among the people to follow traffic rules and regulation.

He added: “Though we have enough manpower now, we need some more staff. The government will take initiative to appoint new staff.”

City Traffic Police have identified 10 accident blackspots in the city. Blackspots are places on a road- that have witnessed a high number of accidents in the past. The analysis was carried out to look at the problems, diagnose the accident causes and suggest corrective measures.

phoid and even doctors couldn’t help, but after coming here, I was fine in two days. So I ask all my friends to come here. Normally I don’t believe in such practices, but after coming here, I have started to believe. And I believe only in this pandit.”

Dhanashankar, a businessman, said: “My two-year-old daughter had some infection which would not heal even after visiting the doctor. So I brought her here, and she was fifty-percent Pandit R. Jagdeesha seen practising his trade to cure better in a short while.”

Another busiAnand Jain nessman, Ganga Sagar, said: “I often bring my daughter Rachana here, and she gets fine A “doctor” who promises to rid peo- within two days always, at least fifty per cent.” ple of “black magic influence” is seePandit J. Vijay, who runs the mantralaya with ing at least 500 patients every day. his father Pandit Jagadeesh, said: “We chant manHis method of treatment – for fever, vom- tras from Atharna Veda, and write them on a copiting and “other problems” like Typhoid – is per sheet with the patient’s name, and roll it in to roll a lemon across the legs of the sick and tayata before putting it around the patient’s neck.” tap them on the head with a wooden spoon.

Dr. Latha Maheshwari, who runs RaajeshPandit J. Vijay, who runs the consulting room wari Nursing Home, said: “People have a with his dad, says his family has been treating strong belief in this. It’s shocking to see them people in Cottonpet, Bangalore, for 150 years. standing in long queues with their babies in Hundreds of people queue up in a street in Cot- hand. It’s freezing sometimes, they still stand.” tonpet every morning to have their babies treated She added: “Personally, I think it is nonsense. by the famous black magic expert, who can cure But since people have so much faith, it might act the babies of “fever, vomiting, and other problems.” as a boosting power to the medicines we give. If Not just babies, people with other “tensions, someone says he was cured just by the mantras and fear and black-magic-influence” visit Adis- never went to a doctor, I think he must be mental.” haakti Mantralaya to be treated by the doctor.

Vijay, a Bachelor in Mechanical EngineerThe pandit asks visitors about the prob- ing, is the fifth son to continue this practice. “We lem, and their name. He writes a mantra on a charge Rs. 50 per person. And honestly, that is copper sheet and puts it in a container he calls not enough for my family, but what to do? I have tayata. He then hovers a bangle around the visi- to follow this tradition, right? I’m following it.” tor, whispering a mantra; the same procedure After five generations, this practice, which follows with a lemon. In the end, the tayata is has seemingly earned the faith of thoutied to a thread and put around the patient’s sands of Bangaloreans, might discontinue. neck. Occasionally, a powder is given away at The reason, according to Vijay, is he the end. The process lasts for about one minute. has no son. “I have two daughters. If I don’t More than 500 people visit him every day. “On get a son, this practice will end forever.” amavasya, poornima, and other holi days, there is an “These mantras cannot be taught to a girl beincrease in the crowd,” Vijay, the pandit’s son said. cause if she teaches them to someone else in her Sweety, a resident in the area, said: “My family in-laws’ home, they might be misused. So this and I have extreme faith in this practice. I had ty- will end, we won’t teach them to girls,” he said.

4

The Daily Time

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

1983 1ST Non-Congress Govt, Janata

Hegde sworn in as the CM. 1985 Re-election, Janata party again c

1989 HD Deve Gowda breaks away a

1996 HD Deve Gowda becomes the P Name of the Candidate: Nandini Alva (potential candidate) Constituency: Bangalore Central

Name of the Candidate: R .Prabhakar Reddy Age: 42 Constituency: Bangalore Rural Mr Reddy has a degree in Science from VV Puram college in Bangalore. He hails from an agricultural family.

He started a small Cement Brick company in 1987 and was in to Real Estate by 2000.

In his appeal to the voters which is uploaded on his personal website he writes: “I appeal to you give me an opportunity so that I can work for you with all my thoughts, deeds and words. I promise you that I will not shatter your dreams and will be truthful and faithful to you till my last breath.”

He contested from Bangalore South in the previous state assembly election and lost.

She is the wife of former Minister, Jeevraj Alva and mother -in- law of Bollywood actor, Vivek Oberoi.

Party’s lack of candidates to field from Bangalore Central might be a reason for fielding her from the seat.

Bangalore Central has a number of minority populations and that is why the party may also want to filed Jaffer Sharief, Congress discard, from the seat.JDS lost Bangalore Central in the last election to BJP

1999 Split in Janta Dal, a section of p

2004 JDS forms coalition with the ru

2006 Withdrew support to Congress,

2008 JDS withdrew support from BJP

Election 2014: JDS candidates for L

Janata Dal

Election Update: Ananth Kumar along with four other political heavyweights filed their nomination for the

upcoming LS polls today. Along with him, former Prime Minister, HD Deve Gowda, JD(S) State President, A Krishnappa and Union Minister, KH Muniyappa also filed their nominations. Kumar ,who hasn’t lost an election since 1996,will fight against former Infosys co-founder, Nandan Nilekani from Bangalore South while Muniyappa is contesting from Kolar.

JD(S) Strongmen, HD Devegowda along with state president, A. Krisnnappa filed the nomination for Tumkur LS Seat.

The elections in Karnataka will be held on April 17.

“I don’t want to vote for JDS. I think they are not capable to get any vote. I have no faith in this party.. “ - Sarit Das, Char-

tered Accountant

“I don’t feel they are trustworthy. They have broken trust in past.

They are becoming a family party and don’t have any concrete plan to build Bangalore. They are not capable.. “ - Prakash Prabhu,

Professional

“No, I don’t know anything about JDS candidate from my area. So there is no question of voting him or her. “ - Nikhil Shar-

ma, works in Unisys Global Services India

“I have heard nothing of JD(S) or even its candidate. I only heard about Nandan Nilekani, He is from Congress right? Also I am not going to vote as I don’t have a voter Id. “ - Raju

Banerjee,22 IT Professional

“I think JD(S) has not announced its candidates yet. It doesn’t matter anyway, because I won’t vote for JD(S). The party has lost its secular status by going with BJP in last election.“ - NirmalKumar, an

IT professional

y Observer eline

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

5

a Party brought to power,Ramakrishna

came back to power.

and supports rebel, Chandrashekhar.

PM, heads the United Front.

party supports BJP led NDA. Name of the Candidate: Hanumante Gowda (potential candidate) Age: 59 Constituency: Bangalore North

uling Congress.

, join hands with BJP

P, sympathy vote leads to BJP’s victory

Lok Sabha polls in Bangalore

He contested from Bytarayanapura in the state assembly election and lost to Krishna Byregowda from Congress. This time the party is considering him from Bangalore North which has sizeable Vokkaliga voters.

He is also a BBMP Corporator. He went to the Govt High School in Bangalore and then went on to become a graduate from Bangalore University. Again like other candidates he also an agriculturalist by profession.

l (Secular) “I will not vote this time. I do not believe in the electoral process of the parliament. It is a mere eyewash as they make you believe that an individual is a part of the democracy and the decision making process.

But it is actually not so. “ - Anupam Chatter-

jee, Reuters Correspondant

“I dont know who is JD(S)’s candidate.

I will not vote for JD(S), I would rather use NOTA option this time. “ - Sivakumar, an

IT professional

“My vote is for JDS because I believe that they can bring a lot of changes in our city “ - Manju

Manoj, an Engineering student.

Name : Ratan Singh Designation: City President JD(S) Age: 73 Saikat Ghosh

Ratan Singh, the newly elected city president of the Janata Dal (Secular), is trying his very best to turn this upcoming election into a huge victory.

His job is not easy. Right from consulting the national president and former Prime Minister, H.D. Deve Gowda and his son and former Karnataka Chief Minister, H.D. Kumaraswamy, to short listing candidates for the city, he has a tough job on his hands.

“We will be in a good position this time and I am not telling this to garner votes from the public,” he said.

JD(S), which is yet to decide its candidate for Bangalore, will decide its candidate within two days. “Mr C.K. Jaffer Sharief, who has quit Congress, will contest from JD(S). He has gone for Hajj, so after he returns, we will declare our candidates,” he said.

He added that H.D. Deve Gowda has thought about three possible seats for him; Mysore, Bangalore South and Bangalore North.

The party is yet to decide H.D. Kumaraswamy’s seat.

He previously won from Bangalore Rural in 2009, but there are reports that he might contest from Chikaballapur this time around.

“Yes his name is from there, but you need to wait for two days. It’s up to him to decide, until and unless he decides, nobody can give you a clear picture,” said Singh.

Talking about the party’s national ambition, he said: “We took the Third Front initiative. We have told every party in the coalition to win as many seats in their respective state as possible and after the elections we will sit and decide on the seat sharing.”

He added that the Third Front, according to him, has brought out the best of Deve Gowda.

The party is also looking forward to giving tickets to IPS officers from the Bangalore North constituency. “In Bangalore North, most probably, we will field Abdul Azeem, who is a former ACP, or KC Ramamurthy who is also a former IPS Officer,” he said.

He added that HD Sangiyamma, an ex-MP or Nandini Alva, wife of former Minister Jeevraj Alva, could be possible candidates from the Bangalore Central constituency.

According to Singh, the party sidelined Hanumanta Gowda from Bangalore North after some issues. “We were ready to give him the ticket but he himself wasn’t taking any interest.”

He added that the party’s candidate, Prabhakar Reddy, from Bangalore Rural will win according to their calculation. “He is a very good candidate and according to our calculation he will win that seat.”

Talking about campaigning on social media, Singh said that he is doing his very best to reach out to the masses but that he couldn’t say anything about the strategy deployed by Deve Gowda.

“If we can win 12-15 seats in Karnataka, we will be in a good position” he said.

The Daily

Observer

Wednesday, March 19 , 2014

6

EVENTS Theatre

‘Blood to me is life’ - Blood Kumar Ishan bhattacharya

Blood Kumar, PRO at BGS Global Hospital.

On February 8, 1981, a circus arrived in Okhlipura, Bangalore, and hundreds of children went there with their families to have some fun.

A discarded cigarette sparked a huge fire and 92 children died.

A 16-year-old boy was watching.

He saw the circus burn and children die. He could not help but tried his best. He tried to save the children but returned home shocked at what he had witnessed. Indians today still remember this event as the ‘Circus Tragedy’.

“That time we did not have television.

Radio was our main source of news. I heard them say on the radio that lots of injured children who got burned in the circus tragedy, were admitted to Victoria Hospital and were in desperate need of blood.

“Although I came home, I kept thinking about those children. I felt restless.

I couldn’t stop thinking about them. It was then that I decided to give those children blood. I went to the hospital and started donating blood for those children,” the 16-year-old boy, who is now 45, said.

Today, 33 years after the Circus Tragedy, we know that boy as “Blood” Kumar. Everyone calls him by that name.

When someone calls him Balan Kumar, his real name, he is slow to respond.

“The Circus Tragedy changed my life.

It was only after that tragedy I decided to donate blood. Since then, I have donated blood 135 times. From the age of 16, I started attending a lot of blood donation camps. I urged everyone to donate blood. I do not charge money for donating blood. I feel that by donating blood I am at least giving something back to the society. I feel happy doing it,” he said.

Blood Kumar added: “Donating blood has never adversely affected my health.

I leave at least three months’ gap between two donations. Doctors say I am absolutely fit and I will be able to keep donating blood till I am 65. They recommend a three-month gap between two donations because one needs to give the body some time to enhance the quality of hemoglobin.”

Speaking about his impact on Bangalorean society, Kumar said, laughing: “I cannot say whether Bangalore needs a Blood Kumar or not. That is for the people to decide. I feel that society has accepted me as I am.”

Kumar, for the past seven years, has been working as the Public Relation Officer at BGS Global Hospital in Bangalore. Before that, he worked for the Indian Space Research Organization for 21 years.

“I took voluntary retirement from ISRO because I wanted to work for a hospital. My passion to donate blood brought me to BGS,” Kumar said.

Talking about some happy incidents over the years, Kumar said: “In the year 1986, a 20 year-old boy named Muhammad Bhutto had a cardiac arrest and desperately needed blood. I called up a lot of people, including his loved ones, but no one agreed to give blood. I was staying far away from the hospital so I thought it was important to inform people who lived closer.

Finally I went and gave him blood. My heart beat paused for a second when I saw him getting normal again. I donated 350 milliliters of blood to Bhutto.”

Treadmill

Treadmill is a journey of exploring personal memories of the people in Indian towns.

Venue:Ranga Shankara,JP Nagar.

Date: March 19 Time:7:30 PM Onwards

Blood Kumar and his wife donating blood at an event.

He added: “Back in 2012 a 6-year-old girl came to our hospital. She had a hole in her heart. Her parents were not able to donate blood to her and others in the family refused. I still remember the face of the parents when I gave their daughter new life by giving blood. Her parents’ face turned red with happiness.”

Kumar has been married for eight years now. His wife’s name is Mangallan. His eight-year-old daughter Gaganashree, already knows what “blood” means and how important it is to her father. His four-year-old son still has some time before he starts understanding the complexities of the word ‘blood’.

Kumar said: “I organized a blood donation camp at my wedding. It was the first time someone did something like that. I printed on my wedding card that ‘there is a blood donation camp on my wedding, please do attend. I still remember 55 people donated blood at my wedding. This incident even made headlines in BBC.” Blood Kumar is the recipient of many awards, among which the most noticeable one is the Karnataka Rajashthava Award, which is given for doing selfless social service. He was also honored twice by the Governor of Karnataka for

being such a philanthropist.

Kumar said: “I feel the government is trying its best to make people aware of blood donation. Recently they came out with a very good technology called Platelet Pheresis, in which a required component from the blood is taken out and the rest is returned back to the donor. It is amazing but a bit costly. It’s Rs. 10,000 per unit.”

He added that students should take the initiative to arrange blood donation camps and only then will they come to know how many of them are eligible to donate. He also asserted that smoking and drinking hampered one’s capacity to donate blood.

Talking about how funny human behavior can be, he said: “It is weird how people, when they get small cuts and wounds on their fingers quickly put their fingers inside their mouths and think that the blood will get back in the body. It is not the case. Otherwise, instead of giving salines, we could straightaway keep some blood in a jar and make a person who needs blood, drink it.”

“Blood, to me, is life. There is life in every drop of blood. It is sacred,” he said.

Most child sexual abuse cases unreported Tanisha Das Just three percent of children in India who have been subjected to sexual abuse report it to the police, according to a study by Human Rights Watch.

The study reveals that almost all sexual abuse cases go unreported in the country and one of the major reasons behind it is the stigma around it and also because most of the time the assaulter is the victim’s neighbor or uncle.

According to the Human Rights Watch report official crime records are also indicative of how serious a problem this is. In response to the widely reported rape and murder of a 23-year old student in New Delhi in December 2012, the UN resident coordinator in India and the UNICEF representative issued a joint statement calling for better protection of women and girls against sexual violence.

“It is alarming that too many of these cases are children. One in three rape victims is a child.

More than 7,200 children, including infants, are raped every year. Given the stigma attached to rapes, especially when it comes to children, this most likely is only the tip of the iceberg,” said Louis-Georges Arsenault, UNICEF representative to India, said in the report.

According to the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, around eight cases of child molestation are reported in Bangalore every week. “The number of cases that were reported in 2013 is higher than in 2012. Maybe it’s because of the supportive system in society, children feel safer to report these cases now,” said Vishala, committee member of KSCPCR. “A child is almost always molested by a person known to the parents and the child, which makes the child more

vulnerable,” said Dr Shaibya Saldanha, a member of Enfold, an NGO working for child safety in Bangalore.

According to Dr Saldana, most children don’t say anything to their parents because they fear their parents won’t believe them.

“Most parents, when their children come to them complaining about of abuse, turn them down.

They tell their children that they’re not making any sense or that they’re watching too much television. So the children decide not to say anything. We call it the conspiracy of silence,” she added.

“The children when they grow up exhibit risky sexual behavior, eating disorders, drug abuse.

They end up being misused by most people as they think that their bodies are not worth keeping clean,” said Dr Saldanha.

Dr Saldanha, who has been working with Enfold since its inception in 2001, says that she

has seen hundreds of such cases.

“I am dealing with a case right now where a 13-year-old girl was raped by her cousin who is in his twenties. He impregnated her and threatened to kill her if she told anyone about it. To terminate the pregnancy, he gave her some pills. After she took the pills, she started bleeding.

She was taken to hospital and only then she told her parents what had happened and the boy was arrested,” said Dr Saldanha.

“A few years ago, a girl in her twenties came to me in this office. She told me she used to live in a joint family and from the age of eight through 12, she was repeatedly raped by her three uncles. She had never told anything to her parents.

She never reported it to the police. It was the first time she had said anything about the rape to anyone,” said Dr Saldanha.

She added that some teachers in schools assault students on a

regular basis. When the school administration comes to know of it, they don’t say anything to the police for the reputation of the school. “The teacher is either fired or they are transferred to another school, where they start assaulting other students,” added Saldanha.

In India there is no statute of limitation in rape cases but even then only three percent of cases are reported.

On being asked what happens when a person reports rape a few years after it takes place, Nancy, a member of Tulir, an organization working on the prevention and healing of child sexual abuse, said, “If a case is registered even after a week of rape, it is hard to find evidence.

She added, “The court needs evidence to convict a person. So if a person reports a case after ten years, there is no evidence to support it.”

Sankramana

Sanket presents Sankramana, a play in three monologues.

Venue: Ravindra Kalakshetra, JC Road Date: March 19 Time: 7:00 PM Onwards

ART

Songs of Spring

Kynkyny Art Gallery presents to you Songs of Spring a solo show by leading contemporary artist Dhrubajyoti Baral Venue: Kynkyny Art Gallery, Infantry Road Date: March 27

FILM

19th European Union Film Festival-On the Sly

Bangalore International Centre presents to you 19th European Union Film Festival. In a world and in a time not so faraway.

Venue: Bangalore International Centre, Domlur Date: March 19 Time: 6:00 PM Onwards

Observer Team: Editor–Raju Peethla Chief Sub Editor-Shweta Nair Sub Editors– Prutha Bhosle, Sneha Mejari, Suresh Kumar News Editors -Pranay Lakshminarasimhan, Tanisha Das, Gaurav Kumar Picture Editor -Sushmita Sen Design Desk- Sree lakshmy , Saikat Ghosh Emergency calls tracker – Soumya Basu Proof Reader - Rahul Sadhu Reporters– Batch A Email- editor@iijnm.org An IIJNM Publication (For Private Circulation)