The Observer An IIJNM Publication
Vol 18, Issue 29
Thursday, April 12, 2018
The Observer
@theweeklyobserver On the web: issuu.com/ theweeklyobserver/docs/the observer
‘Model’ road Church Street still has problems that need attention | P 2
Bad roads in Babusabpalya become a cause of concern to commuters | P 2
Cong calls PM’s Blame our lifestyle too for fast a drama disappearance of the sparrow Plastic, paint smell, and photo-op lack of ventilation
‘BJP’s proxies, not us, wasted Parliament time’ Ayushi Singh
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idiculing the fast by PM Narendra Modi against the washout of the Budget session, the Congress on Thursday accused him and others of “having breakfast, then fasting for an hour, then eating again because they couldn’t stay hungry longer than that”. Speaking at a press conference at the KPCC headquarters, AICC spokesman Randeep Surjewala said: “PM and Amit Shah are enacting an absurd drama of photos-ops and headline management.” Asked why the Congress disrupted parliament and did not allow crucial Bills to be passed, he said: “BJP disrupted Parliament through proxy allies; it did not permit the no-confidence motions to be deliberated or voted”. “It is a party which disrupted 66.88% of the total functioning time of the previous Lok Sabha and wasted 250 functioning hours of the Budget session. The Modi government, instead
Why are Rahul, Sonia taking salary, asks BJP As PM Modi joined them in observing a day-long fast, BJP functionaries targeted the Congress for disrupting Parliament. In Bengaluru, Union minister of chemicals, fertilizers and parliamentary affairs. Ananth Kumar said: “I want to ask Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, why are you taking salary and perks from Parliament when you did not allow it to function?” BJP president Amit Shah and the party’s chief ministerial candidate for Karnataka, B.S. Yeddyurappa, observed a fast in Dharwad. Shah tweeted: “Across the country, in every Lok Sabha constituency, BJP workers are fasting for a day to save our democracy.” of blaming the Congress, should tender an unconditional apology for dishonouring democracy,” Surjewala added. Asked about farmers committing suicide in Karnataka, he blamed the Centre, saying it collects taxes from the states but does not help Karnataka. ayushi.s@iijnm.org
driving them away Pracheta Panja
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he house sparrow, the bird that was part of people’s lives, is disappearing. While environmental degradation, and electromagnetic radiation from industries and telecommunications networks, are widely blamed, another reason for the bird’s disappearance is people’s lifestyle. Prof. Nagesh Hegde, an awardwinning journalist who writes extensively on environmental issues, informed The Observer: “Earlier, we used to collect grain waste from grocery shops. Now, the use of plastic packets leaves no grain waste for birds to consume; it is only plastic waste. Did we ever think how plastic is related to the extinction of the small common bird?” While human beings can smell house paint only for a while, he said, sparrows can smell it for as long as a year. The birds cannot tolerate the odour; they try to escape when they smell it. Hegde also blamed mosquito-repellent coils, which are harmful to humans too,
The house sparrow, which was earlier a part of people’s life, is not seen in cities anymore New construction styles have put the birds in danger. Earlier, every house had proper ventilation that would allow sparrows to fly in and out. The culture of multi-storeyed buildings has neglected the concept of ventilation, leaving no shelter for sparrows, Prof. Hegde said. Just as the decreasing number of frogs indicates that a water body is polluted, fewer sparrows around us point to the environment not being conducive to their existence. Though the number of house sparrows has gone down, Bengaluru has more of them compared to other big cities, another expert says. Urban conservationist Vijay Nishanth said: “Earlier, people kept water in their balconies or threw grains which fed the little creatures. They used to think
Police rescue man kidnapped for Rs 1-crore ransom, arrest four Rayan Mitra
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PROTESTS AGAINST PM IN CHENNAI: Huge protests against PM Modi brought Chennai to a halt on Thursday. Workers of the DMK and other parties staged black-flag protests against Modi for not setting up a Cauvery Management Board. They floated a balloon with a slogan saying ‘Modi Go Back’. They accused the Centre of not setting up the board to appease the voters of election-bound Karnataka. Modi was in the city to attend Defence Expo 2018. | Courtesy: Puthiya Thalaimurai
them as a part of their life. Now nobody cares about these small things. Though we can see sparrows in the City market area or Cubbon Park, their number has gone down.” Dr Sumanta Bagchi, professor of the ecology department at the Indian Institute of Science, concurred with Prof. Hegde. According to him,“Sparrows do not need trees; they live in a treeless habitat which cannot be found now,” Domestic pollution not only destroys the ecosystem, but also harms human beings, he noted. Jayachandra Rao, a medical adviser who has lived in the city for a long time, said: “Bengaluru has no sparrows left. I used to see them around my house.... For over 20 years, there are no sparrows in the city.”Vasundhara Devi, a hom maker who lives in an apartment at Uttarahalli, south Bengaluru, said: “It was long ago that it used to enter our homes for food. It’s sad sparrows don’t come anymore.” The situation is no different in central Bengaluru. Suravi M, who lives on Rest House Road, near Brigade Road, said: “I have not seen sparrows for many years. People say they don’t come because of radiation from telephone wires.” pracheta.p@iijnm.org
engaluru police have rescued a man within 48 hours of him being kidnapped. A team of six officers arrested a group of kidnappers, additional commissioner, east zone, Seemanth Kumar Singh informed a press conference on Thursday. Shivakumar, who works for Bosch, was rescued from Srinivaspura taluk, Kolar district. The arrested men are Sathya, VInod, Jagannath and Sanjay. Shivakumar informed police he was blindfolded and had no idea where he was taken.
A beaming Shivakumar (C) with his wife Sudha | Credit: Rayan Mitra Shivakumar went out for some work on the morning of April 9 and did not return even after dark. His wife Sudha, who went to enquire with her relatives and friends, received a call from her husband. He said he had been kidnapped. The kidnappers had demanded Rs 1 crore for his release. Sudha went to the Parap-
pana Agrahara police station and lodged a complaint. Police said Shivakumar was kidnapped at the behest of business rival Sathya, who had come to know that Shivakumar had a lot of money. When Shivakumar sold a property and deposited the money in his account, Sathya got wind of it, Singh said. Sathya asked Shivakumar for some money, but the latter refused. An upset Sathya then plotted the kidnapping. Thanking the city police, Sudha said she was afraid that her husband would be harmed. She added that their steady operation saved him. rayan.m@iijnm.org