Vol 12, Issue 21

Vol. 12 Issue 21

Indian Institute Of Journalism and New Media, Bangalore PM Manmohan Singh and Congress Head Sonia Gandhi target Karnataka

More on -> Page 4

April 18, 2013

Interview with Mainak Chakraborty, founder, Green Power Systems More on -> Page 6

MAYHEM !

All 16 victims of the blast in the city will receive compensation, announces the state government.

Contd. on Page 2 & 3

Bike Bomb rips through Bangalore

Photo: Krishnaprasad & Deepu

16 injured in a series of explosions in front of the BJP office; Investigations on to find bombers.

A low intensity bomb rocked the BJP office at Malleshwaram on the 16th of April. The pictures depict the aftermath of the ammonium nitrate blast.

Continued from PAGE 1

By Deepu Aby Varghese & Krishnaprasad

KARNATAKA government decided to provide a compensation of Rs. 1 lakh to each victim of the Bangalore bomb blast, this morning.

In an internal security meet convened by the Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar this morning and presided over by the Director General of Police, Lalrokhuma Pachuau, the government decided to provide a compensation of Rs 1 lakh each to all the sixteen victims of the bomb blast.

In the massive terror strike, 16 people, including 11 police officers, were injured when a bomb exploded in front of the BJP office in Malleswaram.

Two 17-year-old students, Rakshita from Sheshadripuram College and Leesha from Ammanni College, who were returning home from tuitions, were injured in the incident.

An eyewitness Shivamoorthy, said that a few BJP workers helped shift the girls to KC General Hospital.

The two students have fractures in both their legs and have undergone surgery to place metal rods in their legs.

One of them, Rakshita, has been shifted to Ramaiyyah Hospital in Yeswantpur, while the other, Leesha, continues to be treated at KC General Hospital.

“One of the two suffered a knee fracture and the other a soft tissue injury. Both of them need a surgery immediately,” said Dr. Dhanya Kumar, Director, K C General Hospital, when

the girls were admitted in the hospital yesterday..

“All further treatment expenses occurring to the blast victims including plastic surgery will be reimbursed by government.

Eardrum treatments will be done in National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS),” said the Home Minister, R Ashok.

but I don’t want my daughter’s life to be spoilt.”

“We came to know about the explosion only after we heard a loud sound.

We were then on the ground, injured,” said Rakshita and Leesha.

The government has announced a reward of rupees five lakhs for anyone who gives information about the perpetrators of the blast.

“We came to know about the explosion only after we heard a loud sound. We were then on the ground, injured.”

- Rakshita, victim A news channel in Bangalore offered a compensation of Rs 1 lakh each to the students.

Rakshita’s father, Jayanna, said: “I run a small business.

I am very happy that the channel came forward to provide compensation to my daughter and I request the government to show some pity for my daughter. I don’t worry about myself,

Several cars and other vehicles were damaged during the blast.

Preliminary investigations by the city cops revealed that the bomb was planted in a motorcycle that was parked between a van and a car. Police confirmed the bike on which the bomb was planted had been registered in Chennai.

Initial reports had said that the ex-

plosion could have been caused by a cylinder fitted in the car, but traces of ammonium nitrate found all over the blast site confirmed that it was a bomb blast.

“Police and NIA are investigating the terror links of the incident. If any such links are found we will take it seriously because we do not need any Kashmir-like situation here. It is a direct attack on democracy,” said the Home Minister.

The intensity of the blast was so high that one of the policemen on security duty near the BJP office told that his head would have broken into pieces if he had kept his ears open.

The police van parked near the two cars was also damaged and glass panes splintered on the policemen inside the van.

Kunjappa, Sub-Inspector, Karnataka State Reserve Police, said: “I cannot hear anything from with my left ear as of now. I don’t believe this happened.”

It was a terrible experience for the residents of Malleshwaram as the blast occurred in a place which is not usually prone to violent attacks, especially bomb blasts.

A housewife, who was working in the kitchen, was injured when a glass splintered from the window and hit her head.

The Director General of Police, Lalrokhuma Pachau, speaking to press persons said, “People should not panic.

The injured are being treated at hospitals. And the NIA has arrived for further investigations. As of know nothing can be concluded nor said about the material of the bomb blast.”

Coming after two years to the day when a similar explosion occurred at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in 2010, the Karnataka Home Minister, R. Ashok criticized the central government saying, “We had requested the central government for a National Security Guard (NSG) hub here in Bangalore.”

“It is very sad and extremely discouraging that they have not yet responded to our request.”

He added, “It is a clear act of terror targeted at BJP leaders and workers who were visiting the Jagannatha Bhavan as part of the activities gearing up towards the upcoming elections.”

A Timeline of Terror 11 a.m. — A bomb explodes in front of the BJP office in Malleswaram, 6 injured.

11.50 a.m. — Police confirm blasts were caused by an explosive device.

12.00 p.m. — National Investigative Agency (NIA) team arrives at blast area.

NIA begins investigations Sleths from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrived at the spot shortly after the explosions occured and began their investigation of the blast site. Eyewitnesses and police personnel described the blast as deafening and also said that the vehicles were up in flames as soon as they heard the sound of the blast.

In a preliminary analysis of the scene of the blasts, police claimed that they had found traces of ammonium nitrate around the blast radius.

The police also refused to comment on whom they believe perpetrated the attacks on the BJP office.

12.40 p.m. — Number of victims injured in the attack climbs to 16.

2.00 p.m. — Reports of another blast in Bangalore; later proven to be untrue.

4.15 p.m. — Major cities put on high alert; security stepped up.

5.45 p.m. — Bike and SIM registration used to trigger blasts traced

04|

The Weekly Observer

April 18, 2013

Congress plans 10 day campaign in city

Credit: Krishnaprasad

By Krishnaprasad

Prime Minister Mr. Manmohan Singh and Congress President Ms.Sonia Gandhi have planned a ten day long campaign in Karnataka.

The campaigning will commence from Apr.23rd 2013 and will also have the Vice President of Indian National Congress Mr. Rahul Gandhi join the campaign.

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) has chalked out a schedule for this important campaign.

“Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be campaigning for a day addressing meetings in Hubli, Dharwad and Bangalore on April 29”,said KPCC President Dr. G Parameshwara.

Apart from this Mr. Rahul Gandhi would be addressing meetings in Bellary, Raichur and Bijapur on April 23. This would be followed by rallies in Kolar, Tumkur and Haveri on April 28 and in Mandya, Hassan and Shimoga on May 1st 2013.

The political parties were to file the nominations by Apr.17th 2013, which took place amid terror attacks.

2,295 candidates have

H.D. Kumaraswami and Anita Kumaraswami addressing the people after filing the nominations

entered the fray for the 224 seats in the May 5th assembly elections.

Many have started campaigning while some of them are still jumping from one party to another. Issuing of tickets to candidates has turned out to be a big headache for the Congress this time.

Kannada actress Rakshitha Prem who quit Badavara Shramikara

Raithara (BSR) Congress after she was given a ticket to contest from Chamarajanagar joined H D Devegowda of Janatha Dal Secular.

Yedyurappa’s KJP is all set to bash the ruling party in Karnataka, the BJP. Internal clashes in BJP have ever been the main reason for the ruling party of Karnataka to get a sense of losing the present leadership in the state. H D Kumarswamy and Anitha

Kumaraswamy have entered the battlefield contesting from Ramnagar and Chennapatna respectively. Former Minister B Sriramulu, who floated BSR Congress after quitting the BJP, filed nomination from Bellary Rural.

“586 nominations were filed on April 17, taking the cumulative number to 2,947, with independents accounting for the largest chunk at 1051”, said Karnataka Chief

Electoral Officer Anil Kumar Jha. April 20 has been declared as the last day for withdrawal of nominations.

The authorities would have to deploy additional ballot unit as one can have a total of only 16 names but in 23 of the total 224 segments, the number of candidates is more than 16.

Meanwhile, more than 100 violation of code of conduct complaints were registered against some of the candidates.

More than 100 cases have been registered for violating various excise laws”, said Raghavendra Auradkar, the new commissioner of Bangalore.

236 vulnerable polling regions have been identified where security arrangements has been beefed up.

Mr.Auradkar said that authorities have seized Rs.12 lakh in cash and e8 kgs of gold in Tumkur district, Rs.3 lakh in Deodurg and Rs.5 lakh in Soraba.

An investigation is on to find if they were meant for “use” for the polls, in violation of model code of conduct.

Police force tightens belt to ensure safe election 16 days to go...

city.

These check posts are to check and supervise Pre-election security measures: no distribution of sarees (clothes), cash and liquor • Indian Reserve Block to join the existing takes place. members of police force in the city.

This is to prevent candidates from buying • Karnataka Excise Act has been imposed to voters and keep the process control wine shops. transparent. The security personnel are in attendance, • Tight patrolling round the clock has been 24/7.” planned to maintain law and order.

There are patrolling The illegal wine filed under the Karnataka parties that have been also called “loose liquor” is Excise Act in the month of formed to oversee the law and order in the city. usually bought into the state March and April.

There will be round the from neighboring states.

Different police stations clock patrolling which will be Karnataka Excise 36 (B) are following different tactics divided into two shifts. defines loose liquor when a to maintain law and order.

Everybody from the Subparticular brand of alcohol Parmeshwar, Inspector at is packaged and sold in a Ulsoor Gate said: “We have inspector to Constables shall different alcohol bottle opened check posts in all patrol the respective police So far 12 cases have been police stations across the jurisdiction.

Credit: Krittika.S

By Aheli Raychaudhuri

POLICE security measures are at an all time high to ensure a smooth election.

In the view of upcoming elections on May 5, police force all around the city are tightening their belts to ensure there is no disturbance during the elections.

The police are leaving no stone unturned to maintain the peace.

The Paramilitary Force from Nagaland, Indian Reserve Block (IRB) will join forces with 300 members of the police force of two different constituencies in Bangalore.

Of these 300 members, 100 are from the Chickpet constituency and 200

members from the Shanthinagar constituency.

An anonymous police official at Wilson Garden police station who wanted to be referred to as the computer operator said, “To control the sale of illegal wine in shops, Karnataka Excise Act has been imposed.”

05|

The Weekly Observer

April 18, 2013

Govt adopts uncanny excuses to deny RTI information

30 suicides last month

Credit: Arun Chandra

By Priyanka Roy

RTI replies stating denial of information from the Bangalore Traffic Department

By Arun Chandra

The government is using the ambiguous provisions of the RTI Act to deny information to citizens.

It has become difficult for the public to ferret out information from government offices despite the climate of transparency ushered in by the Right to Information Act (RTI) 2005. When citizens get too close to uncomfortable truths, the ambiguous provisions of Section 8 of the RTI have been invoked.

The Bangalore traffic police have now discovered another legal loophole to deny information. The Public Information Officer (PIO) of the traffic department has concluded that information can be misused or abused to become a tool to obstruct national development and integration.

The Observer had filed an RTI query asking the Bangalore traffic police department for a copy of the various public grievances that are registered against the department.

In response, the PIO quoted from the Central Board of Secondary Education and Anr. Vs. Aditya Bandopadhyay case, and said: “The Act should not be allowed to be misused or abused to

become a tool to obstruct the national development and integration, or to destroy the peace, tranquility and harmony among its citizens.

Nor should it be converted into a tool of oppression or intimidation of honest officials striving to do their duty.

The nation does not want a scenario where 75 percent of the staff of public authorities spends 75% of their time in collecting and furnishing information to applicants instead of discharging their regular duties.

“The threat of penalties under the RTI Act and the pressure of the authorities under RTI act should not lead to employees of a public authorities prioritizing ‘information furnishing’ at the cost of their normal and regular duties.”

In the Central Board of Secondary Education and Anr. Vs. Aditya Bandopadhyay case, CBSE rejected the applicant’s request dated 12.7.2008 to reevaluate his exam answer papers.

The information sought was exempted under Section 8(1) (e) of RTI Act since CBSE shared fiduciary relationship with its evaluators and maintain confidentiality of both manner and method of evaluation.

The examination bylaws of the board

provided that no candidate shall claim or is entitled to re-evaluation of his answers or disclosure or inspection of answer book(s) or other documents.

The larger public interest does not warrant the disclosure of such information sought. The Central Information Commission, by its order dated 23.4.2007 in appeal no. ICPB/A-3/ CIC/2006 dated 10.2.2006, had ruled out such disclosure.

Feeling aggrieved the first respondent filed W.P. No.18189(W)/2008 before the Calcutta High Court and sought the following reliefs : (a) for a declaration that the action of CBSE in excluding the provision of reevaluation of answersheets, in regard to the examinations held by it was illegal, unreasonable and volatile of the provisions of the Constitution of India.

The examinees and the Central Information Commission contended that the object of the RTI Act is to ensure maximum disclosure of information and minimum exemptions from disclosure.

They also contended that an examining body does not hold the evaluated answer books in any fiduciary relationship either with the student or the examiner.

BANGALORE has recorded around thirty odd cases of suicidal deaths over the last month.

Suicidal deaths among youths have increased in Bangalore city at least by 30% from previous year, said the doctors from National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS).

The hospital has blamed immense pressure amongst peer circles and in the education system to be the reason behind these horrifying statistics revealed by the National Crime Bureau of Investigation (NCRB).

According to the NCRB, Bangalore alone accounts for 9.4 percent of the total suicide deaths that are recorded all over India.Dr. Gururaj, the Head of Department of Noncommunicable disease and Mental Health at NIMHANS said; “Youth now-a-days have to confront different levels of competition in their career which results in immense pressure that leads to suicides. Also lack of awareness in society and among parents and teachers adds to their woes.”

The Junior Scientific Officer from NIMHANS, Dr.Sunitha Singh said that depression among youth have increased from 5%10%.Ms.Joy Srinivasa from the NGO Makkal Jagriti said: “Though we conduct very few anti-suicidal programs to bring down the numbers of suicidal deaths but it hardly reaches to the large number of population.”

Dr. G. V. Nagaraj at the Health and Family Welfare Department of Karnataka said: “We decided to start programs which includes various stress-relief and awareness programs. The project is yet to be finalized.”

He added, saying, “NIMHANS has also hinted on establishing a new centre exclusively for the cases related to stress and depression.”

April 18, 2013

The Weekly Observer

|06

Beating financial odds

Was it tough for you to convince your parents and family to believe in your vision?

Parents are the first set of people to whom one needs to first pitch his idea.

It was tough initially because parents in general are very influenced by peers.

It’s difficult to convince parents of any They want their children to lead a secure and comfortable life.

My parents were worried initially, but once they saw the kind of media response and compliments I received from the industry folks they were satisfied. So yes, I can say that the media played a very important role here.

My family was my first sales pitch!

How did you manage the finances for the start up?

Getting finances was the most important issue as the three of us did not come from very rich families. I am very grateful to have colleagues who pursued a

Credit: Sneha Banerjee

By Sneha Banerjee

MAINAK Chakraborty feels the greatest challenge facing an aspiring entrepreneur is removing the financial and social insecurities that haunt his family. He also said that society has a major role in creating an atmosphere of fear and anxiety amongst family members who feel striking out on your own can lead to ruin.

Mr. Chakraborty ignored campus placements at the Indian Institute of Management in 2010 to start his own enterprise called Green Power Systems (GPS).

Mr.Chakraborty talks about his journey from starting with nothing to putting GPS on to the list of the 50 most promising startups across the world

by Kauffman Foundation as a part of the Global Entrepreneurship Week, 2011.

Media reports carrying his success stories helped Mainak to convince parents about his work

regular job and at the same time contributed their time, money and knowledge into this project. I did not take up a regular job and worked only on the development of GPS. The three of us had to invest all our monetary savings with GPS and we did that because all of us believed in the idea that went behind it.

What motivated you to start a new business? Any role models?

While icons are always inspiring, I believe nothing motivates like people whom you know doing it and doing it well. Even before starting up myself, I had always been around start up both in India and abroad and thus had seen many entrepreneurs; some famous, some struggling and some failed but in flesh and blood. And I guess that was the single biggest factor in giving me the will power and confidence to take the plunge. Most of these people were normal, except probably the fact that they had more guts and belief in their ideas than others.

They gave the feeling that

if they could do it, there is no reason why I can’t. At least there is worth giving it a shot. What’s the worst that can happen? That is an empowering thought. Icons I feel sometimes can be scary as they appear to be larger than life instead.

How easy is it for a young and aspiring graduate to start his own enterprise in India?

Initially it’s all very unplanned and vague, collecting finances and getting equipment and most importantly getting people to believe in your idea. The ecosystem in places like Bangalore is very exciting and conductive now. While in some cases inexperience has its disadvantages, it has its own advantages as well. I2India Ventures acted as our mentors and also financed our first project.

How was the experience of selecting employees for your firm at such an early stage?

Yes, it definitely was. We are now a thirteen member crew now.

Selecting employees was similar to selling our ideas to new clients. We had to convince

them of the potential of our idea. A lot of people are hesitant to join a start up because of the various ambiguities surrounding its sustainability.

How was your interaction with the government agencies?

We received grants from government institutions like the Department of Biotechnology and Department of Science and Technology. We had to present our idea before an esteem panel of mentors who went through our idea and it was quite a task to gain the confidence of these mentors. It was a very professional interaction and at the end of it we had their support.

30% of the students graduating from the current batch of MBA graduates preferred to skip the placements and start their own enterprise?

Why do you think this trend is catching up?

The trend is definitely catching up. I can see it in my alma mater itself. Until 2010, the number of students who used to opt out used to be in single digits. And now we have juniors who are running their own firms from the campus itself. So, it has more than caught up for sure. People are willing to take risks and think on a different note these days.

Your project came out at the time when Bangalore was dealing with its most severe garbage crisis, how far do you think your invention could resurrect the miserable environment structure of the city?

Our inaugural product, the BioOrja is aimed at the bulk waste generators. So, while it will not be able to or is not meant to take care of the entire city’s waste, by enabling the bulk generators, we feel world have done our bit towards our city. As per our estimates, almost 1/4th of the city’s waste comes

from these institutions. So, even if that chunk can be taken care of effectively, that would be a big relief for the city’s landfills.

Why do you think garbage segregation isn’t being religiously practiced in Bangalore?

It’s tough to expect people to change overnight.

More so when people notice, despite segregating the waste, it gets mixed up in the waste carrying vehicles.

So, I won’t put the citizens at blame alone. For a change to happen, it needs lots of systemic changes from the backend too.

What are the projects and ambitions of your company? How do you plan to channelize them?

We have just started off with our commercialization efforts in Bangalore and Hyderabad. And we plan to stick to these 2 cities and stabilize our business operations till the year end.

2014 onwards we plan to take our solution to other cities of India.

Observer Team An IIJNM Publicaton (For private circulation)

Editor Deepu Aby Varghese Sub-editor Hansa V Special Correspondence Nikita Malusare Aheli Raychoudhuri Page Editors Krishnaprasad S Urmi Sengupta Shreya Mukherjee Priyanka Roy Proof Reader Sneha Banerjee Kakoli Mukherjee E-mail editor@iijnm.org