The Observer An IIJNM Publication
Our main motive is to defeat BJP in the Lok Sabha elections, says former CM | P2
Vol 18 Issue 23
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
Ongoing US-China trade war may benefit exporters from India | P3
Bengalureans are cold to Community no bar, all have a blast on Holi Half Bucket Challenge Say such actions will not help conserve water
Yohanjali R
R
esidents of Bengaluru appear cold to the Half Bucket Challenge initiated by Bengaluru Apartments Federation (BAF) to conserve water this summer. Anantha S, who lives in Gopalan Olympia apartments, Kumbalgodu, informed The Observer: “How can a person manage with half a bucket of water to bathe? It’s insane that BAF expects us to follow such challenges. Water crisis is a global problem. What change will this challenge bring?” Mohini Singh, from the same apartment complex, said: “Such online challenges come and go. I’m not one to follow these things.
Bengalureans ignore the water crisis by not taking the Half Bucket Challenge. | Credit: Yohanjali R Already they provide water for a limited time. Isn’t that enough to save water? Besides, we don’t come under BAF. So why follow it?” The BAF, which has a membership of two lakh residents located across 400 complexes in the city, launched the ‘Half Bucket Challenge’ in which people were asked to use only half a bucket of water for shower and share their expe-
riences on social media. Sadly, the challenge doesn’t seem to have many takers. ShriramAditya Apartments in Banashankari is making efforts to save water by encouraging its residents to participate in the challenge, but they are not bothered. “It is impossible to bathe with half a bucket. I also don’t think that one such small action will make any difference. So better not do it,” said Malini Srinivas, a resident of the apartment. “I have lived in Bengaluru for about 5 years and we have always had this problem. The new challenge will not make a difference,” she added.. Vimal Kumar, who looks after maintenance at Aparna Elina Apartments in Yeshwantpur, emphasized on the shortage of water. Continued to Page 3
Judicial officers’ shortage affects delivery of justice Sahana.S
A
chronic shortage of judges in Karnataka High Court is affecting the delivery of justice in the state. Over the years, the number of judges has come to 26 as against the 62 vacancies, resulting in cases getting prolonged. Doreswamy, a senior advocate, said: “The court is facing a shortage of judges, due to which most of the cases remain stranded for many years, especially civil cases that exceed more than six years.” According to the National
Judicial Data Grid, there are 2,15,272 cases are pending in the court. Litigants are agitated over cases being prolonged. More than 70% of the cases are pending for more than two years. Chandrasekhar T.N, whose property dispute case is pending in the court for five years, said: “I spend most of my time in hearings. Many times, the case is pushed to the next month due to lack of evidence from the opposition party.” There is immense pressure on judicial officers because thousands of cases have piled up. AP Ranganath, president of the Advocates Association Bangalore,
said: “Nearly 30 out of 60 cases are adjourned in court halls because of the immense pressure on working judges, who have to manage hearings of all cases in the stipulated time.” Retirement and transfer of judicial officers have added to the burden.Naveen Kumar, a senior advocate, said: “Seven judges have retired this year and four transferred to different states, adding to the vacancies of judges here.” The SC collegium recommended that Karnataka HC chief justice Dinesh Maheswari be appointed a judge of the apex court. sahana.s@iijnm.org
Abbinaya S
H
oli is no longer a festival of a single community or a religion. People of all castes, communities and religions celebrate it and share t h e i r joy. Youngsters c e l ebrate it at their schools, colleges and workplaces. “It is amazing to play with colors. I used to hurl waterfilled balloons at my friends. I have enjoyed a lot with my friends, though I do not celebrate it traditionally with my family. I haven’t been to any Holi events but always wanted to be a part of it,” says Leo R, an engineering graduate who lives in the KR Market area. Peter J, an autorickshaw driver, said he was embarrassed when students splashed colour over him, but started loving the festival after seeing the how happy it makes youngsters. “It is no more a Marwadi or Jain festival. It was earlier not celebrated in Karnataka. But now youngsters have started celebrating with great pomp,” he added. Simran Singh, a student of the Bangalore Institute of Technology, told The Observer the mythology behind Holi. “Holi is a pledge to minus all negativity. Holi celebrations start on the night before Holi with Holika Dahan, where people perform religious rituals in front of a bonfire, and pray that their internal evil should be destroyed just as Holika, the sister of the demon king Hiranyakashipu, was killed in the
fire. Sitting in front of the bonfire, we pledge to burn all nternal devils in that bonfire and pray to lead a positive life from the next day,” she said. Simran’s mother, Bandana, explained the cultural meaning of the celebration. “On this day, all are equal. No one is a foe. People go around playing drums in desi style. We visit our relatives and elders to seek their blessings. This day is considered to be auspicious to sort out personal issues, fights or misunderstandings with others.” Rahman Y, who works for an IT company, said: “I have celebrated Holi with my friends. In Patna, malpua is the special dish of Holi. I just love it. I miss visiting the homes of my friends and neighbours during Holi to savour delicacies. M y p a r e n t s don’t celebrate it, tor R I b u t a r st li celebrate at Illu anja m y h o Y workplace.” A c t i v i s t Sandeep Anirudhan said he is happy the celebration of Holi has evolved, but expressed concern over the hazards of chemical dyes in colour. “It is good to celebrate festivals together. But people should be aware of the chemical ingredients in the colours they use..” Ahead of Holi, airlines come up with offers for people who want to fly home to celebrate the festival with their families and friends. abbinaya.s@iijnm.org.
The Observer Tuesday, March 19, 2019
2
CITY
Coalition partners Congress and JD(S) will campaign together
Our main motive is to defeat BJP by maximum votes, says Siddaramaiah Oisika Dev
T
he Congress and JDs today to discussed the plans and strategies of the coalition government for upcoming elections. H.D.Deve Gowda, Siddaramaiah, H.D.Kumaraswamy, D.K.Shivkumar, Ishwar Kandre and Upendra Reddy were in attendance. The coalition government in order to win the election will campaign together. Siddaraimaiah said “Our main motive is to defeat BJP by maximum number of seats. The chances of winning has gone up when we decided to contest elections together. There are very less chances of losing election now.
Congress and JD(S) leaders came together for a press conference in Bengaluru on Tuesday. Among those who addressed the press conference were HD Kumaraswamy, Siddaramaiah, HD Deve Gowda, DK Shiva kumar and Dinesh Gundu Rao . The partners will hold a rally on March 31 | Credit: Virendra Singh BJP is hoping to win the Karnataka of seats between us BY 20-8,” said Lok Sabha polls but people of CM Kumaraswamy. Karnataka are different and they Congress and JD(S) will hold a support secular people.” rally on March 31st in Bengaluru, “ We may have differences in starting off the election campaign opinion but our main goal is one this year. and the same. That is to defeat BJP H.D Deve Gowda said ‘Our by hook or crook. We have already coalition government is trying finalised that there will be sharing hard to show the public that we
are working for the welfare of the people of Karnataka This election this year is a very tough challenge for us” . He further said Congress leader will also attend the rally. that “Since there is hardly any time for upcoming elections we have decided to mend our differences and work together whole heartedly to win this election. Candidates and party workers should not make any such statements which might turn into controversy. “If they have any differences they should come and talk to us directly. There are no plans to shuffle the seat sharing ratio. We will not let BJP win the two digit number seats,” said Deve Gowda On being asked about Rahul Gandhi’s chances of contesting from Karnataka Sidharaimaiah said “It is not decided yet . This is Rahul Gandhi’s decision from which constituency he will contest. However from whichever constituency he contests election, he will win”. oisika.d@iijnm.org
Fifa-associated course launched to churn out sports managers
Pranay Prakash
T
o train professionals involved in sports management across the country, the Pillai Group of Institutions in collaboration with Fifa (Federation Internationale de Football Association) and International Centre for Sports Studies, has announced the launch of an Executive Programme in Sports Management at its Navi Mumbai campus. Inaugurating the Sports Conclave, which included a panel discussion on ‘Business and Sports: Creating WinWin Partnerships,’ Dr Jeethendra Shetty, deputy director of department of youth empowerment and sports, Karnataka, said: “We are spending a lot of money to import synthetic turfs and sports equipment. If we start making it in India, we would spend only 25% of what we are already spending.”The programme will have 25 hours of teaching and
Dr. Jeethendra Shetty inaugurating the sports conclave today at TERI which included a panel discussion on ‘Business and Sports: Creating Win-Win Partnerships | Credit: Pranay learning activities in each of the three eight-day sessions spread out over the academic year, starting from Sept 2019. The programme will end with the last session of five days in March 2020.Shetty said: We don’t have any law governing sports like adventure sports. If a person dies or has an accident under the care of an adventure sports instructor, he is treated like a criminal under
the IPC. ” The inaugural session saw noted sports anchor, commentator and founder of Pro-Kabaddi League Charu Sharma talk about the need for infrastructure development and sponsorship for sportspersons and sporting events. Stating that players’ expectation of remuneration for all the sports cannot be the same, he said: “Not all the sports have been
able to commercialize and monetize through TV viewership and leagues. Some sports are better suited for TV broadcast, like cricket, where you can have an ad break every 4-6 minutes. You cannot do that with all the sports and hence their commercial value.” Highlighting the disconnect between the sports department and the education department, Arjuna Award winner and founder of Karumbaiah Academy for Learning and Sports, Kodagu, Ashwini Nachappa said: “Every school must make it mandatory for students to take up physical education as a subject … Every school, college and university has a sports fee, but it remains unutilized or is diverted for other purposes.” The course will aim to develop expertise in sports event management, sports law, marketing and sponsorship, management, communication and finance. pranay.p@iijnm.org
Around the City lGrand Holi 2019 @Taj West End, 21st Mar, Thu, 11 a.m lSri Gaura Purnima @Iskcon Temple, 21st Mar, Thu, 4.30 a.m lSelf Managed Teams Masterclass @Taj, Yeshvantpur, 21st Mar, Thu, 8.30 a.m lIOT Makers Meet, RevvX Hw Accelerator @Ascendes Park Square Mall, 23rd Mar, Sat, 10 a.m lMarathon @Nagarbhavi, 27th Mar, Wed, 10 a.m lBiggest Disco Holi with infinity pool @Skydeck, VR, Easr Bengaluru,21st Mar,Thu, 12 p.m- 10 p.m lFreelancing and Earning: 3 Hours Crash Workshop @Digitashala, East Bengaluru, 23rd Mar, Sat, 4.30 p.m to 7.30 p.m lPaint Bar @ Infinitea, Indiranagar, 23rd Mar, Sat, 4 p.m - 6 p.m lBlogging and Earning: 3 Hours Crash Workshop @Digitashala, East Bengaluru, 24th Mar, Sat, 4.30 p.m- 7.30 p.m lBring Change the NLP Way @ Dialogues, Koramangala, 22nd Mar, Fri, 7 p.m-9 p.m lIntegrated Course in Filmmaking and @Foresee, Bengaluru, 23rd Mar, Sat, 4 p.m- 7p.m lFirst Dance choreography- for the new grooms and brides! @ Shara Salsa & Latin Dance Institute, South Bengaluru, 20th Mar, Wed, 10 a.m- 10 p.m
News Briefs National lAfter the demise of Goa CM Manohar Parrikar, NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad on Monday said, “I shouldn’t say this as he’s (Parrikar) not here today, but I feel he’s the first victim of the Rafale deal.” “I think after Rafale deal, he did not feel right so he decided to go back to Goa. He was sad,” Awhad claimed. International lSingapore, Paris and Hong Kong share the title of the world’s most expensive city, according to The Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Worldwide Cost of Living Survey. According to the report, India’s Bengaluru, Chennai and New Delhi are among the ten cheapest locations surveyed. Business lHomegrown ride-hailing cabaggregator startup Ola on Tuesday announced it has raised $300 million from Hyundai The investment is part of Ola’s ongoing Series J round of funding, which is estimated at $1 billion.
The Observer Tuesday, March 19, 2019
3
CITY
US-China trade war could benefit Indian exporters’ business ‘It may cause Re to increase, create more jobs’
Yohanjali R
U
S President Donald Trump’s administration imposed duties on the import of Chinese goods worth US$250 billion in July last year.. In retaliation, China has imposed tariffs on US goods worth US$110 billion. This escalating trade war between the two economic powerhouses could open new trade opportunities for India and enhance its trade relations with the US. Representatives of SA Rawther Spices Private Ltd, an exporter of spices to the US, spoke to The Observer about the benefits Indian exporters can expect in the evolving scenario: “China is our biggest competitor when
Shortage of water ignored by many Continued from Page 1 “We usually supply water from borewells. But since it’s summer, it has dried up. Cauvery water is supplied only once or twice in a week. Now we are supply water from private tankers only,”said Vimal Kumar. Aditi Verma, who has studied water conservation, said “Such challenges need cooperation and appreciation from the public. Many residents ignore the shortage of water not knowing the consequences it will have in future. Instead of making it a social media challenge, BAF could have made Half Bucket a rule to follow, forcing all residents to accede to it.” Srikanth Narasimhan, general secretary of BAF said in an interview with Deccan Herald that he has been bathing with a half bucket of water for a while. Only a change in people’s mindset and a focus on water conservation will help. yohanjali.r@iijnm.org
it comes to spices. With China manipulating its currency, we can export more spices to not just US but other countries as well,” said Kapil G, who works at the company. A foreign trade development officer of the Karnataka government who did not want to be named, told The Observer: “If trade war escalates (due to increased tariffs on Chinese goods), then the value of the
Indian currency in the global market will increase. The rupee’s value per dollar will eventually increase. The other good thing that could arise from this is employment. If exports from India increase, more labour will be required (to ramp up production).” Siva Kumar, CEO of Surabhi Global, which exports products like coconuts and rice to the US, said: “Definitely our company has been benefitted by the trade war, the business has increased but it is tough to keep up with the demand made by the US. As US is used to receiving a larger quantity of rice from China which we and other exporters are not able to provide them.” The trade war began in July 2018 with Trump threatening to impose tariffs on China for its alleged unfair trade practices and methods. At present, US has already imposed tariffs
on US$250 billion worth of Chinese products. It plans to levy further tariffs on Chinese goods worth US$267 billion. As per a trade analysis, India’s share in global merchandise exports is 1.7% compared to China’s 12.8%. According to the Office of the United States Trade Representative, China is currently the largest goods trading partner of US, with $635.4 billion in total (two-way) goods trade during 2017. In the same year, India was the ninth largest goods trading partner of the US with $74.3 billion in total good trade. With Chinese goods facing a headwind from the US administration, Indian exporters have a real opportunity to fill the gap, giving India an opportunity to increase its exports over the years. yohanjali.r@iijnm.org
Puppeteers hope to revive art form Use it to spread awareness about social issues Ileena Dutta
T
he traditional art puppetry is on the verge of extinction. Puppeteers in Bengaluru hope it can be revived if it is represented as a therapeutic tool among children and youngsters. “We artists believe in communicating with our audience through our art form. Puppetry has lost its worth in recent times. Our team collects disabled and abandoned children from colonies and conducts puppet-making workshop. Puppetry acts as a medium to provide them therapy,” Dilip Mandal, director of Dhumketu Puppet Theatre, informed The Observer. Though it is on the verge of extinction, puppetry still appeals to people. Across the world, it was once a powerful medium of mass communication and entertainment. It played a role in creating in awareness among the public on different issues.
The art form is used to create awareness about leprosy, mental health, AIDS, and other social issues.| Credit : Ileena Dutta “Today, puppet shows have become rare. They are staged only where the audience is a bare minimum. In spite of that, we constantly try to go to every nook and corner of the city to showcase what we have and the social message that puppetry has,” said Vadiraj Meghlal, from Dhaatu Centre for Sharing, an
NGO that promotes puppetry. There are various forms of puppets – shadow, rod, glove and string – that can be used in numerous ways. Most of the urban puppet artists try to stage acts that matter to the common public. “Our team staged a puppet show on International Mother Language Day where we used glove puppets to depict the importance of our own mother tongue,” added Mandal. Puppetry combines painting, dance, music and drama. Puppet shows were once based on epics and legends. Today, it is used to spread social messages and educate people in urban areas, whereas in rural areas, it’s still a popular art form. Artists say they are not discouraged by the declining popularity of puppetry. “We put up posts on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter regarding upcoming shows and street performances so that we can gather audiences,” said Kriti Ramesham. The art form is used to spread social awareness . ileena.d@iijnm.org
ZenFone Pro M2 to get a Pie update Ileena Dutta
A
SUS, the Taiwan-based smartphone maker, will provide an Android Pie, version 9.0, update to its ZenFone Pro M2 range of phones by mid-April. “The upgrade was much anticipated among existing users, and they are delighted to hear about the Pie update with a whole new experience,” said Lingaraj Havanur, sales manager, ASUS, Bengaluru. Android Pie, whose specialty is artificial intelligence, has varied new features. While going to sleep, one can set the ‘Do not disturb’ mode that turns the display grey. There are automatic screen brightness adjustments. Apps can predict the user’s next task; and when a user plugs in her earphones, her favourite playlist will be displayed. “As a user, I expect better performances and features with the upcoming update on ASUS. The last update was Oreo version 8.1,” said Vishal Kumar, a computer engineering student at IIT Bombay. “The new generation wants the more transparent and swift operating system on their Android phones.Darshini Kulkarni, an administrator at ASUS. The previous versions of Android lagged behind in integrating smart options to devices. Android OS is a Linux-based platform for mobile phones. It was released under the Apache v2 open source licence. ileena.d@iijnm.org
Weather Min Temperature- 21 oC MaxTemperature- 35 oC Rainfall- NIL
Observer Team Editor-Yohanjali R Page Layout- Sahana S, Ileena Dutta, Shraboona Ghosh Reporters- Abbinaya Swathi , Pranay Prakash, Oisika Dev, Yohanjali R and Ileena Dutta
Sports
The Observer 4 Tuesday, March 19, 2019
SUPPLEMENT
Unreal Madrid
“I
Cristiano Ronaldo was the difference between winning and losing for Real Madrid. Yet they sold him, writes Sayantan Sarkar
think it was a blunder to sell Cristiano Ronaldo,” says Nilendra Nath Mullick, an ardent football fan from Bengaluru. “Look at what he is capable of even at 34. He single-handedly scored three goals when all the odds were stacked against him and Juventus.” “Juventus’s signing of Ronaldo is a desperate attempt towards capturing the UEFA Champions League, which they haven’t won since 1996. With Ronaldo in the kind of form he shown in the last game, the signing could turn out to be a billiondollar deal,” adds Atulesh Pandey, who is an Infosys employee. “Nobody ever tried to step up in the absence of Ronaldo, which is the biggest reason for Real Madrid’s failure this season,” says Pandey. “The season has been disastrous for them and they haven’t been able
to replace the 50 goals that Ronaldo used to score every season with anybody else.” Concurs Arijit Das, who works for Cognizant in Kolkata, “Real Madrid sold Ronaldo to one of the best clubs in Europe and with him they can now be unstoppable.” The Portuguese superstar has been involved in 70% of the goals Juventus scored this season. Ronaldo has scored 19 goals and clocked eight assists in 26 games in Serie A while netting an additional four goals in seven games in the Champions League. His arrival has also boosted the likes of Pablo Dybala, who has formed an impressive partnership with ‘CR7’. Along with Mario Mandzukic, they form one of the most potent attacking trios in Europe. In 2009, when Real Madrid signed Ronaldo from Manchester United for a then record 80 million euros, nobody knew the kind of
made a mistake in letting go of their mostprized possession? Recent results says yes. As Madrid was knocked out by Ajax in the round of 16 of the European Championship, Ronaldo scored his first Ronaldo scored his eigth Champions Leaguge hatrick on Tuesday | Credit: Google Images hattrick for Juventus against impact that he would have Atletico Mafor the Spanish giants. By drid to send them through to the time he left Real Madrid the quarter finals. last season, the club had Since Ronaldo left for won four Champions League Juventus, the team has titles in five years, a couple lost 3 out of 4 matches to of league cups and countless Barcelona, their most bitter other trophies since his arrivals. They are more than rival. Ronaldo had said that 15 points behind Barcelona irreconcilable differences and are languishing in third between him and the club spot in the La Liga race and President Florentino Perez most recently, they have for prompted him to leave Real the first timefailed to reach Madrid. So, have the 13the quarters of Champions time European Champions League since 2010. Ronaldo
has scored 105 goals for Real in the Champions League and has won three consecutive titles in 2016, 2017 and 2018. He had also been the top scorer of the competition in each of the last eight seasons. It is not surprising that Real is struggling without him.
R
onaldo was signed for $88.3 million, a record for a player over 30. He promptly repaid Juventus’ faith by scoring a scintillating hattrick in the second leg of the round of 16 against Atletico, who have one of the best defenses. Juventus had been in a precarious situation after the first leg, where they lost 2-0 at the Metropolitano, the home of Atletico and this year’s location for the CL final. Before the second leg in Turin, Ronaldo reportedly promised his family and friends that he was going to score a hattrick. That’s exactly what he did.
A Ray of Hope
G
arry Sobers, Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes and Malcom Marshallare the stuff of legend, players who helped establish West Indian dominance in world cricket. All of them belonged to Barbados, an island country in the Caribbean and a cricketing powerhouse of renown. In the current West Indies squad, wicket-keeper batsman, Shai Hope, is being seen as the latest entry to this illustrious list. While it’s a bit early to tell if he will make the pages of history books, his consistency in the past two years suggests he could well be the player that the Windies have been looking for quite a while. The West Indies Cricket Board also acknowledged his calibre and bestowed upon him the Men’s Cricketer of the year, Test Cricketer of the year, and ODI Cricketer of the year honours at the
Shai Hope is exactly what the West Indies’ batting line up needed, says Anurag Mann Cricket West Indies awards 2018. As many newcomers would expect, start of Shai’s career wasn’t great. His fantastic first-class record got him an early call to the national side at just 21. But, he initially couldn’t justify his potential. Of the 11 innings that he played in his first six matches, he averaged 15.54 with 36 being his highest. He was dropped from the national side and a disheartened Shai went back to play domestic cricket. Since the departure of some of the greats like Sir Vivian Richards, Clive Lloyd, and Brain Lara, West Indies has struggled to get back on track. Except a record 418-run chase in a Test match against Australia in 2003, they had done little in two decades to prove their mettle. But an unexpected test win at Headingleyin 2017
the team and has stood up for them in every critical situation. He does not have any other hundreds save those two in Headingley. However, some of his knocks show utter grit and determinaSai Hope has been a consisitent performer for tion such as 39 Windies in all three formats in past two years runs off 115 Credit: Google Images balls against Sri Lanka in Gros changed that. It was special Islet in 2017 and 62 off 144 coming as it did after sevagainst England at Lord’s in enteen years, the last being 2017. at Birmingham in 2000. Shai Hope made his ODI The anchor of that famous debut against Sri Lanka victory was Shai Hope, who in the tri-nation series in achieved a feat of scoring November 2016, when he hundreds in both innings, a scored his first ODI hundred first in 533 first-class match- in his second match against es played at Headingley Zimbabwe in the same seuntil then. ries. He averages 47.94 from Since then, Hope has been 43 matches and has four consistently scoring runs for hundreds and seven half-
centuries. 2018 was a golden year for him as he scored 843 runs in 17 matches at 49.58.
M
oreover, in the subcontinental, he was one of the stars of the India tour. His fighting knock of 123 in Visakhapatnam helped tie the match, one many fans will long remember. He also made 95 runs in Pune to give the Windies their lone win of the tour. In the recently concluded Bangladesh ODI series, he was the top run-getter with 297 runs that included two consecutive centuries. The current West Indian team is still not performing at its best and is going through a revamp. The coming World Cup could be a golden chance for them to show they can recover the aura of yester years if players like Hope set an example.