The Observer Edition 18

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The Observer An IIJNM publication

Vol. 21, Issue 18

Sex education should also include consent, sexuality, respect for women and family planning | P 3

https://twitter.com/ observer_weekly Epaper: https://issuu.com/ theweeklyobserver/docs Website: http://www. theweeklyobserver.in

Thursday, December 2, 2021

Fire breaks out in a clothing store on Comm Street, no casualties are reported | P 5

If the govt lacks ‘37 years later, nobody cares for info on farmers’ Bhopal gas tragedy victims’ deaths, we will give it: Unions Almost four decades after the Bhopal gas tragedy, one of the world s worst industrial disasters, its survivors are still struggling to get justice and proper compensation.

Simran Sharma of The Observer inter › viewed survivor Nazeem Ahmad, a social worker. Excerpts: Thirty-seven years have passed since the Bhopal gas leak. What memories does this day bring you?

Thousands of bodies were lying around everywhere. This is something I cannot forget. The entire city was devastated. Even today, when I think of that night, I am not able to stop my tears. I remember seeing people running here and there, trying to

Observer interview

Demand cases against farmers be withdrawn

By Arshreet Singh

F

armers’ unions have condemned the Centre’s refusal to pay compensation to the families of farmers who died during the protest.

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Wednesday told Parliament that there is no question of giving compensation as data on 700 farmers who died during the agitation against the three controversial farm Bills is unavailable. The Bills have since been repealed by the goverment.

Sikander Rori, District President of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) told The Observer: “The government is asking for data and we are collecting it. We are in the process of submitting the data, but it is incomplete as of now. It will take some time as farmers from all over Punjab and Haryana joined the protest, and some would go back to their villages only to come back later. We have made committees to collect the data, and farmer’s unions from the states of Punjab and Haryana are helping us too.”

“In-depth data will be provided to the government. Death certifi-

cates, Aadhaar cards, photos, newspaper clippings, social media reports and family’s bank accounts will be provided. District teams, village panchayats and sarpanches will verify the data.

The records we give will be solid,” added further Rori.

BKU, an umbrella body of various farmer organizations, is also asking for Rs. 5 lakh compensation from the Haryana government, while the amount of compensation to ask from the Centre is still being decided.

“We also demand that the gov ernment should take back cases lodged against the farmers. There are 3800 cases against farmers in Haryana alone,” Sikandra Rori informed The Observer.

The Union Government does not have records of the number of cases registered against farmers either, Tomar replied.

Kodihalli Chandrashekar, president of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangh, demanded a compensation of Rs 50 lakh for the farmers who died at the protests “What Narendra Tomar said is not right. The current government’s stand is not good. Electricity bill, MSP guarantee and compensation to the 700 farmers must be given. I demand the government of Karnatka to pay a compensation as well,” Chandrashekar added. ►Continued on Page 4

find their kin. Maut ka saaya tha har jagah (The shadow of death was everywhere).

Hospitals were teeming with people. Graveyards were filled with bodies.

What happened that night?

It was 10 or 10.20 p.m. I had just reached home. As soon as I entered my house, I had a burning sensation in my eyes. I remember asking my mother whether she had burnt some spices. Moments later, my parents started feeling the same. I rushed downstairs and saw everyone running here and there. I saw a policeman what had happened and he replied, Bhaago gas leak ho gayi hai. (Run, there has been a gas leak). My house was just 5 km away from the (Union Carbide) factory. I, along with my parents, ran from that place and went to my cousin’s house, only to find out her father was lying there unconscious. We all left her house and spent the night near a lake. The next day, I went to the factory and saw bodies lying there. My friends and I tried to take out some of the bodies and help the people who were still alive. Even today, people are suffering from var-

The tragedy struck on December 2-3, 1984, killing thousands of people.| Courtesy: Wikipedia ious ailments but no one cares.

Tell us about the ‘37 years-37 questions’ campaign directed at the Members of Parliament and Union government?

We want people to get justice. Some organisations are fighting for it through this campaign. It focuses on providing the sufferers of the tragedy housing and jobs. We were able to provide the widows of people who lost their lives their pension which they had not been getting for the last two years. We want better hospitals. Water near that place is still contaminated, and we have asked the government to take action, but all our efforts have gone in vain. Last month, PM came to Madhya Pradesh. He was sent an invite, but we got no response from him. Tomorrow, these ministers will come and give his condolences, and not turn up for the entire year. ►Continued on Page 4

India’s first omicron cases reported from K’taka

By Anwesha Singh

T

wo cases of Omicron variant have been found in the state. As per the data released by BBMP, one is a 66 year old South African national who left the nation after testing negative while the other is a 46 year old local who has no travel history in the recent times.

“Two people found positive for the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

One person is about a 66-year-old, South African national, who has gone back. Another person is a 46-year-old doctor. He doesn't have any travel history”, said Karnataka health minister K Sudhakar. He also said that total five people in his primary and

secondary contacts have been tested positive. And therefore a total of six people have been isolated and admitted to a government hospital. It should be noted that all the six people were fully vaccinated with the two doses.

Bengaluru civic body Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has also released the details of the two Omicron patients.

According to the details re-

leased by BBMP, the 46 year old male had a total of 13 primary contacts and 205 secondary contacts. Out of them, three primary contacts and two secondary contacts tested positive between November 22nd and November 25th.

The 66 year old male had 24 primary contacts and 240 secondary contacts. All of them are asymptomatic, tested and were reported negative.

WHO had recently discovered the B.1.1.529 strain of Covid-19 which was discovered in South Africa and renamed it Omicron. It has also warned that the variant poses a “very high risk” globally and is uncertain over the contagious nature of the strain. anwesha.s@iijnm.org

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The Observer Thursday, December 2, 2021

Wheels intrude on zebra crossings, citizens find it hard to walk over Vehicles must stop before the line, says law

By Swarali Bodas

P

edestrians in Bengaluru find it difficult to use zebra crossings because vehicles stop on the crossings.

Harshal Dalvi, a Dasarahalli resident, finds it hard to cross roads at junctions as vehicles stop exactly on the crossings. “Sometimes I get late for the office. It is rather inconvenient to walk on the crossing,” he shared.

Niharika NM, another pedestrian, said: “Not every time there is a foot overbridge. Because of a past experience, I am very scared of crossing roads if there’s no zebra crossing,” she informed.

Girdhar Dheke, a tempo driver, reacted violently when a pedestrian, Kirti, asked him to stand behind the zebra crossing at a junction outside Cubbon Park. He refused to move back. When the signal turned green, he drove away in a huff. There was no traffic constable present there. “That is why the driver got away,” Kirti said out of frustration.

Sweety Kaustubh, mother of a 6-month-old, told The Observer that she is scared to cross a road

Covid tracker

Karnataka New Cases

322

Active Cases

6603

Total Cases

2,996,470

New Vaccinations

1,002,389 Total Vaccinations

75,452,240

India New Cases

8,954

Active Cases

99,763

Total Cases

34,606,541

New Vaccinations

19,25,771 Total Vaccinations

1,249,619,515

The paint on roads often gets washed off because of the frequent rain, causing trouble to drivers and pedestrians | Credit: Swarali Bodas when there is no accessible zebra crossing. “I walk with a stroller almost every day. It is scary and inconvenient if I want to cross the road and there’s a car standing on the crossing,” she shared.

The Observer spoke to five autorickshaw drivers. Three of them had no idea about any rule that bans drivers from encroaching zebra crossings. However, the other two said that it is common sense that vehicle drivers should stand behind the crossings.

Manik G, a private cab driver, thinks a wise driver should know all the rules. “As a responsible

driver,I know the rules and hence I stand behind the crossing. I think that all drivers should do the same thing,” he said.

Arun Harchandani, who is a biker, said that he always waits before the line. “As per the rule, not even our bumper tyre should touch the zebra crossing line.

Pedestrians need proper space to cross the road,” he said.

Dinesh T, another biker, said sometimes the zebra crossing line is not clearly visible and “by mistake I stand on it sometimes”.

B.S. Prahallad, chief engineer, road and infrastructure depart-

ment, BBMP, informed The Observer that because of frequent rains, paint has washed off in many places. “After the rain stops, we will repaint it,” he said.

A traffic inspector on Raj Bhavan Road who did not want to be named said that they warn vehicle drivers if they stand on crossings. “We are supposed to collect fines but sometimes we just warn them and tell them to go back.”

Traffic expert M.N. Sreehari explained to The Observer: “Zebra crossings are a necessity at the junctions. The shape of a crossing is very important. Also, the paint should be seen clearly. If it has been washed off, it should be repainted immediately.”

As per the new motor vehicle act, 2019, all the vehicles have to stop right before the zebra crossing on seeing the red light.

On the other hand, pedestrians are advised to stop and ensure that all traffic has stopped before they enter a zebra crossing. If there’s no specific signal for pedestrians, then they should wait for the traffic to slow down and then cross the street.

Strict rules have been introduced to instill discipline among commuters. Under the latest Motor Vehicles Act, two-wheeler or four-wheeler vehicles will be fined for jumping the zebra crossing at traffic signals. swarali.b@iijnm.org

Citizen’s Voice Freedom of speech is a myth in India Over the past week, we have seen how the entire comic industry has almost collapsed, reflecting a sad reality in Indi. In the tug of war between social commentary and politics, it seems freedom of speech has become something we can only find in the Mirror of Erised, far away from our “The One who Must Not Be Named”.

Sriparna Roy

What next for K.L. Rahul after omission by Punjab?

K.L. Rahul not being retained by Punjab Kings is the best thing that could have happened. RCB captaincy looks like the next step for him, although the two new franchises may bid for the righthanded batsman and wicketkeeper. Wherever he goes, he will need the support of a good team.

Snehi Shah

How safe are our high courts for women?

On Tuesday, renowned lawyer Indira Jaising saw a semi-naked man on her screen during court proceedings. The man was identified as another advocate. An incident like this makes us question whether the courts are safe for women. Although the Karnataka HC has served a notice to the alleged offender, it is yet to be seen if any step is taken to prevent such incidents.

Supriya Mehta

As cases of suicide rise, easy access to sleeping pills becomes grave concern

We can’t verify all prescriptions, say pharmacies

By Saumyangi Yadav

S

leeping pills remain easily accessible to Bengalureans despite an increase in the suicides cases by their overdose.

NCRB data for accidental deaths and suicides in India showed that in the year 2020, 882 people committed suicide by consuming sleeping pills, which accounts for 0.6 percent of total suicide cases in India. In 2019, 753 cases of suicide by consuming sleeping pills were reported.

Medical professionals usually avoid prescribing sedatives to patients unless the condition is extremely severe because of the side-effects of these pills.

Dr R.K. Agarwal, a general physician, informed The Observer: “Doctors rarely prescribe strong sedatives to patients. Unless the patient has gone through a major surgery or accident, or is facing severe insomnia, we do not prefer such medications. The reason is that sleeping pills are very addictive. People can easily get

Doctors avoid prescribing hard sedatives to patients as they might get dependent on them | Courtesy: Pexels dependent on that, or suffer from withdrawal symptoms. We do not want to promote that. So even if we do prescribe sleeping pills, we do it for a very short period."

But obtaining sleeping pills isn’t a big deal as people are able to get it from local pharmacies.

Yogesh Tiwari, the manager of a MedPlus store in Banashankari, said: “A lot of customers come to buy sleeping pills and hardly any of them has a proper prescription. But mild sedatives and sleeping aids are in demand, so we do sell them. In addition to that, people can get fake prescriptions easily. We get so many customers in a day; it is hard to verify each and every one

of them seperately.”

Karnataka is one of the top five Indian states with the highest share of suicides for the past three years. In 2020, Karnataka recorded 12,259 suicides, accounting for 8 percent of total cases in the country. The number of suicide-attempt cases is more, but only a few are recorded.

Bheemsen Ghatage, the sub-inspector at the Cubbon Park police station, said: “We get a lot of such cases where people attempt suicide by taking sleeping pills. They are first to be sent to hospital. In most cases, these people recover and then we close the memo. So a lot of these cases are not even recorded in the database.”

Investigation of such cases also does not yield many results.

Ashwini G.A., the sub-inspector at the Ashok Nagar police station, shared: “In these cases, we do conduct investigation to make sure that it is not a murder or a staged suicide. But it is not that easy to track down where these sleeping pills came from.”

Increasing suicide cases are a cause of concern. Several suicide prevention helplines are listed on the Web. However, when The Observer tried to call some of these, none of them answered.

Dr Veena A. Satyanarayana, professor of clinical psychology at NIMHANS, shared: “We cannot generalize this fact as many good services are also available out there; but, yes, these helpdesks need to work better on their maintenance. There is not enough training for the gatekeepers to deal with suicidal people.”

Every year, more than 1 lakh people commit suicide in India.

NCRB collects data on these suicides and accidental deaths from police-recorded cases. However, the real number of suicides and attempted suicides is higher.

‘Family Problems’ and ‘Illness’ were recorded as the major causes of suicides in 2020. saumyangi.y@iijnm.org

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The Observer Thursday, December 2, 2021

Together, women can double India’s GDP: FICCI ladies wing ‘People think women cannot run business’

By Chhavi Vohra

F

ICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) is working further towards women empowerment and entrepreneurship, Ujjwala Singhania, President of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) FLO, told while speaking at the inaugration of the 10th year of its Bengaluru Chapter The FLO aspires for a society where women bring change.

Rasmi Sarita, the Executive Director of FLO told The Observer: “ We work towards bringing women together. People think women are low on skill and they can't be entrepreneurs. If all women work together, we can double the GDP and double the skills. Our organisation is taking various initiatives to shed the inhibitions of women. We have set a 100 percent women owned Entrepreneurship Park in Hyderabad. Most women are not good

FICCI Ladies Organisation has empowered many women entrepreneurs and it aims to continue doing that | Credit: Chhavi Vohra at marketing and we are creating stalls.- There was a large variety new marketing opportunities for of items ranging from earrings, them. The one good thing about household items, jewellery, saCovid-19 was that it pushed us rees, suits and food items.

The Observer also talked to all to go digital. Today we have organized an exhibition, the FLO some of the entrepreneurswho bazaar for all our women entre- were attending the exhibition.

Ritu Mittal, who had a candle preneurs to exhibit their work.

There are 114 members who have stall at the exhibition said: " travelled to be here from all parts FLO has helped me meet many of India and 700 members from new people. I am now quite aware of all that's happening in the enBengaluru, all women."

The exhibition was by FICCI trepreneurial sector.”

Anita Lalwani, who owned a suit Ladies Organisation female entrepreneurs, all having different stall said: "I get new customers

and exposure through FLO's help.

I get to meet a lot of new designers and see their creations. It has been 6 to 7 years that I have been with the FLO bazaar."

Varnika Sangoi, an entrepreneur said: " One of the organizers was my client, so she told me to come to her. The organisation is doing a really good work which they should be very proud of. It is time for women to rule the world.

I own a company which employees women. They make all the pieces in front of me and put their heart and soul into their work. I am very delighted to be a part of this exhibition today.”

Vidya Shah, the managing director of Vimochana, a woman’s NGOsaid: “Women have since long faced a cultural and societal block. They are type casted and told what to do with their life.

They need exposure. There are biases in society that women cannot handle a business. A city like Bengaluru might not face these issues but they are still prevalent in small towns and villages. We need to motivate women, show them the right example. Once that begins, there will be a rippling effect on others.” chhavi.v@iijnm.org

3 Around the city The Central Vista Redevelopment Project, Q&A with Dr. Bimal Patel, Bangalore International Centre, 7, 4th Main Road, Stage 2, Domlur, Friday Dec 3, 6 – 7:30 pm Gaurav Kapoor Live, Standup Comedy, Phoenix Marketcity, Whitefield Main Road, Mahadevpura. Friday Dec 3, 7:30-9 pm Connecting Ideas with Money @Lounge47: Investor Series, Lounge47, 47, Defence Colony, 2nd Main, 1st Cross, Friday Dec 3, 6 pm Asia Jewels - Showcase of Fine Jewellery, Taj M G Road, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Yellappa Garden, Saturday Dec 4 to Monday Dec 6, 10: 30 am to 8 pm Carols in the City, Bangalore International Centre, 7, 4th Main Road, Stage 2, Domlur, Saturday Dec 4, 7-8:30 pm 'Lockdown' Kannada play, Ranga Shankara, 8th Cross Road, R K Colony, 2nd Phase, J. P. Nagar, Saturday Dec 4, 3:30 pm Djembe Live Performance, Indian Folk Band, Karnatka Chitrakala Parishad, Art Complex, 1, Kumarakrupa Road, Seshadripuram, Sunday Dec 5, 5-7 pm Morning Raag with Vishnu R, Jagriti Theatre,, Varthur Road, Near Adarsh Palm Meadows, Whitefield, Sunday Dec 5, 1 pm Panel Discussion in Kannada on Police and the Media, Bharitiya Vidya Bhavan, 43, Race Course Road, Sunday Dec 5, 3:30

Students believe sex ed should be talked about more

Experts regret society prevents open discussion

By Anwesha Singh

S

ince sex education remains a taboo in homes and schools, students seek all such information from their friends and the internet.

Aviral Aggarwal, a mechanical engineering student, said chapters related to sexual reproduction were skipped in his school.

“Our teachers didn’t teach us those chapters saying that ‘there is nothing to teach in this.” They were told to get their doubts cleared once they had finished reading on their own.

“Currently, my younger brother studies in class 10. The same thing happened with him. His teacher taught the chapter, but completed it in just one day which left my brother more confused.

Now, he is clarifying his doubts by asking me certain questions, and even I can’t answer them because I am clueless on certain topics,” Aggarwal added.

Aayush Kumar, a class 8 student, finds it difficult to understand the subject. “We had online classes where the teacher herself didn’t seem comfortable while teaching us the topic. I had some questions to ask but couldn’t. We discussed among ourselves the information we had collected from the Internet.” Even his parents

Most youngsters are not able to differentiate between myths and facts about sex | Credit: Anwesha Singh don’t talk about sex education and this, makes him feel that e should stay away from it.

Youths need to be aware of myths and facts. Their queries should be properly answered, experts say, but Indian culture is such that it prevents people from openly talking about it.

Sneha Roy, an MBBS student, shared: “I remember my teacher telling us about safe sex practices.

It was in our syllabus in class 12. Class 10 had nothing related to safe sex practices, condoms,

etc. All they taught us was primary and secondary characteristics which have no use in life.”

She believes sex education should include all the aspects related to sexual abuse, consent, homosexuality and body image.

Aakriti Nanda, a class 11 biology student, had doubts when she studied chapters on reproduction.

“I had all sorts of questions related to sex, pregnancy, abortions, relationships and other things, but I was not able to ask.”

She went online to find this.

Keerthi K, a software engineer, said it’s difficult for him to teach his child sex education. “I know it’s important to impart such things to children, but they will know all with time. We also came to know about it and nobody talked to us about sex education.”

His wife speaks to their daughter about menstruation; the rest of the things are taught in school.

Meera Kumar, a housewife who has a 15-year-old son, tries to sort out his queries as much as possible. “I believe parents should talk

openly with their child regarding sexual health. I have directed my son to come to me if he has any doubt instead of talking with his friends or surfing the Internet.

My husband hesitates to talk about such things, but I make sure his queries are solved.”

Sakshi Gupta, a biology teacher, said: “I believe sex education is… also about emotional and social well-being and teaching our children how to respond to certain situations which they may encounter. If a girl is being forced into a sexual relationship, she wouldn’t know how to respond.

Similarly,boys should understand the meaning of consent. These things are absent from our curriculum and this is the problem.”

Anshul Girdhar, a psychiatrist, said the upbringing in our society is such that we consider talking about sex education a sin. “Children observe a lot. When they see that their elders, parents or teachers are not comfortable about something, they won't ask because either their queries won't be answered or they will face a backlash,” he further said.

“The Web has opened the door for youngsters to access any f information they want, but they might access wrong information which makes it worse,” he said.

The National Education Policy states that sex education would also be included in secondary school for future judgment surrounding consent, harassment, respect for women, family planning and STD prevention. anwesha.s@iijnm.org

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The Observer Thursday, December 2, 2021

B’lureans know little about Unions say farmers will crypto, are wary of them continue agitation until Say no clear informtion on the subject

By Chhavi Vohra

T

here is a lack of knowledge among people in Bengaluru around the subject of cryptocurrencies and blockchain.

Tanya Sharma, a student from Bengaluru, informed The Observer: “I don't know much about crypto currencies. I cannot comprehend the concept of virtual money. I have tried watching various YouTube videos to understand the math behind cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin but it all went above my head. I am not confident about it and fear losing money due to its financial volatility. I would rather save my money in a bank account.”

The Observer noted most people are afraid to invest in cryptocurrencies.Presha Malhotra, another student, said: “I don't know much about blockchain technology, on which cryptocurrencies are based.

I am scared of investing in them because they are not regulated by any government body. Most cryptocurrencies are controlled by private companies that I know nothing about. What if the system fails and I lose everything? There is no clear information.”

“The government has brought a new rule banning all private crypto companies in the country which will, in turn, give rise to an

Quiz 1.Who was the first Indian to win a Grammy?

2. Who has the most Grammy's under their name?

3. Who won the Oscar for best original score in 2021?

4. What was Freddie Mercury’s real name?

5. Who was the youngest Grammy winner?

6. Who composed the famous song Hotel California?

7. On which show did the famous boy band One Direction form?

8. What was the last song John Lennon play for a paying audience?

9. Who is Spotify’s number one artist currently?

10. Which is the most streamed song on Spotify in 2021?

11. Which British singer songwriter released her album after a six year break?

12.What was the name of the first album of Spice Girls?

13. What is Elvis Presley’s middle name?

14. Who wrote the famous song ‘count on me'?

15. Who won Grammy 2021 for best pop solo?

16. What was the album of the famous band The Beatles?

17.What was Madonna’s first top 10 hit ? ►Answers on page 5

Older generation are suffers even more due to digital divide | Courtesy : Pexels official, RBI authenticated cryptocurrency. Maybe then I will invest in it,” she added.

Some attribute the novelty of cryptocurrencies as reason behind this lack of understanding.

Vansh Sinha, 46, said: “We all fear things that are alien to us. I guess the apprehension will go with time.” The older generation suffers the most owing to the digital divide. Sita Ram, 76, shared: “I don’t have much technological knowledge.

Cryptocurrencies seem technical to me. What if I invest and end up losing all my money due to one click?”

Anand Kumar Aggarwal, who regularly invests in cryptocurrencies, said: “People lack knowledge about the subject. There are a

range of different coins. One cannot comprehend how one Bitcoin can fetch you Rs 50 lakh. It has become something like betting. A luck factor is involved.”

The Economist Intelligence Unit, research and analysis division of the Economist Group, released a new report called "Digimentality 2021”. The study, commissioned by the cryptocurrency platform Crypto.com, contained a survey of 3,053 people conducted from February to March 2021. According to the survey results, 51 percent of the respondents said a lack of knowledge is the main barrier to the adoption of open-source cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH), while 34% of survey participants cited security concerns as the main obstacle, and 29% indicated difficulties in knowing where to buy crypto.

Sidharth Sogani, founder of CREBACO, Credit Rating for Exchanges Blockchain and Coin Offering, who handles a team of professionals and blockchain entrepreneurs who audit projects related to bitcoin, explained: “The Indian audience has an orthodox mindset and are not very open to interventions. Besides, cryptocurrency is an unprecedented technology. Various new sources have ulterior motive of selling their product. The government is also reluctant. Government motivation and regulation can motivate more people to venture into it chhavi.v@iijnm.org Read full report: www.weeklyobserver.com

all the demands are met

►Continued from page 1 ulwant Singh Sidhu, General Secretary of the Jamhoori Kisan Sabha said that a cabinet minister who says the Union Government has no data, should resign from his post. “Post-mortems have been done, FIRs have been lodged.

They (the government) have data about everything, they are clearly lying,” said Sidhu.

Baldev Singh Nihalgarh, General Secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha, said: “32 unions met Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi. We will provide him with the data and get the Punjab government’s stamp on it.

Then the Centre cannot refuse our data.”

Satnam Singh Pannu, president of the Kisan-Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, said that he condemns Tomar’s statement. “What is intelligence doing? The government can spend billions on defense but they can’t prepare records. They should take data from State Governments. FIRs were filed at all local police stations where the farmers died protesting.”

“The Government is insensitive.

Of course they are saying that they don’t have data, as the government will need to pay compensation and provide jobs to the kin.

Most farmers who protested had small land holdings and they need to be compensated,” he added.

The Observer contacted Gur-

K

Citizens unhappy with high auto fares Most prefer travelling by metro or buses

By Simran Sharma

C

ommuters are unhappy over the Karnataka government’s decision to raise autorickshaw fares from December 1.

Susan, a clinical psychology student, informed The Observer: “I… use autos almost every day. It is annoying that drivers charge extra. Sometimes they don’t even use the meter. Raise in fares is going to affect most students….”

Irshad Ansari, not a regular autorickshaw traveller, said: “I feel auto drivers already charge a lot for just 2 km. The increase in fares is a big problem for us. So I prefer travelling by Metro or bus as much as possible.”Many people prefer travelling by bus or Metro.

Padma M, a regular commuter, said: “I usually travel through Metro or by bus because auto drivers charge a lot. The fare rise has added to the problems of commuters. Already everything is expensive.” The increase in

autorickshaw fares will affect people’s budgets.

Kisha, a student, shared that she takes an autorickshaw only when she is running late; otherwise, she prefers travelling by bus or Metro. She avoids taking autorickshaws as far as possible because they charging the commuters more than required.

As per the revised fares, the first 2 km will cost Rs 30, and the perkm charge after that will be Rs 15. The Transport Department stated these new fares would come into effect from December 1.

The Observer talked to a few auto drivers and unions to get the other side of the story.

Shafi Ali, a driver, said Rs 30 is not enough. CNG prices, electricity charges, vegetables are increasing and this becomes a huge problem for them.

Many unions are not happy with the hike; saying it is not enough. Sampath C, general secretary of Aadarsh Sampath auto union, said they have to take care of a lot of expenses and needed more a bigger fare hike. “We welcome this decision but many auto unions are unhappy with it and are still protesting.”

Sheik Khaleel, treasurer of Auto Rickshaw Drivers Union, said

they are not happy with the government's decision. They wanted the base fare to be Rs 40 for the first 2 km and the per-km fare thereafter to be Rs 20. They have filed another memorandum for an increase in fares.

Rangappa Karigar, a Section Officer of the Transport Department, said the fares are the same for everyone. Fuel prices are rising and this is one of the reasons why the fares have been increased by the goverment.

Professor MN Sreehari, the Karnataka Government’s Traffic Adviser and Transport Infrastructure Consultant, said: “Fare decisions should be calculated scientifically. This increase is helping auto drivers to make extra profits, and this has a cascading effect. This is not good for the commuters as they will be paying more than required.”

The last fare revision was effected in 2013. Since then, the unions have been requesting the government to revise fares. A report in The Times of India said some drivers charged revised fares prices for some weeks before the increase in fares. Some drivers fear the fare hike will keep passengers away. simran.s@iijnm.org

nam Singh, 50, whose father passed away protesting at Singhu Border back in July. He said that he trusts the farm unions to fight for compensation, and will accept whatever they negotiate with the government.

“Repeal of the three laws is a win for the farmers, but our agitation is not over yet. The protest will go on until our demands are met. We are sitting right here,” said Pannu Chamaras Mali Patil, President of KRRS, said that the central government is not concerned about farmers. "The government needs to collect data from the farm unions present at the protest. But still they are not interested in giving compensation as they are not concerned about the farmers of the country," informed Mali Patil.

"Karnataka has unfortunately already implemented the three anti-farmer laws. The APMC Act, Land Reform Act and Cow slaughter Act," he added.

Shri Shaji R. NAir, president of BJP Kisan Morcha refused to comment on this issue.

Farm unions say that they will continue the agitation until all their demands are met, which include: a time-bound committee for MSP, repeal of amendments to the Electricity Amendment Bill 2020, compensation and jobs to the kin of farmers who died, cases against farmers to be dropped and a solution to stubble burning. arshreet.s@iijnm.org

‘Will keep trying if the govt doesn’t listen to us’ ►Continued from page 1 What compensations has the government provided to the survivors till now, and what in your opinion will be the future of this campaign you started ?

The government did provide compensation to some affected people, but not all of them recieved it.

Madhya Pradesh government is not giving the right statistics of the people who died or were badly affected in the accident.Because of this, no decision has been taken in the Supreme Court regarding the pending cases.

We have been fighting for so long now.In Delhi, six ladies went on hunger strike and the government told us that they will listen to us, but then nothing happened.

We hope the government will give us a good response this time. If they don’t, we will try again. simran.s@iijnm.org

CITY

5

Fire breaks out in Regularisation of 300 Comm St store, no bldgs is first of many: casualties reported Justice Chandrashekar

By Kashish Sharma

By Anwesha Singh

A

fire broke out at a clothes store on Commercial street, central Bengaluru.

The police said a short-circuit seems to be the cause, “but they need to identify what lead to it”.

“We were called around 1010.30. On our arrival, we saw smoke coming out. It took us 1.5 to 2 hours to put off the fire. Two fire extinguishing vans came from directions,” said an official of the Karnataka State Fire and Emergency Services department.

Smoke was seen coming out of the first floor of the showroom, said the owners the nearby shops.

“We immediately reached the store when we got to know about the fire. It wasn’t actually a fire but a lot of smoke was coming out. We immediately called the fire services,” said Mayank Rohtagi, secretary at the Bangalore Commercial Association.

The Observer noticed distressed employees standing outside the showroom as the owner spoke with fire services personnel and other shop owners.

“It was 9.30 or 10 in the morning when we noticed smoke coming out from the first floor. There was a short-circuit. All our kurtapyjamas were destroyed. However no one was physically hurt,”

A

The showroom put up a sign saying ’The store will remain closed today’ | Credit: Kashish Sharma informed Kaleem, who is an employee at the showroom.

The son of the showroom’s owner told The Observer: “The situation looked much bigger than it actually was. There was more smoke than fire. Things got panicky, but it wasn't that bad. The situation is under control now.”

The fire tenders found it difficult to enter the narrow streets, said an employee at a nearby store in commerical street. kashish.s@iijnm.org

ll the buildings, whether legal or illegal, are safe if the people have come forward and registered them, said Justice A.V. Chandrashekhar while addressing a press conference on Thursday.

The press conference was held over the Supreme Court’s order to the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) to regularise the 300 buildings built in the area notified for formation of the Shivaram Karanth Layout.

He said that the decision has been taken to protect the people's fundamental rights. He further clarified that they are willing to provide any other information about the decision taken by the Supreme Court. "This decision, in my belief, is the first of many; just the trailer" On the matter of why just 300 out of more than 6000 applications have been regularised, he said that till now, they have scrutinised 1400 houses so far via online methods. The applications will be cleared as soon as the examination is done. "We have told the BDA to examine it but that takes time", he added further. He informed that the scrutinising process of the remaining houses has already begun and the people who have

registered will be notified on their mobile phones about the registration certificate by today evening or maximum by tomorrow.

A press conference will be held again on Wednesday, December 15, 2021 on the same.

When asked whether the owners of illegal houses have to pay, he clarified that the people might have to pay but how much, that hasn’t been decided. "That is the work of the BDA Chairman and the BDA committee.There are also provisions for them (affected people) to challenge this in court.

All this will happen legally" "After going through the report and the recommendations, the honourable Supreme Court has accepted the reports submitted on November 12, 2021 and has directed BDA to regularise all the 300 buildings and to issue regularisation certificate within four weeks from November 25, 2021 onwards. The process is going on and we will be holding a meeting to finalise the mechanism for issuing those regularising certificates," Justice Chandrashekhar told The Observer on Thursday.

Justice A.V. Chandrashekhar is the chairperson of the committee and the Supreme Court’s order is also based on the recommendations of his committee. anwesha.s@iijnm.org

Construction workers in Bengaluru stage agitation against poor welfare measures

Demand better labour laws and welfare schemes

By Ayndrila Banerjee

T

he Construction Workers Federation of India (CWFI) held a protest at Mysore Bank circle near Chickpete on Thursday. The organisation demanded the labour rights in India to be strengthened.

“Today and tomorrow, we have national agitation day. All contruction workers are on the streets today,” said Mahantesh, National Secretary of CWFI. He spoke about the demands that CWFI would like the government to fulfill. Last year, the central government codified 29 labour laws into 4 codes to provide workers with higher security, health and welfare measures. Mahantesh said that CWFI wants all labour laws to be restored to their previous form.

"We also want The Building and Other Workers' Welfare Cess Act of 1996 to be reinstated."

K.Harish Shetty, a member of the organisation mentioned some of the grievances faced by con-

CWFI protestors demanded The Building and Other Workers' Welfare Cess Act, 1996, be reinstated | Credit: Ayndrila Banerjee struction workers. He said, "The government has stopped issuing bus passes, the worker's pension scheme is not provided and there is no specific financial help provided to the families of workers who have died on duty. " During the second wave of covid, Karnataka government had announced that it will credit Rs 3000 to construction workers through direct cash transfers. Re-

garding this, Pratiban, district Vice president said: "The government had promised to give our workers Rs 3000. However, many workers still haven't received the cash assistance." A recent notification by Karnataka Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board said that 90% of the beneficiaries have received the amount and that the remaining 10% beneficiaries don't have

their bank accounts linked to the Aadhar card, hence these people will not be granted subsidies under the scheme.

Apart from financial issues faced by the workers, Chandrashekar D, the Bengaluru south district president, highlighted the issues of women construction workers. He said: "Women particularly face difficulty in this industry. With no toilet facilities as well as unequal pay, these women have to struggle everyday on field."

Mahantesh said that the organisation is also disgruntled about the increasing GST slabs.

The Observer talked to an economics professor, Sampath V Sambasivan, who shared his opinion on the protest. He said: "GST revision is happening at a time when the overall economy is ailing under the after effects of the lockdown. The working class in India has been badly hit as a result of the3 lockdown. Studies have brought to light the depletion of savings and rising indebtedness amongst working classes.

The protest of the workers needs to be seen in this context."

The organisation will hold another protest on 3rd December near Karmika Bhavan. ayndrila.b@iijnm.org

This day that year On this day in 1984, chemical, methyl isocyanate spilt out from Union Carbide India Ltd’s pesticide factory and turned the city of Bhopal into a colossal gas chamber. It was India's first major industrial disaster. At least 30 tonnes of methyl isocyanate gas killed more than 15,000 people and affected over 600,000 workers.

Quote of the day “War is what happens when language fails.” ― Margaret Atwood

Weather Max temperature:26° C Min temperature: 18° C Precipitation: 20% Humidity: 68% Wind Speed: 5 km/hr UV Index: Low, 1

Quiz Answers 1. Ravi Shankar 2. Sir Solti 3. Soul 4. Farrokh Bulsara 5. LeAnn Rimes 6. Eagles 7. X Factor 8. I saw her standing there 9. Ed Sheeran 10. Driver’s licence 11. Adele 12. Spice 13. Aaron 14. Bruno Mars 15. Harry Styles 16. Please please me 17. Holiday

The Observer Thursday, December 2, 2021

Team Observer Editor: Swarali Bodas Reporters: Anwesha Singh, Ayndrila Banerjee, Arshreet Singh, Chhavi Vohra, Kashish Sharma, Saumyangi Yadav, Swarali Bodas, Simran Sharma Copyeditors: Saumyangi Yadav, Shristi Achar A, Swarali Bodas, Tina Freese, Anwesha Singh, Chhavi Vohra, Ayndrila Banerjee Page Layout: Saumyangi Yadav, Tina Freese, Simran Sharma, Shristi Achar A Photo Editors: Saumyangi Yadav, Tina Freese, Simran Sharma, Shristi Achar A Supplement: Arshreet Singh

6

Technology Trillion-Dollar Algorithms

The Observer Thursday, December 2, 2021

SUPPLEMENT

Smartphone and social media’s addictive nature have personal and societal implications, writes Arshreet Singh

T

he average Indian spends about seven hours a day looking at the smartphone screen, according to a study conducted by CMR University, Bengaluru. Another report by App Annie puts the time at 4.6 hours, ranking India third behind Indonesia and Brazil in time spent on a device. These are startling numbers. The only other activity we all apparently spend more time on is sleeping.

Shanglio Sun, who holds two master’s degrees in fields related to India, published a report in Statista projecting over 700 million smartphone users in India.

Another report by techARC puts the number at a modest 500 million users, only behind China.

Smartphones are arguably the greatest invention of the 21st century. It is a computer, million times more powerful than the Apollo Guidance Computer — the computer that sent humans to the moon in 1969; inside a pants’ pocket. The benefits are limitless: the world’ knowledge in the palm of the hand, instant communication with anyone, a better camera than camcorders from half a decade ago, GPS, games, and a whole world of entertainment.

And the list isn’t exhaustive. Applications on the smartphone, a $155 billion market in 2019, enable a host of services from cabs, food, groceries and many other services at the doorstep.

Utkarsh Duggal, a student of economics in Hyderabad, was shocked to see his day’s usage on the Screen Time app on his iPhone. “10 hours! I had no idea,” he said. “Most used are YouTube and Instagram,” he added.

According to the study by App Annie, apps with the highest screen-on time in India were WhatsApp, Instagram, MX Takatak and MX Player, followed by streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime.

While no one is negating the benefits of a smartphone, the numbers still beg the question: What is so enticing about a smartphone screen that humans spend hours looking at it on the apps?

Tristan Harris, who featured on Netflix’s ‘Social Dilemma' and the

The algorithms are designed in such a manner that one is addicted to the posts that are shown, sending constant recommendations based on what we browse. This is no different than being addicted to drugs or other substances say multiple studies. | Courtesy: Pexels.com founder of Centre for Humane Technology, explained the phenomenon of excessive smartphone usage on a podcast with Joe Rogan. “E.O Wilson, the sociobiologist, defined what the problem statement for humanity is. ‘The fundamental problem with humanity is that we have palaeolithic brains (easy to hack), we have medieval institutions (governments that fail to see the latest tech, be it railroads, social media or artificial intelligence) and then we have God-like technology.’ And then you add to that the business model of social media, ‘How do I get that attention at all costs,’” he said.

“I (social media companies) don’t just want to show you any news.

I want to show you the most viral, engaging and argumentative news. That is like pointing a trillion dollar market cap AI at your brain and showing you the next perfect ‘boogeyman’ for your nervous system. The ‘thing’ that extracts maximum emotion, and then repeat the process over and over for maximum engagement,” Tristan Harris added.

Anushka Jain, who works for the Internet Freedom Foundation in Bengaluru, agreed with Harris. “The issue here is that a private company’s main motive is profit. The more time you spend on an app, the more profit the companies make,” she said.

A 2018 study by Trevor Haynes for The Harvard University, titled “Dopamine, Smartphones & You: A battle for your time” says that because most social media platforms are free, they rely on revenue from advertisers to make a profit. In order to make more profit, these platforms need to keep you on the app longer. They do that by hacking the brain’s dopamine driven desire for social validation, and optimize the balance of positive and negative feedback until we become habitual users of these apps.

Social media works in similar ways to a slot-machine. If we perceive that a reward will be delivered at random, and the cost of checking for that reward is minimal, we will end up checking habitually (like gambling addiction).We check our phones at the slightest hint of boredom.

People who have lost their phone’s can attest to the panic that sets in until it is found. This is not very different from when a habitual substance abuser loses his or her stash of drugs.

A report by Vox three years ago said that our devices are designed to keep us engaged and are intentionally addicting.

Many of these design features are subtle. TikTok, a Chinese app with over a billion users, first came up with a design feature powered by AI, that has been

adopted by most social media apps today: the AI powered infinite scroll. A never ending feed, where a trillion dollar algorithm always shows the next best thing.

The algorithm assesses what the user spent the highest amount of time watching, be it cats, people lip-syncing and dancing, cars or soft-porn — whatever peaks their interest, before they scroll on to the next video. The algorithm then collates this data to perfect it to only show the most engaging videos — the ones that are most likely to increase screen-on time.

Duggal said that he has caught himself scrolling mindlessly several times now. “I think to myself ‘one last story’ and before I know half an hour has passed,” he said.

The original infinite scroll was invented in 2010, long before TikTok, with the purpose of letting users enjoy a ‘frictionless browsing experience’ giving rise to the involuntary upward swipe.

Another subtle feature social media apps use is the swipe down to refresh. Taken shamelessly from a slot machine;every time a user swipes down, fresh content is displayed for his or her sweet addiction or topic of interest.

Smartphone operating systems, after facing flak for apps’ business models on their platforms, now include an app that monitors screen-on time and helps put time limits on various apps.

Anushka Jain does not think these steps are enough. “When these apps are developed, governments and civil societies need to have a stake in their development. Civil societies are usually the first to interfere and come up with solutions, but it is the government’s job to protect us.”

“Creating addictive algorithms should not be allowed,” she said.

One particular country has taken drastic measures to curb addiction of smartphones, especially among the youth. China, according to a report by BBC, has set a daily limit on Douyin (China’s version of TikTok) for users under the age of 14. They are allowed to access the app between 6 am to 11 pm. The Chinese government also promotes educational content, such as science experiments and historical explainers on the app. On top of that, most of the apps now get a reminder every few minutes along the lines of “Hey, you’ve been scrolling mindlessly for the past 15 minutes. Maybe get up and do something else?”

Anushka, however, wouldn’t like such “draconian” measures to be implemented in India. “I don’t think this should be done. We must have freedom of thought and expression,” she said. “Government shouldn’t intervene,” she added, this time around.

The solution to algorithms hacking brains lies in government intervention.

Social media, however, has already been out for more than a decade and a half now and no major intervention has been taken, apart from the single case of China. And some corporations like Google, Facebook and ByteDance have market caps larger than the GDPs of most countries in the world, let alone most governments. With rapidly advancing artificial intelligence, social media is bound to have an ever increasing control on our collective brains. Effects of this can already be seen in the extreme polarisation in societies around the world, all caused thanks to the algorithm induced echo-chambers among us. arshreet.s@iijnm.org