The Weekly
Observer Volume 14 | Issue 8
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
‘Our food was safe’ claim mid-day meals NGO managers Shruti Suresh Soumya Chatterjee Samreen Tungekar The operations director of a foundation at the centre of the Bangalore mid-day meals scare claims his company followed all safety rules. Fifty children ate contaminated food and 300 pupils in total were rushed to hospital last Friday after a lizard was found in school food served under the national scheme. Prashanth Kumar, Manager of Operations, Akshay Patra Foundation, claimed that the same batch of food was sent to many schools yet there were no reports of ill health at any other school. He said: “We have delivered the same food to 21 government schools in the
vicinity. We haven’t received any complaints from them.” Vinay Kumar, General Manager of Operations at the NGO, said that there was almost zero chance of the lizard slipping in during transport because the school is 12 kilometers away and the lids are sealed tight. “We are delivering since 12 years. This has never happened before. The lizard must have fallen from the wall while
Zareena Khanam
serving food,” he said. Zareena Khanam, principal of Gorvernment Urdu Model Primary School, said that they found the dead lizard after serving about three quarters of the rice. “The lizard probably got in during packing of the food,” she added. Shahnaz Unnisa, a teacher at the school for three years, said, “Around 10 children stopped coming after this incident as the parents are scared of sending them. Most of these children come to school for these meals because this is the only proper meal they get. They loved this food.” Vinay said, “We have not sent food to the primary school after Friday because many children are not staying back for lunch, but are going home as their parents are
Pupils at Government Urdu Model Primary School scared.” He said that the higher secondary students are still eating food from their kitchen. There were seven vessels of food, and the rice with the lizard was served to around 50 children. 300 children were hospitalized as a precaution. Syeda Asiya Jeelani, 40, and Syeda Tabassum Khatoon, 33, were serving the food. BBMP High School, in
Pillana Garden, has the food from the same kitchen. Chandra Naik, principal of the school said that they have not faced any problems with the food. Zeenat Parbeen, mother of four, all of whom were hospitalized, said that this has never happened before. “All my children were admitted, but they got discharged in a day.”
Abused women cannot have their day in Karnataka's courts Raya Ghosh Just four per cent of the 3276 cases of domestic violence filed in Karnataka last year resulted in convictions, according to the National Crime Records Bureau. Statistics from the bureau also show that of the 118,866 cases of domestic violence filed last year in India, only 16% resulted in convictions. Helpline co-ordinators in Bangalore have also stated that thirty percent of do-
mestic violence cases registered with them are also found to be false. Between April 2013 and March 2014, 1010 cases of violence against women have been reported with Vanitha Sahaya Vani, a womens’ helpline in Bangalore. As of July 2014, just 82 cases of violence against women had been prosecuted. Of the 21,669 dowry harassment cases filed from January 2011 to August 2013 in Bangalore, 7,220 cases were proved to be false. Of
Dr.Sujata, Counselor of Vanitha Sahaya Vani, the remaining 14,449 cases, some are still being investigated and charge sheets are yet to be filed in others. “We receive several do-
mestic violence related calls every day, most of which pertain to dowry harassment. Out of the 92 dowry harassment cases in November 2013, only 20 were found to be true,” said Dipa, a Woman Police Constable in Bangalore. The IPC 498A is a criminal law, whereby the offence is 'cognizable, non-compoundable and non-bailable'. The perpetrator can be punished for a term which may extend to three years. Moreover he shall be liable to pay a fine.
Rathi (name changed), a private counselor, said: “Section 498A is a very important weapon for women. Ego clashes in working couples often lead to false complaints being filed under the section.” She added, “At times, women are not in favor of living in joint families. They also want their husbands to contribute money towards her family. If the husband refuses, the wife often files a 498A case against him. (Continued on Page 3)
2
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
The Weekly Observer
Modi-fied for PM’s visit
Pulaha Roy Saheli Sen Gupta Right before Narendra Modi’s visit to Bangalore, the route from the Old Airport Road to Raj Bhawan was completely renovated. While several complaints regarding potholes and garbage on Old Airport Road have been ignored by the BBMP for years, the entire process of renovation took just three days in the
run-up to Narendra Modi’s visit to Bangalore. Street vendors in the area were also instructed to stay clear of the road during the time Modi’s fleet passed the area to reach Raj Bhawan. A vendor from Murugesh Paliya said, "We were given a circular that we should clear the road as Narendra Modi passes. We were asked to park our stalls down the road. Afterwards, we can get back to our usual business."
Dickenson Road was cleaned and garbage was removed this morning. A police officer on duty,Naveen, said, "The cleaning process was going on in Dickenson Road. We have cleared the garbage that was strewn along the pavement." The renovation began on Friday night and is being done by RNS Infrastructure Limited on a contract with the BBMP. Janardhan Reddy, supervising the entire process, said: “The construction is done during the night. A fresh coat of tar was done in three days and the painting of the footpath is still on. Before Murugesh Paliya, we were working near HAL police station.” He added, "I don't have any idea regarding how much funds were allocated for this work.." While commuters appre-
Workers on Old Airport Road before Modi’s arrival ciated the work done, many Bangloreans tweeted about civic irresponsibility on BBMP’s part and condemned the system of fixing roads only when a VIP is visiting. Venu Gopal from Accenture tweeted last night, “Potholes on Old Airport Road to Raj Bhavan are covered up for Modi's visit. Mr.
Modi, please visit my locality too.” This is Modi’s first visit to the state after becoming Prime Minister. He is going to visit ISRO near Peenya to witness the entry of Mars Orbiter Mission on September 24. He will also be inaugurating the Integrated Food Park in Tumkur right after arriving today.
Govt's cancelled projects leave Nelamangala residents without drinking water Tushar Kaushik Due to repeated failures of government projects to take off, the residents of Nelamangala near Bangalore are supplied only borewell water.. “Everyone here drinks mineral water. You can’t drink the borewell water that is supplied,” said Chikka, a local bakery owner. Dr. M Jayaprasad, ENT surgeon and director of JP hospital in Nelamangala said that borewell water contained high percentages of dissolved salts and he often gets cases which could be caused by its consumption. “Hypertension and kidney stones can be caused by consuming this water, but most of the people don’t
consume it.” On being asked whether poor people were forced to consume the borewell water, he admitted that it was a possibility. A doctor at the Primary Health Centre in Nelamangala, who is in charge of doing the MRI scans, said that a few cases of kidney stones had been detected. There have been many proposals by government bodies in the last 10-15 years to ensure supply of surface water to the town, but all have been scrapped due to various reasons, according to a document. A BWSSB project planned to transport water from Bangalore, but was scrapped later. Another project involved transporting water to Nelamangala and 90 other villages from Kun-
nigal kere, a lake, forty kilometers away from Nelamangala. However, this project didn’t take off because the cost of the project which is 110 crore, wasn’t sanctioned. One proposed project was supposed to provide surface water to Nelamangala and en route villages from Hemavathy canal, which is at a distance of 64 kilometers from Nelamangala. This project was proposed two years ago. However, the project has hit major roadblocks, according to Ravi B, the Junior Engineer of water supply department for Nelamangala. He said, “We sent the project to Bangalore Urban Water Supply Board(BUWSB), for approval, and it has been with them ever since. It is a 24
crore project, only for Nelamangala.” He said that the main reason for the delay was the inability to acquire land needed for the project. He also said that the project might not get approval. Nelamangala has a population of 37,232 according to the 2011 census. As per the govt website www.nelamangalatown.gov.in/, the main activity of the town is manufacture of silk cloths by using power looms and various small scale and large scale industries are also set up in the area. Laxmigowda Nityananda Anand, Deputy Chief Engineer of the water board for Bangalore, stressed on the importance of Nelamangala. He said: “Nelamangala has had water short-
age since twenty years. It is an important town for Bangalore as it is a potential satellite town. Yet it does not get surface water. The main reason for this is the lack of water bodies near the town.” Elaborating on Nelamangala’s importance, Anand said, “Since there is no land available in Bangalore, government can develop industries in the nearby areas. Bidadi is one such area which was successfully developed..” Regarding the project that Ravi talked about, Anand said, “The cost of the project is too much considering the population here.. The per capita cost is not justified, and so it is difficult for this project to get approval..”
3
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
The Weekly Observer
Getting blood from a stone Customers demand refunds from online ‘scam’ site Sharangee Dutta An online shopper who thought he was buying a computer tablet claims he opened up the box to find he had purchased a heavy stone. The website, 100bestbuy, has 30 complaints every month to various consumer forums across India. Almost all of them were victims of “contests” held by the shopping site. On June 24, Panchanathan from Bangalore took part in a contest. He paid Rs. 699 to participate and the prize was a Sony Xperia phone. The site then asked him to pay Rs. 12, 999 more to get a combo gift of an HCL Tablet and a Polo Watch, and he was assured that 50 per cent of the money would be returned via credit points. He did not receive the products in the stated 10 day time limit, sent several
Paanchanathan, a customer Raya Ghosh (Continued from page 1) Women who find their husbands involved in illicit relationships may also file a 498A.” Some case studies were provided by the helpline. Srikala (name changed) was involved in an extra-marital
mails to the site but got no reply. He said, “I went to their office later and they said the product is out of stock. They were supposed to deliver it to me once the stock got refilled. Or else, my money was to be refunded.” Paanchanathan added, “The customer care initially neither picked up my calls nor talked politely. When they spoke to me, they said the initial payment of Rs. 699 was meant only for participating in the contest.” On July12, he received a courier from 100bestbuy. But the parcel contained a heavy stone instead of the tablet, packed inside the original packaging for the tablet. There was no watch. He went to their office again with pictures of the parcel. When he threatened to file a police complaint, the site promised to return him 13,698 credit points and asked him to buy something else instead. “I bought a pair of shoes and a very low quality tablet with the credit points. It was a horrible experience. I never want to shop from this site anymore,” he said.
Other customers too participated in the same contest. After paying the amount, they were either called or mailed and asked to pay more in order to win combo gifts like Lenovo mobiles, wrist watches and tablets. The customers claimed that the site promised to give 100 percent credit points of the extra money spent by them. They said if they didn’t want to participate in the contest and wanted their prize, they were kept waiting for over five months to get either the product or the credit points. “They took Rs. 10,000 and then returned the money in the form of credit points which they said can be used in the next purchase. Why should I want to stick around with a site that is nothing but a sham? I would simply want my money back,” said Vijay Bharti, 37, from Himachal Pradesh who paid Rs.10,698 on August 6, 2014. Vijay Bharti took part in the same contest and paid Rs. 9,999 extra for a combo gift of a Lenovo Mobile and Power Bank. He claimed that their combined price wasn’t more than Rs. 5,000
on the market. “I received the gifts on September 8, 2014 after making about 200 phone calls to the site that cost me at least Rs. 500,” he said. The company does not mention the rules of credit points on its website. When customers tried to use the credit points that they received, they then got to know that they couldn’t use more than 10 percent of the credit points at once. “In order to use your credit points entirely you need to spend almost Rs. 50,000. They set a trap for the customers, forcing them to stick to them even if they don’t want to. On top of that, the prices are so high that even after using the credit points, you feel
cheated,” said Mohan Babu from Bangalore. He paid Rs. 12,999 for a mobile and a camcorder on March 6. He claimed that he never received the mobile and the camcorder that was delivered wasn’t functioning properly. “I wanted my money back and hence, I started to make calls and send mails. After six months I finally got my money back in the form of a check,” he said. A customer care executive of 100bestbuy denied all the allegations and claimed that the site was good and offered smooth delivery. He said: “The customers are obviously telling blatant lies. We haven’t ever cheated nor will we ever do it.”
relationship. When her husband started suspecting her, she filed a case under Section 498A, which turned out to be fake. Another case study revealed that cases are filed under 498A due to failure of love marriages. Sumalatha (name changed) filed a case against her husband under
the pretext of being harassed for dowry. “Not all women are misusing this law. Most of them are physically abused by their husbands and inlaws to death. However some of them are dissipating this law, thereby leading to disintegration of their families,” said Rani Shetty, Co-
ordinator of Parihar, Vanitha Sahaya Vani. “In case victims are beaten to death, an FIR can be filed with the permission of the sufferer. But if the cases are found to be fake, then senior police officials intervene,” said Bharathi, Assistant Sub-Inspector. Due to the decrease in
conviction rates, in July 2014, the Supreme Court directed the state government to instruct the police - “not to automatically arrest when a case under Section 498A of IPC is registered but to satisfy themselves about the necessity for arrest under the parameters provided under Section 41.”
The stone that was delivered to the customer Paanchanathan, instead of the tablet he ordered
4
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
The Weekly Observer
State stadium in need of funds to keep it in race Ridhi Agarwal Sri Kanteerva Outdoor Stadium, visited by 500 people every day, displays patched running tracks, dirty bathrooms and has no changing rooms for athletes. Athletes and coaches complained about the stadium facilities. Many athletes who were seen practicing in the outdoor stadium said that the toilets were not maintained well. The girls said that there were no changing rooms. Shilpa Sundar, an International level long jumper said: “I have been coming to Kanteerva Stadium for the past 10 years for my practice. The development here is stagnant. The new running tracks have worn out faster than the old ones.
Bathrooms here have only become worse.” She added that the facilities are obsolete and long jump pits are improper. Prajna Rao, a National level short distance runner, said, “The indoor changing rooms are very bad. There is a need to renovate the stadium.” Aiyappa, a coach at Kanteerva Stadium said: “I have been training children here for more than 15 years. There are no proper toilets for them. The funds are not being used properly.” Beedu, a senior coach said: “This stadium is open to everyone. As against other stadiums, Kanteerva does not have any identity cards issued for users.” On highlighting the issues to the Deputy Director of the stadium,Ramesh M.C said: “We provide a
Girls’ bathroom in Kanteerva stadium, Bangalore good arena for sports people. The stadium is given to public and private institutions for use. Wherever the usage is more, the property needs to be maintained, which we are doing. Since it is a government property, people think they have the right to do whatever they
want. Public should have sense.” According to the Director, the maintenance of the stadium is borne by the State Management Committee selected by the Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports. The revenue collected when
the stadium is given out for activities is used for its maintenance. The stadium was in need of more funds. He said that since infrastructure needs branding, they don’t know what can be done with the existing structure as renovation cannot be done at one step. Ramesh added, “Issues raised by the general public are being addressed. The coaches have been intimated to submit a list of athletes training under them so that identity cards can be issued in order to enhance the security.” As per the latest plans of the Department of Youth Services and Sports, Rs.43.30 crores will be spent for Youth services and sports in Karnataka with plans to upgrade Sri Kanteerva Sports Complex.
Tipu Sultan Palace a fire risk, lacks safety measures Sameer Deshpande & Soumya Chatterjee Fire extinguishers at one of the state’s major tourist attractions are not maintained or inspected regularly. Tipu Sultan Summer Palace is maintained by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) but fire extinguishers have not been recharged and sand buckets lie empty across the site, which attracts 350 tourists a month from around the world. The beams of the roof are made from wood as are the railings of stairs and balconies.
Some fire extinguishers at the palace displayed safety stickers stating that they had last been recharged last March.
were empty. An attendant, Venkatappa, said that all decisions are taken by ASI circle office in Koramangala. Sukanya, Assistant
Tipu Sultan Summer Palace, Bangalore The stickers state that they were last re-filled on March 12, 2013. The buckets, which are supposed to contain sand for fire safety,
Archeologist at ASI circle office, said she was not aware of the extinguishers not being refilled regularly. She said, “I will speak to
T.M. Keshava , Superintendent Archaeologist about this problem.” Tipu Sultan palace is under Chamrajpet Fire Station. B.V. Kimappa, Head Constable at Chamrajpet Fire Station, said that they can take action only when a fire breaks out. The entry fee for the palace is Rs5 for locals and Rs100 for foreigners. The security said that approximately 350 tourists visit every month. “There has not been a fire recently, so we don’t care about the refilling,” said Sanjay Braiya, security head. Tipu Sultan, known as the Tiger of Mysore, was
Fire extinguisher ruler of Mysore State from 1782 to 1799. His reign was highly controversial, and is contested among historians.
OBSERVER Team: Editor - Shalini Raja, Chief Sub Editor - Tushar Kaushik, News Editor - Samreen Tungekar, News Desk - Subash Aravindh, Sub Editors - R. Suharika, Sameer Deshpande, Sharangee Dutta, Design Head - C.L. Ramakrishnan, Design Desk - Vignesh S.G, Picture Editors Saheli Sen Gupta, Ridhi Agrawal, Reporters - Shruti Suresh, Soumya Chatterjee, Proofreaders - Sreemoyee Chatterjee, Raya Ghosh