The Observer - Issue 7

Volume 15 | Issue 7

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

New fire service recruits axed as Home Ministry blames a‘technical glitch’

BRIEFS Taken for a ride: cab firms fail to resolve complaints

Oindrilla Sarkar

Despite an increase in online complaints against Ola and TaxiForSure, less than three percent of cases are resolved.

A

lmost 2000 new recruits to Karnataka’s fire service were told this week they no longer have jobs.

The state Home Ministry blamed “a technical glitch” after a recruitment drive for the beleaguered service was put on hold. Karnataka State Fire & Rescue Service is currently facing a severe staffing crisis, according to new data.

The Karnataka fire department recruited 1,859 people only to issue cancellation letters to all of them in the past two days. The placements were meant to fill a significant shortage in manpower, we can reveal. The service is struggling to cope with a lack of manpower, equipment and training, according to state and national norms.The fire service has a deficit of 87 fire station officers, 1324 firemen, 352 fire office drivers and 97 driver mechanics, according to the Central Fire Advisory Council. The sanctioned strength of the department is 6,448 personnel.

There are 20 fire stations in Bangalore city. Between them they are supposed to cover all 198 BBMP wards. It is an area of 709.34 square kilometres with a population of over 10 million. The department is also short of vital equipment and vehicles.

Page 2 Spike in threats to writers after Kalburgi murder, claim protesters.

Fire men gathered outside the fire station There are 15,951 high rise buildings in Bangalore, according to the municipal corporation, but the Karnataka State Fire & Rescue Service has just two aerial ladders.

The required number of high pressure pumps is 20, but again, only two are available.

Karnataka also lags far behind Delhi and Andhra Pradesh in staffing levels and training. The Home Ministry refused to comment further on why the new recruits had been sent letters telling them their jobs were no longer available.

Funding for the service

Karnataka State Fire and Rescue Service

has increased dramatically in the past five years, to almost Rs 200 crore last year, but the funding has not been used to fill posts.

One fire station covers ten square kilometres. Based on average speeds in various zones and response times, the total number of fire stations required in Bangalore has been set at 79 - which still leaves Bangalore 59 fire stations short, according to the Standing Fire Advisory Committe’s (SFAC).

Cheryl Rebello is the coordinator of Janaagraha , a civil rights NGO in Bangalore.

Picture credit : KSFES

She said, “There is a huge gap in the accountability mechanism of the KSFES who are supposed to be the primary responders of emergencies in Bangalore.” She added: “If you look at training, the fact that knowledge of computers is not being given much importance is surprising. The training imparted needs to be more transparent.”

Arun Nayak , a fireman in the South Fire Station, Bangalore, said, “There are only 12 men in a shift and there are three shifts in a day.”

Areas such as MG Road ,Brigade Road, Church Street and many other high risk areas of Bangalore fall under the jurisdiction of South Fire Station. Ravi Shankar, Regional Fire Officer at the station, when asked about staffing levels, said: “Ours is an efficient force, I’m sure we will be able to rise to the occasion."

Kathyayini Chamraj , Executive Trustee for the Citizen’s Voluntary Initiative for the City, (CIVIC) said: “It is really very surprising that the KSFES, which is benefitting from funds, has not been able to buy state of the art equipment and infrastructure.

They’ve also failed to add more recruits.” (continued on page 3)

“The writers and poets are getting threatening calls with an alarming intensity. Writers in Karnataka are feeling more unsafe than ever while these extremists have gotten bolder.”

Page 2

Bloody cotton swabs and used syringes a danger to residents Healthcare centres are dumping biomedical waste in residential areas, according to residents of RT Nagar.

Page 3

Builder flexes muscles over lane access row Residents in a residential layout have accused a national construction company of threats and abuse in an access row over their private lane.

Page 4

2 THE OBSERVER

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Spike in threats to writers after Kalburgi murder, claim protesters

“

The writers and poets are getting threatening calls with an alarming intensity.

Writers in Karnataka are feeling more unsafe than ever while these extremists have gotten bolder.”

Nagalekha, president of Dalit Janasena Sangathan, a Dalit group concerned about freedom of expression, organised a protest Tuesday in an effort to force Bangalore’s police service to fast track the investigation into the brutal murder of one of the state’s most respected writers. The group demanded a CBI probe into his killing.

M.M Kalburgi was shot on the doorstep of his home in Dharwad. He was shot at point-blank range.

It is almost a month since the murder and the protesters claim the police have no leads.

He was a noted academic in Kannada and was awarded the National Sahitya Academy Award in 2006 for ‘Marga 4’.

He had many run ins with ‘hindutva’ activists.

There have been a spate of attacks on rationalists in the recent past.

Nagalekha said: “The government has failed to make progress in this case. It has

“

The government has failed to make progress in this case.

“

Rishi Sabharwal

-Nagalekha, president of Dalit Janasena Sangathan

been three weeks since the murder took place.

“The writers and poets are getting threatening calls with an alarming intensity. Writers in Karnataka are feeling more unsafe than ever, while the extremists have gotten bolder.”

The Chief Minister of Karnataka , Siddaramaiah, has announced a reward of Rs.5 lakh for any information that would help identify the culprits.

The announcement came after a delegation of writers and rationalists called on the Chief Minister demanding he speed up the investigation in the case.

The Dalit Janasena Sangha staged the protest at the Bengaluru town hall today. They have been demanding a CBI inquiry.

Commissioner of Police, Ravindra Prasad, said that a special team, headed by an Assistant Commissioner of Police and comprising five in-

spectors, had been formed to investigate the case but there haven’t been any arrests so far.

Prof. Kalburgi had been receiving death threats before his murder. Far right group Sri Ram Sene chief, Pramod Muthalik, demanded that people stop blaming his organisation for the murder.

Siddalinga Swami, the state convenor of Sene, on Tuesday threatened to cut off the tongue of writers who dared to “insult” Hindu Gods.

Nikhil Wagle, a journalist also received death threats.

Dalit Janasena protests at Townhall

Dalit Janasena Sangathan protests at Townhall

Taken for a ride: cab firms fail to resolve complaints Parvathi Benu

D

espite an increase in online complaints against Ola and TaxiForSure, less than three percent of cases are resolved.

Out of the 835 complaints registered against Ola in the Indian Consumer Complaints Forum- www.consumercomplaints.in, only nine have been resolved. Of the 414 complaints against TaxiForSure, only 16 were resolved.

Many customers have posted about cab and auto drivers charging extra money and misbehaving with them.

The website administrators say that even though they have contacted the companies, they are quite slow in resolving issues.

“Booked a cab last evening from MG Road to Yeshwanthpur and received an SMS from driver Ravish-9620222451 and cab KA-02-AD4264. After waiting for 15 minutes I received another SMS, which said,

Picture credit: Tanay Sukumar

An Ola cab in the city ‘Thank you for your trip’. When I called that driver, he denied and spoke in unwarranted language and said that he is not the right one and my trip is cancelled.

“I called customer care and they said they will check with driver and inform, but nothing happened,” according to one online complainant. On contacting the driver, he said that

he had no knowledge of it.

In another disturbing case, an auto driver entered a woman’s home and refused to leave until he was paid.

“My friend and I booked an Ola auto on 19th night. The driver was driving too fast and we missed an accident by a few inches. When we asked him to drive slowly, he started shouting.

“When we reached home he continued to misbehave and even entered our house at 11:15 in the night. He said that he'll stay at our house and will go only in the morning. Even after paying the money, he was not ready to go,” said Richa Pradhan.

But the driver, Naveen Kumar, denied the claims.

“After 9 at night, autos in the

city will charge 1.5 times the fare. These women were not ready to pay it. We got into an argument. I’m uneducated and do not know how to file a complaint like they do,” he said.

“The women dared me to get inside the house which resulted in an argument when I did so. In the end, I ended up not being paid the right fare.”

“The promo offers by the company do not work and more money has been debited from my account. I contacted Ola many times, but no action was taken,” wrote Manoj Mishra, a resident of Bellandur.

Abhishek Jamar, who booked a cab for his female friend from AnandRao Circle, said that the driver misbehaved with her. In his complaint he also said that the driver threatened her and told her to get out of the car.

Many unhappy customers are raising their voices through social media and other websites too.

Neither company would comment. Ola acquired TaxiForSure earlier this year.

Tuesday, September 22, 2015 3

THE OBSERVER

Bloody cotton swabs and used syringes a danger to residents Aparajita Khandelwal Healthcare centres are dumping biomedical waste in residential areas, according to residents of R T Nagar.

A pile of waste was found in front of Servevolution System Pvt Ltd. It consisted of used syringes, soiled cotton, masks, and several pairs of surgical gloves. However, the source of the waste could not be identified.

Suresh Kuppa, a resident of R T Nagar, has complained to the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board about the issue.

“Poornima Hospital dumps its biomedical waste on the road and has tie ups with the local garbage contractor to collect the waste” said K. Suresh, who lives with his family in R T Nagar, HMT layout.

“The waste is dumped on the road and stray dogs tear away the garbage bags and there is nobody to monitor this issue.

BBMP health officer visited the hospital, but nothing came out of it. The hospital falls under Ward 33 and the rest of the locality falls under Ward 20.

“Corporators of both wards shirk away from the responsibility. The hospital does not have a garbage segregation unit, which is mandatory. The area has also seen a rise in dengue cases.” he added.

Another resident confirmed that the hospitals and clinics in the area are dumping used gloves and syringes, and other kinds of biomedical waste.

Apart from Poornima Hospital, there is Chaitanya Hospital, Chethana Medicals and General stores, Sunshine Dental Care, and a women’s’ specialist clinic .There are also three schools in close vicinity to these health centres.

A spokesperson for one of the hospitals, who declined to be named, said, “We have to bribe the BBMP with Rs.5000 to collect our dry waste.”

A spokesman for the BBMP said they would investigate the hospital spokesman's claims.

T.Vidyadhar, president of V V Nagar Welfare Association, said he is aware about the complaint filed against Poornima Hospital.

“I visited the hospital and they told me that they have a separate vehicle to pick up the biomedical waste generated.These hospitals and clinics just want to avoid the cost of biomedical waste disposal and dispose it carelessly.

They throw the waste early morning, so it is difficult to identify the culprit”, he added.

Karnataka State Pollution Control Board spokesperson said, that they will look into it and inspect the area.

FACT BOX

According to the Biomedical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules 1998, hospitals, nursing homes and clinics must segregate the waste and hand it over to the Common Biomedical Waste Treatment Facility.

According to research done by the Health Care Waste Management Cell, M S Ramaiah Medical College, approximately 40 tonnes of BMW is generated every day. The efficiency of source segregation varies from 40-85%.

Negligence and untrained healthcare professionals are the primary cause of irresponsible bio medical waste disposal. To take care of this, HCWMC conducts training sessions for healthcare personnel on responsible BMW disposal The Karnataka Private Medical Establishments Act, 2007 requires registration of private medical establishments which at some level tries to curb irresponsible disposal of BMW. Dr T.Hemanth, Director of HCWMC said, “The situation has improved a lot over a period of time and maximum number of hospitals are affiliated to one of the three Common Biomedical Waste Treatment Facility in the city: Ramky, Maridi and Anu Autoclaves.”

Garbage bags infront of Poornima Hospital picture credit-Suresh Kuppa

Fire service axes new recruits – Home Ministry blames ‘technical glitch’ (continued

1. Biomedical wastes include a wide variety of items that may carry disease-causing germs including those that cause hepatitis and the virus that causes AIDS. Biomedical waste consists of: > Human anatomical waste like tissues, organs and body parts > Animal wastes generated during research from veterinary hospitals > Microbiology and biotechnology wastes > Waste sharps like hypodermic needles, syringes, scalpels and broken glass > Discarded medicines and cytotoxic drugs > Soiled waste such as dressing, bandages, plaster casts, material contaminated with blood, tubes and catheters > Liquid waste from any of the infected areas > Incineration ash and other chemical wastes The biomedical waste (BMW) management requires its categorisation as a first step.

2. Segregation reduces the amount of waste needs special handling and treatment.Effective segregation process prevents the mixture of medical waste like sharps with the general municipal waste.

3. Because laboratories, hospitals, and medical clinics generate much of this waste, these facilities are required by law to follow procedures to protect the public from contact with this waste.

4. Biomedical waste can also be created in homes and businesses so it is important for everyone to know about safe handling of this type of waste.

5. Biomedical waste, excluding sharps, should be disposed in leak-proof plastic bags strong enough to prevent ripping, tearing, breaking. Biomedical waste that is held in plastic bags should additionally be placed in another leak-proof container such as disposable or reusable pails, drums, or bins during storage or transport.

Blood soaked cotton and used syringes seen in RT Nagar

from page 1)

“What is required is 450 hours for physical drills, fire rescue and squad drills as per Fire Risk and Hazard Analysis in the country.

The R.A Mundkur Fire Training Academy, Bangalore, which offers a six month course, is unable to devote the hours required,” said, H.S Revanna , Deputy inspector General (DIG) of the Fire D e p a r t m e n t .

He refused to comment on cancellation of recruitment saying only that it is a technical problem.

Katyayani Chamraj added: “The fire department should finish their audits on time - they take years to complete them.”

She said that her experience with civic issues in Bangalore over the years has acquainted her with how state bodies like the BBMP, Bangalore Development Authority and KSFES work.

“They should be hauled up in the wake of an incident with heavy casualties for giving occupancy certificates to high rises without a fire escape.

H.S Revanna, DIG Fire Services They seem to be quite unsyst e m a t i c .

The KSFES is outdated and is in dire need of modernization.”

The Director General (DGP) of the Fire Department, M.N. Reddy, portrays a rosy picture on social media. His tweet on September 19 reads, “10% trg(TRAINING) Reserve for fire fighters: Better fire and rescue skills. Better preparedness. All firemen get trained for 1 month in a year, every year.”

The Karnataka Fire Depart-

ment twitter handle also boasts of the fires they’ve put out and the medals they’ve received.

No mention was made of the recruitment cancellation.

On the same day the DGP wrote on Twitter, “Historic step by us for maintaining high level of professionalism, physical fitness and mental alertness in fire fighters,” the new recruits to his service received their letters stating they no longer had jobs.

4 THE OBSERVER

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Builder flexes muscles over lane access row

R

esidents in a residential layout have accused a national construction company of threats and abuse in an access row over their private lane.

Godrej Woodsmen Estate, which began construction of its villas in 2010, has been using the 11ft road of Pampa Layout to transport its labourers and raw materials for the past year, according to the residents.

“The constant movement of men and big trucks has resulted in damage to properties,” said Jyothi Diveesh, who has been staying in Kargil Lane for the past seven years.

“The speeding two wheelers and men wandering around late is making the place unsafe,” she added. Another resident, Varghese, said, “Each time my children step out to play, I have to stand on the balcony looking out for them.”

M R Venkateshwaran, a retired RBI manager, said that his house is affected the most as it is at the end of the lane

where the back entrance to the new villas project has been made.

However, according to the plan put by the company in their official web portal, only one entry has been specified, at the front.

The company has dismissed the claims of property damage and safety concerns, in a letter to the Joint Commissioner, BBMP and the BDA. “As our project Godrej- 17 is concerned, it was started in the year 2010, with major structural works already completed in 2012-2013, therefore your allegation that this road is being used for transporting of materials and use heavy vehicles is baseless,” the letter states.

They have also claimed the lane to be public land.

Venkateshwaran said, “Even though the lane falls under BBMP, the cost of maintenance has been borne by the residents. I personally spent Rs 30, 000 on setting street lamps. The cold response from the builder has forced us to take action to stop the move-

“

The speeding two wheelers and men wandering around late is making the place unsafe

“

Akshaya NA

- Jyothi Diveesh, who has lived in Kargil Lane for past seven years ment of labourers. We stood in front of the lane and blocked the entrance” When the construction was obstructed by the residents who barred the labourers from entering the lane, the company officials, BBMP leaders along with Amruthahalli police personnel threatened us with dire consequences,” he added.

The mounting pressure from all quarters has forced the

residents to consider moving out or to construct a gate against the authorities’ will.

Both Amruthahalli Police and BBMP officials did not respond.

When residents decided to file an FIR against the builders, police officers at the local station at first refused to take it then visited the apartments to tell them to withdraw it, according to several residents.

Tweets of the day @WVIndia Over 160 million children under 6 are stunted, meaning that their height is inadequate for their age #StopatNothing @cnnbrk Ex-Army captain says he and colleague were relieved of duty after confronting Afghan commander who abused boy. http://cnn.it/1KrPGI4 @EconomicTimes #Bengaluru first Indian city to get Uber car-pool service http://ow.ly/SvqCJ @TheDeccanHerald Delhi HC declines anticipatory bail to AAP MLA Somnath Bharti in a case of domestic violence and attempt to murder lodged by his wife. @IndiaToday National-level shooter shot dead in Chandigarh http://indiatoday.intoday.in/stor y/national-level-shooter-sippysidhu-shot-dead-in-chandigarh/1/479725.html … @BloreConnect The BBMP has promised, yet again, to make the city ‘pothole free’ by October-end : http://thne.ws/1iu4ufB @EconomicTimes BSP Chief #Mayawati criticises RSS on reservation, says BJP and RSS's ideology has always been communal @timesofindia .@narendramodi to meet over three dozen global CEOs in NY http://toi.in/fvg6Wb @TimesNow Our govt supports the freedom of social media. We are proud of the steps taken by our govt to promote it: Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad

Heavy vehicles carrying goods plying on Pampa layout

@guardian Refugee crisis: EU ministers to discuss binding quotas live updates http://trib.al/ZEpy4HZ

THE OBSERVER Editor: Oindrila Sarkar | News Editor:Ankita Sil | Chief Sub-Editor: Irien Joseph Picture Editor: Laxmi Narayani | Sub-Editors: Aditi Mallick, Maqsood Ahmed Maniyar , Matthew Joy Matthew Reporters:Akshaya NA, Aparajita Khandelwal | Design and Layout: Parvathi Benu