Newshangama: January 2019

Thursday, January 31, 2019

What Karnataka govt, startups, farmer leaders and others expect from Union Budget 2019

Politics

TNM spoke to various stakeholders in Karnataka about their expectations ahead of Budget day.

Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, who was handed the additional portfolio of Finance recently owing to Arun Jaitely’s ill health, will present the interim budget on Friday. There is speculation that the BJP-led Union government will go on a populist drive and present a full-fledged budget instead of a ‘vote-on-account’. A day ahead of the last Union budget of the Narendra Modi government, TNM spoke to various stakeholders in Karnataka about their expectations. State government Karnataka’s Rural Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda who continues to represent the state in the GST council, told TNM, “I do not have any additional expectations. I will be overjoyed if the current Central government delivers on its minimum obligations.” “To illustrate, mandatory payments of MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) workers to the tune of Rs 1800 crore is pending in Karnataka. It is a violation of law and it is a burden that most vulnerable people cannot bear. Karnataka has been allocated about Rs 949 crore for drought relief compared to Rs 4700 crore for Maharashtra. Central funds for drinking water have been drastically cut from 75% to 12-13% in reality. So, if the Central government keeps up to its basic obligations, I will be a relieved man. I am in no delusion to expect achhe din or any bonanza from the current dispensation,” he added. Startups Mayank Bidawataka, co-founder of Vokal and RedBus among others, said, “Startups are looking forward to the so called ‘angel tax’ to be abolished forever. It’s been a problem for both investors and startups. I am both a startup founder as well as an investor in startups. For most angels, investing is a way of paying it forward. However, you don’t want the hassle of going through some scrutiny just for investing a small amount in a startup.” He added, “Startups are employment generators. Startup investments need to be incentivized. There should be no ambiguity / subjectivity when looking at funds raised by startups. The onus is on the government to find ways to separate the few questionable transactions from the thousands of genuine startups.” Industry Given Bengaluru is the epicenter of Indian startup culture, Chairman of Aarin Capital and the ex-Chief Financial Officer of Infosys, TVS Mohandas Pai, also opined that the angel tax is the biggest issue in Karnataka. Speaking to TNM, he said, “Please remember this is an interim budget so expectations are very low.” He suggested that the government promise a minimum guaranteed income for farmers, increasing the tax slab and investment in infrastructure in smaller towns and cities. “We need a national level income support plan for farmers so that it can counter the constant farmer distress we hear about,” he said. “The government should also think of increasing the tax slab to Rs 5 lakh from Rs 2.5 lakh as middle class has not got much from the last four years despite what the Finance Minister says. We need in a big way is infrastructural spend on India’s small towns. There are around 5,000 small towns, the money has to go there,” he added. He explained, “If there is better infrastructure in these small towns, then labour-intensive industries can go there instead of coming into big cities. We (the government) have not looked into this aspect instead have gone for the Smart City project which will take a lot of time to build capacities.” Public Transport Vinay Kooragayala Sreenivasa, a lawyer and rights activist, said, “One common but neglected need of urban residents across India is accessible and affordable public transport. While governments are spending thousands of crores on metros, public bus utilities which carry many more people and are used by the poorest of the poor remain neglected. For instance in Bengaluru the bus service clocks 51 lakh trips whereas the metro clocks under 5 lakh trips. Even then the bus utility barely gets any funding.” He added, “Increasing the fleet of buses and reducing the fares will ensure that the most utilised of public commons, the streets will be under lesser pressure and can be cleaner greener and healthier. Additionally, environmentally destructive projects like road-widening and flyovers can be avoided, tree-felling for the same can be avoided.” Unorganised job sector Vinay also pointed out that big policy decisions like demonetisation and the GST rollout made the lives of those in the unorganized sector even more precarious. “We expect that the budget will be honest and upfront about the impact on the economy, especially in the unorganized sector due to demonetization and GST. There has been a complete neglect of the workers in these sectors. A change in the prioritisation of public investment is required to secure the lives and livelihoods of the workers. We need to for instance spend money on rehabilitation of workers included in manual scavenging and less on publicity of Swacch Bharath, he said. He added, “The GST rollout further impacted artisans and rural economy. The budget should announce a complete loan waiver for these artisans and also provide subsidised inputs to these workers.” Education Dr Pramod Nittur, leader of All India Democratic Students Organisation, said, “We demand that the government spends at least 10% of the budget on education. At a time when big corporates are getting loan write offs and bail outs, fellowships for researchers should be hiked.” He added, “Government should open more institutions instead of encouraging private businesses entering the education sector. Teaching staff is very less across India and this is the basic duty of any democratically elected government to invest in education.” Agriculture Kurubara Shantakumara, farmer leader and former president of Rajya Raitha Sangha in Mysuru insisted that farmers should get their due in this budget. “We want a thorough implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report for pricing of crops, complete farm loan waiver and the crop insurance scheme by the government.”

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Infosys Foundation to revive age-old Panchakalyani lake in Karnataka

Environment

Panchakalyani, about 140 km from Bengaluru, is said to be one of the largest ancient lakes of Melukote town.

TNM Staff

Global software major Infosys' philanthropic arm on Thursday said that it will restore the age-old Panchakalyani lake in Karnataka's Mandya district. "The Foundation will restore the lake by cleaning the tank, removing silt and waste deposit, ensuring structural and chemical conservation of Panchakalyani and a nearby tank called Ganeshan Honda, reconnecting the existing canals and building a compound wall," the city-based Infosys Foundation said in a statement. Panchakalyani, about 140 km from Bengaluru, is said to be one of the largest ancient lakes of Melukote town, which has several water bodies situated on a hilltop through which rainwater has been harvested for consumption and irrigation for decades. "The restoration project is important to improve the water quality of the lake and bring back the balance in the natural ecosystem of Melukote," Foundation Chairperson Sudha Murty said in a statement. By preserving the lakes of Melukote, a town patronised by the empires of Hoysala, Vijayanagara and the Wodeyars of erstwhile Kingdom of Mysore, the heritage structures and legacy are also protected, Murty said. This announcement from the Infosys Foundation comes days after Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy had asked top officials of the Karnataka Lake Development Authority to take up restoration of lakes in public-private partnership mode under corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. The CM was speaking at meeting between the lake body and office bearers of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry at his official residence. He had directed the officers to prepare a DPR (detailed project report) after studying the ground realities and to take up these projects phase by phase in a time-bound manner under the corporate sector’s CSR initiatives. This comes at a time when the Karnataka government is waging a fight against the steep fine imposed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), for not following procedures by a court-appointed panel in restoring the Bellandur and Varthur lakes. The state government also wants the buffer zones for lakes and storm water drains set by the NGT in its 2015 order, to be relaxed. With IANS inputs

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Did police brutality result in the death of an undertrial prisoner in Bengaluru?

Crime

The prison officials have denied the charge – and claim he could have died from injuries he allegedly sustained when he was arrested, one year ago.

Theja Ram

On January 24, a 21-year-old undertrial prisoner, who was lodged at the Parappana Agrahara Central Prison in Bengaluru, died in Victoria Hospital. His death has brought forth several daunting questions. Most importantly – did he die due to custodial torture? Fairoz was arrested by the DJ Halli Police in January 2018 after they found 300 gm of marijuana in his possession, and was remanded to judicial custody. His parents are no more and with no other family members around to pay for his bail surety, Fairoz was awaiting trial at Parappana Agrahara Central Prison. On January 19 this year, he was rushed to the prison hospital after his right leg was bruised and swollen. According to Dr Pramila at the prison hospital's OPD, who treated Fairoz, he had "greenish bruises on his right leg". "When we told him to obtain proper treatment, he refused. So we prescribed some medicines,” Dr Pramila told TNM. On January 21, Fairoz's condition became critical and he was rushed to Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru's Kalasipalya area. "His blood pressure was dropping quickly and he had to be shifted out," Dr Pramila added. According to doctors at Victoria Hospital, Fairoz was being treated in the jail ward of the hospital and his condition was stable. "When he was brought in to Victoria, we had to get in touch with someone. We found that his parents were dead. So the DJ Halli Police, who had arrested him, tracked down an uncle named Muzamil," a doctor at Victoria told TNM. Fairoz's uncle was informed that his condition was stable and that there was no threat to his life on the night of January 23. However, on January 24 morning, Fairoz died. An autopsy was performed, which concluded the cause of death as assault. Fairoz allegedly told his uncle Muzamil and the doctors at Victoria that the police at Parappana Agrahara Central Prison had beaten him mercilessly, according to hospital sources. "Fairoz had bruises all over his right leg. There were also blisters on his upper thigh and the skin on the side of his upper thigh had been scraped off. He also had an injury on his left temple. It was caused by a blunt object," an official with the forensic department at Victoria Hospital said. However, prison officials have denied that Fairoz's injuries occurred inside the jail – and instead claim that he might have been assaulted at the time of his arrest – one year ago. "When we had brought him inside the prison, he already had bruises on his legs. The police who arrested him had beaten him up before producing him in court,” a prison official claimed. When questioned about the probability of their claim – that injuries sustained a year ago killed him now, the official rattled of a list of ‘other probable reasons.’ “This injury likely did not happen here (in the prison). Even if it did, it could have been when there was a prison fight. When this happens, police resort to lathicharge. These things are common. Or he could have got into a fight with an inmate," the prison official said. Doctors at Victoria hospital say that Fairoz's injuries were not more than 10 days old when he was brought in for treatment. DJ Halli Police denied assaulting Fairoz and alleged that the Parappana Agrahara Central Prison officials were trying to cover up the custodial death by blaming them. "They are trying to create medical documents which say that Fairoz had bruises when was lodged in the prison. No one assaulted him when he was arrested," a police officer at DJ Halli Police Station said. The Parappana Agrahara Police have registered an unnatural death report. When TNM contacted the Parappana Agrahara Police, they refused to divulge information about the case. However, prison officials say that an inquiry will be lodged to investigate the incident.

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IndiGo operator to build MRO facility at Bengaluru airport

Air Travel

"We have entered into a 20-year agreement with InterGlobe to build the MRO facility on our land by March 2020," said the airport operator BIAL.

IANS

Twitter / @IndiGo6E

Leading budget carrier IndiGo operator InterGlobe Aviation Ltd would build a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility at the Bengaluru airport on the city's northern outskirts, said the airport operator on Thursday. "We have entered into a 20-year agreement with InterGlobe to build the MRO facility on our land by March 2020," said the airport operator Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), a private-public consortium, in a statement in Bengaluru. The MRO facility will be built over five acres of land the airport operator has sub-leased to InterGlobe in its sprawling campus at Devanahalli, about 40km northwest of the city. "The 13,000-square metre hangar will accommodate two narrow body aircraft at a time with support infrastructure, including a QEC (Quick Engine Change) facility, shop warehouse and engineering offices for repair and maintenance," said the statement. Both operators, however, did not mention the cost of setting up the MRO facility, its revenue-sharing model and if it would be dedicated to IndiGo fleet or other carriers who operate services at the country's third largest airport after New Delhi and Mumbai. "With its strategic location, the Kempegowda International Airport will play an important role going forward. Hence we decided to build a MRO hangar as the core of our maintenance centre in southern India," said IndiGo Chief Operating Officer Wolfgang Prock-Schauer in the statement. With a fleet of 200 aircraft, the Gurugaon-based low-cost airline operates 1,300 flights daily and connects 52 domestic and 16 overseas destinations the world over. The airline has 158 departures from Bengaluru airport daily, with eight on overseas routes. The operator has its first MRO facility at the Delhi international airport. "We should offer a bouquet of services to facilitate the growth of our airline partners like IndiGo, which is one of the fast-growing at our airport. Its MRO facility in Bengaluru will give it more connectivity and open up new markets," said BIAL Chief Executive Hari Marar in the statement. The over decade-old greenfield airport served around 32 million passengers in the 2018 calendar year.

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Harris dives into 'Medicare for All' minefield

While nearly every Democratic lawmaker now says they believe in the eventual goal of Medicare for All, the party is far from united on how to get there.

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Beer Beda, Neer Beku: K’taka women marching for prohibition narrate woes of alcoholism

Prohibition

A group of hundreds of women marched from Chitradurga to Bengaluru, a 200 km journey, holding public meetings on the way calling for prohibition in the state.

Prajwal Bhat

Basavva Goodachi (50), a daily-wage labourer from Bachinagudda village in Bagalkot district, holds her hand over her head on Wednesday afternoon outside Freedom Park in Bengaluru. Even she has trouble explaining just how she marched 200 km in 12 days demanding a statewide ban on alcohol. "We have come here to close the bar in our village. We should find a way to do it somehow or someway," she says after a pause. Basavva is among a group of hundreds of women who marched from Chitradurga to Bengaluru, a 200 km journey, holding public meetings on the way calling for prohibition in the state. The journey, organised under the banner 'Beer Beda Neer Beku', was completed on Wednesday in spite of the tragic death of Renukaamma, one of the protestors, due to an accident. "We were planning to go back home after that but in spite of that, we have come here. She is dead but we decided that we had to fight and we are here to raise our voices to remove the bar in our village," says Basavva Goodachi. Basavva Goodachi (pictured left) has come to the march from her village in Bagalkot In Basavva's village, the majority of the men flock to the solitary bar positioned at the entrance to the village next to a sugarcane field. "The women are earning and the men are drinking," she says before adding, "Once they are drunk, we have to search for them near the sugarcane fields where they are invariably sleeping and bring them back home. Their presence affects everybody in the house. We do not have the peace of mind to eat our food or do anything because our husbands are drunk and whiling away their time". Several women gathered at the protest echoed Basavva's sentiments and complained that alcoholism has disrupted their livelihood and pushed them deeper into poverty. "We earn wages of around Rs 100-200 every day and if a part of this amount is spent on alcohol, there is no money to buy food or think about buying a house or sending our kids to school. We are tired of earning and seeing our money being spent on alcohol, so we have come to the government asking for a solution. We will vote for any politician who decides to take this up as an issue," Shivamma, a daily-wage labourer from Raichur says on the sidelines of the protest. Shivamma recalls that she was part of a 71-day hunger relay strike demanding prohibition in Raichur in the run-up to the State Assembly Elections last year. She says that many women who gathered have held protests over closing the bars in their villages. They have now come together to give a collective voice to their anguish and demand a statewide ban on the sale of alcohol under the banner of the Madhya Nisheda Andolana (MNA), an organisation formed in 2016 to demand prohibition. Although Karnataka's Minister for Cooperation Bandeppa Kashyampur visited the spot, the protestors refused to engage with him and demanded a meeting with Home Minister MB Patil or Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy. In a tense moment, the protestors clashed with the blockade of police personnel in an attempt to force their way to the Vidhana Soudha, however, they were quelled by around 500 police personnel, mostly women deployed to contain the protest. They chanted slogans "Beer Beda Neer Beku", (We don't want beer, we want water), "Aagale beku Aagale beku Madhya Nisheda Aagale beku" (It must happen, it must happen, alcohol prohibition, it must happen). There were also speeches by a number of activists including Mokshamma, from Raichur and prominent theatre personality and Gandhian Prasanna. Mokshamma previously led a 71-day relay hunger strike demanding prohibition in Raichur in the run-up to the State Assembly Elections last year. Prasanna, meanwhile was involved in a 250 km march last year demanding a better price for handmade goods. A nine-member delegation from the protest was detained by police for staging a protest at the Vidhana Soudha. They were later released after the news of the arrest was announced at the site of the protest. Amid the drama, the deadlock between the protestors and the government continued even at the end of the day in spite of a meeting organised with the Chief Minister at Vidhana Soudha. "We have not been given any assurances yet that this issue will be looked into. We have only been told that action will be taken on liquor shops operating without a license," Reshma, an activist at the protest told TNM.

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Suspicious of her social media activity, K’taka man kills wife, 3-month-old baby

Crime

What began as fights about household chores between the couple soon led to Raju accusing Sushma of having an affair with a man she met online.

Theja Ram

Angered over his wife's alleged social media obsession, a 27-year-old man allegedly bashed her head in with a stone and burnt her body in a eucalyptus grove in the outskirts of Bengaluru. The horror did not end there. He also allegedly killed his three-month-old baby booy and threw the child's body in the bushes in the same grove. Two years ago, SK Raju, a resident of Ramanagara's Gangondanahalli had sent 25-year-old Sushma a friend request on Facebook. A few weeks later, she accepted it and they soon began chatting every day. "A month or so after they chatted, they met and fell in love. Over eight months ago, Sushma became pregnant and she decided to tell her parents about Raju," the Bidadi Police told TNM. Sushma's parents, first opposed the relationship but later relented and decided to get the couple married when they learnt that their daughter was pregnant. Three months ago, Sushma gave birth to a baby boy and the couple were to hold a naming ceremony in February. However, police say that all was not well between the couple and that Raju constantly picked fights with Sushma. "She was a homemaker and he worked as a warehouse as a supervisor. Raju would pick fights with Sushma as he felt she was not doing the household chores but was always on Facebook and Instagram. He had even called Sushma's father Govindaiah and told him to instruct Sushma about not using her phone so often," the police said. However, what began as fights about household chores soon led to Raju accusing Sushma of having an affair with a man she met online. "According to his statement, he became suspicious of her phone usage. He would accuse her of chatting with other men on Facebook and Instagram," the police said. The next morning, Raju told Sushma that he wanted to take her out for a picnic. He decided to drive Sushma and the baby boy to a eucalyptus grove located near Wonder La, an amusement near Bengaluru. When they were inside the grove, Raju allegedly bashed Sushma's head in with a stone. He then allegedly took out a bottle of petrol that he had brought along and poured it over Sushma, who was unconscious and set her on fire. He then allegedly smothered his three-month-old baby boy with a pillow and threw the baby's body in the bushes. On January 20, Forest Officer Shivakumar, who was out for his daily patrolling duty, smelt something foul. "I decided to see what it was. I saw some blood on a stone and there was something black just a few meters away. When I went to see what it was, it looked like a burnt body. I was so shocked. I immediately informed the Bidadi Police," Shivakumar told TNM. "The murder is believed to have been committed on January 19. I was patrolling that same area that morning and left after looking through the forest area, just like I do every day. Maybe if I had come a little later, I could have saved the woman and the child. We are looking for the baby round the clock," Shivakumar added. On January 26, the woman’s father, Govindaiah, filed a missing person complaint online. Govindaiah had stated that his daughter and grandson had disappeared and that Raju was evading his calls. "The woman's father suspected that Raju was involved in her disappearance. After the forensic report came back, we realised that the body found on January 20 belonged to Sushma, the same one reported missing," the Bidadi police said. On Wednesday, the police arrested SK Raju and grilled him for hours, after which he allegedly confessed to killing the baby boy as well. "When we went to the bushes, there was a pillow but there was no baby. We are still searching for the baby's body," the police added. Shivakumar told TNM that when they went to look for the baby’s body, they spotted a leopard prowling the area and decided to come back later. Officials now suspect that the leopard may have taken the baby’s body. Raju was booked for murder and has been remanded to judicial custody.

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Win for B’luru’s Whitefield residents: NGT restores ‘closure order’ on Graphite India

Environment

This is a vindication for the Whitefield residents who have been fighting Graphite India over air pollution, in various courts for the last 20 years.

Soumya Chatterjee

In a major victory for residents of Bengaluru’s Whitefield in their 20-year legal battle against Graphite India Limited with regards to air pollution, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Friday effectively spelt closure of the factory. This comes after the Supreme Court in its October 30, 2018 judgement had fixed a sum of Rs 50 lakh as penalty for the erring company, as per the ‘polluters pay’ principle. In its order on Friday, the NGT restored the closure order given by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) in 2012. It further asked for a study to be conducted by an independent panel comprising members from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), KSPCB and National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI). The study has to be submitted to the NGT within two months’ time, the order stated. The panel will carry out stack monitoring of the industry, ambient air monitoring of the factory and the surrounding area by installing monitoring stations at 10 different locations, and also a study on source apportionment of pollution. Srinivas Kotni, the lawyer appearing for Whitefield Rising - the residents’ collective petitioning at various courts, said, “The NGT passed an order upholding the appeal made by the residents and agreed with the pollution control board closure order of 2012 setting aside the first Appellate order.” The Karnataka State Appellate Authority vide its order dated June 22, 2013, had allowed the appeal of Graphite India. However, out of the three members, one of them had passed a separate dissenting judgement. “In effect, they agreed with the single dissenting judgement of the first Appellate order,” Srinivas added. The verdict comes after the residents had first approached the National Green Tribunal in 1997 over the company’s blatant violation of norms and emission of black dust. Over the years, residents claim they have been exposed to greater air pollution and are at a higher risk of pollution-related health complications since Graphite India continued operations by exploiting legal loopholes and due to lack of stringent measures by the KSPCB. Details of the NGT order Criticising the Appellate Authority judgement, the NGT order observed, “We need not enter into further details of the case except to observe that the appellant, while assailing the impugned judgment of the Appellate Authority, submitted that the Appellate Authority had overlooked vital relevant facts and glaring evidence of pollution caused by Respondent no. 1 (Graphite India) as it had been indisputably identified as pollution from graphite. It is contended that pollution caused by graphite industry is clearly distinguishable from vehicular and other pollutions. That apart, severe impact on the health of the residents resulting from graphite particulate matter was not taken into consideration.” It added, “Upon careful consideration of the judgment passed by the majority of the Members, we find that the reasons assigned for holding the order of the KSPCB to be bad are not backed by any scientific evidence or data. It rather appears to be presumptuous. The crux of the findings of the majority judgment is that the black soot or dust cannot be attributed to the Respondent no. 1 alone as there were other industries including cement industries in the area apart from the heavy vehicular traffic in the vicinity. It has also been held that the KSPCB had not examined the case keeping in view the other likely sources of pollution. The other remarkable observation in the majority judgment is that the residents complaining of the pollution had settled in an industrial area near the industry being fully aware of the pollution that would be caused.”

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Drone Olympics, 19 flying displays: Aero India 2019 promises to be bigger and better

Aero India

There will be 17 flying displays by HAL and seven displays by foreign agencies, including two flying displays of Rafale jets.

Theja Ram

Representation Photo

The 12th edition of Aero India in Bengaluru's Yelahanka Air Force Station is all set to kick off between February 20 and 24 and the event is expected to be bigger and better than the ones held before. Preparations for the air show have reached their final stages and this year, the start-ups under the Make In India initiative in Defence will be showcased during the show. Aero India 2019 will also have a drone competition and a Women's Day special where Sunita Williams, a record holder for the maximum number of spacewalks by a woman, is expected to participate in the seminar on February 24. This time around, Aero India will also witness Drone Olympics. The participants will kick-start the competition at the Government Flying Training School in Jakkur and the finalists will participate at the Aero India event on February 21. "There will also be a day where the theme will be start-ups. The Ministry of Defense is still planning it out. There will be companies who will showcase their ideas during this show," an official said. In addition, the Union government has instructed Sainik schools and other schools in Karnataka to bring students for the air show. "We are expecting 10,000 students to participate in the various events and seminars. The aim is to recruit more people into the armed forces," the official added. Over 5 lakh people are expected to attend the show and officers at AFS Yelahanka say all issues they faced during the air show in 2017 are being dealt with. For starters, the general public, who will be arriving to view the show, will have to go to the ariel display viewing area via gate number 8, 9, 10 and 11 only. This would mean that they will have to make their way through Yelahanka Town and will not be allowed to use the the Yelahanka Main Road. Only exhibitors, service providers and the media will be allowed to use this road. Traffic diversions for those going towards the airport are also expected. The airport road will be closed and commuters will have to make their way to BIAL via Hennur. In addition, a parking space is being arranged to overcome the issues faced during the 2017 show. This time, the task has been contracted to a private company, which will be handling the issue. Shuttle services will be provided between the parking lot and the ariel display viewing area in order to avoid pedestrian traffic along the Yelanhanka Main Road. "We have identified two highways for beautification and the state government is also working on widening the road as soon as possible. The garbage generated will be cleared out once every half hour. This time we will install 1,000 toilets for people to use. There will be two food courts instead of one and also an Indira Canteen, which will offer food at affordable rates," said Air Commodore in-charge of the Yelahanka Air Force Station, Ravuri Sheetal. This time around, HAL will be the event organiser as opposed to the Defence Exhibition Organisation. "There are 21 sub-committees which the HAL has set up specifically to coordinate various operations for Aero India 2019. As of now, 31 flying display teams have registered and 21 static display teams have registered and 365 companies both Indian and foreign have confirmed their participation. There will be a large number of business-to-business, government-to-business and government-to-government meetings during the show," said Wing Commander Amit Kumar, in-charge of Aero India. The air show will also have two additional display stalls – G and F. In 2017, the show had A, B, C, D and AB stalls for static display. "On an average, 80-90 aircraft can be displayed in each stall, again, depending upon the size of the aircraft," he added. There will be 19 flying displays by the Indian Air Force and 17 by HAL and seven displays by foreign agencies including two flying displays of Rafale jets.

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Angry HD Deve Gowda warns Congress, asks high command to reign in MLAs

Politics

JD(S) patriarch HD Deve Gowda blamed his former protege Siddaramaiah for the tension between the coalition partners in Karnataka.

TNM Staff

PTI/file photo

Two days after Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy said he was ready to resign, an angry HD Deve Gowda has warned the Congress national leadership to “intervene.” "Things have already reached a final stage. Before the situation goes out of control, the Congress high command must intervene and impress upon their state leaders. I am seething with anger from within and watching the developments carefully,” the JD(S) patriarch said at the JD(S) Plenary Session held on Wednesday. Kumaraswamy had offered to quit when asked to react on comments made by a section of Congress MLAs close to Siddaramaiah – one of them said that Siddaramaiah was the CM even now, while another said developmental work was going on a slow pace as Siddaramaiah was no longer the CM. The MLAs were slapped with a show cause notice on the insistence of Karnataka AICC-in-charge KC Venugopal. The former PM blamed his former protege Siddaramaiah for the tension between the coalition partners. “He (Siddaramaiah) has been nursing a grudge against us as he thinks I scuttled his chances of becoming CM on two occasions. Once, when I vacated the post after being chosen as PM candidate in 1996 and secondly when we formed a coalition government with Congress in 2004,” he said. A hung verdict in the May 2018 assembly elections led the Congress – with about 80 lawmakers– support the JD(S) with 37 legislators to form the coalition government on May 23. This after the BJP, with 104 MLAs, quit office on May 19 for failing to prove simple majority in the 225-member House. “What pains me is that he (Siddaramaiah) in an interview to a television channel said twice that I could have gone to Delhi and ensured that he became the chief minister and that I did not. He also said that I did not impress upon Sonia Gandhi (then Congress chief) to make him the chief minister. He has been nursing this pain and anger for long now. But I have no hate. I am ready to discuss with him why I did not make him the chief minister on both occasions,” Deve Gowda added.

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Drone Olympics, 19 flying displays: Aero India 2019 promises to be bigger and better

Aero India

There will be 17 flying displays by HAL and seven displays by foreign agencies, including two flying displays of Rafale jets.

Theja Ram

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Karnataka eyes investments, jobs in electric vehicles segment

Business

"Karnataka offers incentives to manufacture electric vehicles in the state, which has potential to attract investments worth Rs 31,000 crore in the sunrise sector, create over 55,000 direct jobs," Industries Minister said.

IANS

Representational image

Tech-savvy Karnataka would offer incentives to attract huge investments in rolling out electric vehicles (EV), generate jobs and opportunities for research in the e-mobility segments, said a state minister on Wednesday. "Karnataka offers incentives to manufacture electric vehicles in the state, which has potential to attract investments worth Rs 31,000 crore in the sunrise sector, create over 55,000 direct jobs and provide opportunities for research and development (R&D) in electric mobility," said Karnataka Industries Minister K.J. George at a summit on EVs. As the first state in the country to have a policy to encourage use of eco-friendly electric vehicles with zero emission, George said the state government would have single-window clearances to be a preferred destination for attracting investors in the EV segment. Taiwan-based Teco Electric Company president George Lien said his firm would work with Karnataka government to bring in technology to make EVs as it was in the business of energy optimization in India. South Korean Wevio president Calvin Yi said his global firm was signing an agreement with the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) for setting up a joint venture and exchange technology between Indian and Korean firms. "We would like to help India in freeing its cities from air pollution from automobiles by encouraging Korean firms like Hyundai to make 300-km charging range EVs by this year-end in India," said South Korean Ambassador Shin Bong-Kil on the occasion. ICC Director-General Rajeev Singh said the apex trade body would work with central and state governments across the country to attract investments and generate jobs in the EV sector. "We plan to bring a delegation of EV and charging station makers from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, which have a vibrant EV manufacturing ecosystem," added Singh. As part of the summit, IBC Expo has organised a "EV 360" exhibition where automobile major Mahindra Electric, Sun Mobility, Ather Energy, E Trio, NRD Eco Motors, Jitendra Electrical Vehicle and Ampere showcased their technology and products in EV sector.

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Himachal woos Karnataka firms to invest in hill state

Business

CM Jai Ram Thakur on Wednesday urged companies based in Karnataka to extend their operations to the northern region.

IANS

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Pitching for investments in diverse sectors in the hill state, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Wednesday urged companies based in Karnataka to extend their operations to the northern region. "I would like Karnataka-based companies in IT, electronics, automotive, apparel, biotech, renewable energy and manufacturing to invest in our state and avail of the various benefits offered to investors," said Thakur at a roadshow on the global investors' meet in his home state at Shimla on June 10-11. Addressing captains of industry at an interactive session, organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) ahead of the 'Rising Himachal Global Investors Meet' in June, Thakur urged the tourism industry to invest in the picturesque Himalayan state, which is rich in flora and fauna. "Since our government came to power in December 2017, we have put effort to improve the ease of doing business, as evident from higher ranking for our state by the Union government," said Thakur. The federal government has recently ranked Himachal top among the fast movers category in ease of doing reforms. The Baddi-Nalagarh industrial belt has emerged as a key manufacturing hub for diverse sectors and the region is known to be Asia's largest bulk drug manufacturing area. "The global investors' meet will highlight our hill state as a place for investment and opportunities and to realise its potentiality. Your participation in the summit and its sectoral sessions will generate ideas for the development of the state," said Thakur. Highlighting the tourism potential in the state, the BJP chief minister said as pure air and bio-diversity were the state's biggest assets, his government would strive to make Himachal a global sustainable tourism destination in the world. "With road, rail and air connectivity under Udan across the state, Himachal is no longer at the periphery but at the centre of a vibrant and surging economy," said Thakur. The state government is gearing up to attract investors across sectors like logistics and warehousing, aroma, food processing, biotechnology, automobiles and electric vehicles. Himachal Industries Minister Bikram Singh said 337 reforms were taken under the Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) to jump 28.37 per cent with 94.13 per cent score. Himachal Additional Chief Secretary (Industries) Manoj Kumar said the state had 1,600 acres of land bank for industries like bulk drugs pharma park and biotechnology park in Solan, textile park in Una and industrial township in Kangra and Una. The global investors' meet in June will showcase the state's capabilities and readiness to take on business challenges. It will guide the state to wider avenues of business possibilities by implementing technology, policies, practices and strategic investments. The meet will focus on tourism, electronics, education, skill development, Ayurveda, manufacturing, infrastructure and logistics, power and renewable energy, agro business, pharmaceuticals and food processing. CII Karnataka Chairman N. Muthukumar said Himachal had emerged as one of the progressive states in the country and adjudged recently the best in sustainable development goals by the United Nations.

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Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Chikkaballapura temple tragedy: 3 held for serving prasadam with expired ingredients

Death

Two persons had died and 11 were hospitalised after consuming prasadam at the Ganga Bhavani Devi temple in Chintamani.

TNM Staff

Four days after the a temple prasadam tragedy struck Karnataka, police in Chikkaballapura have arrested three women in connection with the incident. Two persons had died and 11 others were admitted to hospital after consuming prasadam in the Ganga Bhavani Devi temple in Chintamani Town. According to the police, Lakshmi, Amaravathi and Gangamma are the three accused who have been arrested. "We had suspected that the ‘kesari bhat’ which was served as prasadam was made with “expired” ingredients. We had ruled out the use of poison or pesticide as in the case of the Chamarajanagar incident," the police said. The three women have been charged under section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) under the Indian Penal Code and have been remanded to judicial custody. 28-year-old Kavitha and 59-year-old Saraswathamma succumbed to death after consuming the prasadam and 11 others were hospitalised on January 26. Police said that they have ruled out the involvement of the temple management in the incident as the prasadam had not been prepared at the temple. "The women had brought some prasadam and were distributing it of their own volition," the police added. Kavitha died while receiving treatment at a state-run hospital in the district, said Chikkaballapura Deputy Commissioner P Anirudh Sravan. Kavitha was first taken to SNR hospital and then later shifted to R L Jalappa hospital, where she died. It has been reported that four other members of her family, including her husband Gangadhar (35) and their two daughters were also admitted to the hospital. The victims were rushed to the hospital when they began vomiting and a few of them became unconscious. Sources in the district administration say that the prasadam was not examined by health department officials before it was distributed. "We have been asked to conduct quality control tests on temple prasadams. In this incident, we were not informed about the prasadam distribution and hence it was not possible to test the prasadam," the official added.

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SC/ST quota in govt job promotions: K’taka cabinet clears law to implement reservations

Policy

However, there is no clarity if those demoted due to the new law will be given same salaries or similar positions will be created.

TNM Staff

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Days ahead of the state budget, the Karnataka government in a cabinet decision on Wednesday okayed the provision of reservations in promotions for SC/ST government employees as per the Karnataka Extension of Consequential Seniority Act. The law was due to be implemented even though the bill did not get the assent of the President in June 2018, since the Supreme Court is hearing the matter. This after CM HD Kumaraswamy on January 10 had said that the state government will follow a “middle path” on the issue without mentioning any specifics. “Since there’s a clear (legal) opinion that implementing the law will not amount to contempt of court, the law will come into immediate effect. But this will be subject to the final outcome of the cases before the Supreme Court,” the Deccan Herald quoted Karnataka Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, Krishna Byre Gowda. as saying. The government may have to scrap the law based on the Supreme Court’s final verdict on the issue. The minister said that cabinet’s decision was based on the advice of former Attorney General of India Mukul Rohatgi. “The cabinet has decided to go ahead and implement the reservation bill with immediate effect as the legal opinion by senior lawyer who is appearing on behalf of the government, Mukul Rohatgi, has clearly said the government has no choice but to implement the decision of the legislature which passed the act protecting the government employees promotion based on reservation,” the minister was quoted by The Times of India . He added, “While the act will come into effect immediately, the chief secretary has been asked to redraw the seniority list to once again promote the employees based on reservation. The revised seniority list is mandated on account of a few officials having retired.” Byre Gowda further said that CM HD Kumaraswamy has further asked the Chief Secretary to make sure that interests of those affected due to the implementation of this law is taken care of. However, there is no clarity if those demoted due to the new law will be given same salaries or similar positions will be created. Read: SC/ST Promotions Bill: Affected K’taka govt employees to hold protests on June 15

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A B’luru food platform is helping women and homemakers share their cooking skills

Human interest

FoodBuddy connects home cooks, most of whom are women with neighbourhood buyers, thus allowing them to earn recognition for an often-overlooked skill.

Geetika Mantri

When Sandhya Sinha moved to Hyderabad after spending 14 years in Kolkata, she did not know anyone in the city or her apartment complex. A mother to eight-year-old twin girls, she was looking for a flexible job so that she could be at home for her children when they returned from school, without much luck. A few months back, she found out about FoodyBuddy, a platform that allows people to sell homemade food within their communities and neighbourhoods. The sellers decide the quantity, the menu, prices, as well as delivery – either the neighbours pick it up, or they deliver it within the neighbourhood. In October 2018, Sandhya became a seller on FoodyBuddy. “I love cooking, and trying out new dishes,” the 35-year-old tells TNM. “And this allowed me the flexibility to work when I wanted and be there for my kids too. I didn’t know anyone in my apartment complex initially. Now, I have friends here, and people who recognise me for my food. I love when my daughters’ friends come home and say they love my noodles.” Sandhya Sinha. Her homemade besan laddoos and nimkis are favourites among customers. Launched in Bengaluru in 2015, FoodyBuddy is a platform founded by Anup Gopinathan, Akil Sethuraman and Rachna Rao that connects ‘home chefs’ to those in their vicinity who’d like to have home food. Anup explains that FoodyBuddy is different from restaurants that market themselves with home-style dishes. “This is about people who make amazing food for their families – and can ask others in their neighbourhood if they would be interested in having the same dishes so they will make a larger portion,” he says. In doing so, Anup says, not only is there a lot of diversity in terms of dishes but authenticity too, as the home chefs are likely well-versed in their native cuisines and prepare homely dishes that you may not get at an eatery. With over 100 communities and over 1,000 sellers in Bengaluru alone, FoodyBuddy recently had its formal launch in Hyderabad, though it's been operating for a few months. The platform has allowed several women, including homemakers, to feel recognised and validated for a skill that is often taken for granted – cooking. Akil, Anup and Rachna, the cofounders of FoodyBuddy Take Bengaluru-based Shweta Sharma for instance. The 35-year-old homemaker has always loved cooking. And when she got to know about FoodyBuddy late last year, she decided to join as a seller in October. “Initially, I just listed moong dal halwa and another dish, which did not gain a lot of traction. After that, I listed puran poli, and that was a huge hit,” she says. Born and brought up in Bengaluru, but with a Maharashtrian heritage and married to a man from Uttar Pradesh, Shweta offers a unique blend of dishes. While puran poli (a thick parantha stuffed with a sweet blend of jaggery and dal), one of her most popular dishes, is Maharashtrian, she also makes south Indian and north Indian food and snacks, along with cakes and bakes. Shweta Sharma prides herself on the variety of cuisines she can offer. “Within four months, I had sold about 250 servings of puran poli. And I had 4.9 on 5 as my rating on the Foodybuddy app!” she says proudly. Her food became so popular that while sellers usually contain themselves within their apartment complexes for customers, FoodyBuddy helped her connect with some other apartment complexes nearby so that she could expand her business. Like Shweta, Ratna Bindra, another seller on FoodyBuddy, says being a seller is more about the appreciation and love she receives, especially students who stay in PG accommodations. On the platform since March 2017, Ratna, a former lecturer, signed up with a desire to serve her community. Originally from Delhi, but living in Bengaluru since 1991, Ratna specialises in north Indian food including stuffed paranthas, dal tadka and so on. She was also the first 'Chef of the week' declared on FoodyBuddy. "Students and people who were not from here kept coming back for my food. Especially the kids, they'd say, 'aunty, we feel like we don't miss home as much when we eat food prepared by you.' That is what motivated me to continue, and increase my menu from stuffed paranthas to 70-80 items," Ratna shares. Ratna, whose husband also helps her with FoodyBuddy work, recently quit her lecturer job to focus on her cooking. Ratna Bindra's motivation for being on FoodyBuddy is a sense of serving her community. Most of the sellers on FoodyBuddy are women, and come from all walks of life - some are working professionals who only cook and sell only on weekends, others do it after work, and yet others are stay-at-home moms or housewives, looking for supplemental income. But when TNM asked some women sellers if they were turning a profit, they said that while they were not making losses, the profit margin was not very high. However, many were not bothered by the lack of major financial gain. “It gives one a sense of purpose and accomplishment, and enhanced self-esteem,” Sandhya says. Apart from the testimonials that people can write on the app, the platform also has a blog which features outstanding dishes as well as chefs - and this is a huge motivation and acknowledgement for sellers, Anup says, even if cooking and selling becomes chaotic at times. Take Bengaluru-based Sakshi Garg for instance. A mother to a two-year-old and a working IT professional, Sakshi initially began with making snacks she would anyway make for her family on weekends and selling them. But after she began receiving glowing testimonials and requests on days she was not serving, she started taking orders for dinner on weekdays as well. “It does get hectic sometimes,” she admits. “I come back at 6.30-7 pm from work, and then put my menu online. Then I start cooking as per the orders I get. Sometimes, people are willing to wait till 10.30 pm for my food. The appreciation and my own passion for food keep me going,” Sakshi says. Sakshi's popular snacks include baked shahi toast with rabdi and gramflower dhokla, among others.

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17-yr-old B‘luru student stabbed to death for objecting to batchmate’s relationship

Crime

According to the police, Dayasagar had been objecting to Rakshit’s relationship with a girl and two had been quarrelling over the issue for the past two months.

Soumya Chatterjee

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In a horrific incident of violence, a 17-year-old Bengaluru pre-university (PU) student was allegedly stabbed to death by his college mate on Wednesday. The crime took place at Soundarya PU College in Nagasandra, Hesaraghatta in the city’s outskirts. The institution has a total of 1200 students of both Commerce and Science streams. The victim has been identified as Dayasagar SP, a Commerce student of PU-II grade. He had a spat with his alleged assaulter Rakshit P, who is also a PU-II Commerce student in another section. A college staff told TNM, “Dayasagar was killed in the toilet. The incident took place around 8 am in the morning. Only some of the staff had reached the college by then as classes begin at 8:30 am.” “At the time, the students was chatting among themselves or were on their mobile phones. This is when Rakshit had messaged Dayasagar asking him to come to the toilet. When he reached the toilet, Rakshit stabbed Dayasagar. There was panic among the students who rushed inside the toilet after the incident and got hold of Rakshit,” she added. A college official said as soon as the staff came to know about the incident, police was informed, who in turn arrested Rakshit. Dayasagar was declared dead after he was taken to the hospital. According to police, the altercation was over a relationship Rakshit was allegedly having with a college mate of theirs. According to police, Dayasagar had objected to Rakshit texting her but the latter did not listen. Bagalagunte Police Station Inspector R Virupaksha confirmed that the accused is a major and is 18 years and two months old. A case of murder has been registered. “The issue is very trivial. The accused was involved in a relationship with one girl in the institution. Dayasagar was not happy with that and insisted that Rakshit did not continue the relationship. They have been quarreling over the issue for the last two months. There was a small incident two days before between the accused and victim as well,” the inspector told TNM.

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Christian couple, Muslim woman traveling in a car in Mangaluru attacked by Muslim men

Assault

The goons – a group of Muslim men according to the police – stopped the car, broke the windshields and windows, beat up Thomas, and tried to drag Tousheera out.

Prajwal Bhat

Police approaching the victims after the attack.

A group of goons in Mangaluru attacked three people traveling in a car from Surathkal to Mangaluru on Monday evening. The car was being driven by Thomas D’Souza, a driving instructor, and his wife Mallika D’Souza was sitting in the front passenger seat. Their friend Tousheera was sitting in the back, clad in a burkha. The goons – a group of Muslim men according to the police – stopped their car, broke the windshields and windows, beat up Thomas, and tried to drag Tousheera out. The incident occurred around 5:30 pm on Monday evening when the trio was traveling back to Mangaluru from Thadambail in Surathkal. The group of Muslim youth on scooters stopped the vehicle near Kanachur Institute of Medical Sciences in the city. Two men from the group then proceeded to assault Thomas, attacking him on the head, face and hands. "Two people tried to grab the woman in the back but after they could not pull her out, they hit the car. They eventually left after the window of the car was shattered," said Mallika, speaking after the incident. Thomas, who is a driving school instructor by profession, sustained injuries in the incident. He later filed a complaint at the Konaje Police Station. Police officials have registered an FIR under sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 341 (wrongful restraint), 427 (mischief causing damage), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence). Police are taking statements from witnesses to zero in on the attackers. Mangaluru has previously been in the news for cases of moral policing from groups of Hindus and Muslims. "These kinds of attacks happen in both Hindu and Muslim communities. It is more prevalent among Hindu groups as we have seen in the past but is a problem that plagues both Hindu and Muslim communities. It should be condemned whenever they happen irrespective of the faiths involved," State President of Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) Muneer Katipalla told TNM. In the past men and women from different communities have been attacked for spending time with each other. The number of such instances rose sharply in the lead up to the state Assembly elections in Karnataka in 2018 and appear to have resurfaced once again.

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The Karnataka question: Do some Congress leaders want the coalition to collapse?

Politics

If rumours are to be believed, then forces in both the Congress and BJP are working to bring down the coalition government and ultimately the pre-poll alliance.

Theja Ram

Since May 2018, when the Congress-JD(S) coalition came to power, the BJP in Karnataka has been sorely disappointed for being unable to form a government, and time and again they’ve tried to poach MLAs and topple the government. Now, once again, rumours are rife that the BJP is planning to pull off another coup and push for a no-confidence motion when the budget session begins on February 8. What's intriguing is that several sources in the Congress say that many of the leaders within the party do not want the coalition to stand. "It's not about retaining power now. It's about a much larger threat the party is facing," a Congress source said. So what is this perceived threat? According to insiders in the grand old party, several prominent leaders in the Congress are extremely unhappy about the Congress-JD(S) pre-poll alliance for the General Elections. Sources say that these leaders fear that this alliance would pave way for the JD(S) to "completely take over" their strongholds in Old Mysuru. In December last year, JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda wrote to AICC President Rahul Gandhi stating that the JD(S) would be willing to align with the Congress for the Lok Sabha elections only if the JD(S) is allowed to contest in 12 key constituencies. The former Prime Minister demanded that the tickets to the Mandya, Hassan, Mysuru-Kodagu, Bengaluru Rural, Kolar, Chikkaballapura, Shivamogga, Tumakuru, Udupi-Chikkamagaluru, Chitradurga, Raichur and Bidar segments be handed over to JD(S). "These are also the areas where the Congress is extremely strong. So many prominent leaders from these MP constituencies will lose their vote bank if they are seen supporting the JD(S) candidate. There is an entire lobby of leaders who are fighting against this pre-poll alliance. The strategy is simple. If there is no coalition, then there will be no pre-poll alliance. Hence, they don't mind if the party is not in power in the state. They want to retain their voter bases for the numerous elections to come," a Congress source said. On Monday, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy had also expressed his displeasure over Congress leaders "creating trouble" for the alliance. Kumaraswamy had also expressed his wish to step down as the CM if the Congress did not want to continue as a coalition partner. "For so many years, the Congress and JD(S) were rivals and suddenly they want these leaders in key constituencies to share their vote bank with them. Why would they agree?" the source questioned. Currently, there are 79 Congress MLAS, 37 JD(S) MLAs, one MLA each from KPJP (R Shankar) and BSP (N Mahesh) and one independent candidate (Mulbagal H Nagesh), who withdrew support for the coalition earlier this month. With 118 MLAs on its side, the coalition has a simple majority. BJP sources say that the party has allegedly managed to convince six Congress legislators to resign ahead of the budget session. Sources in BJP and Congress say that six rebel Congress MLAs, including former Minister of Municipalities, Ramesh Jarkiholi, have been cooped up at resorts. Four MLAs are believed to be in Mumbai, one in Pune and the suspended Congress legislator JN Ganesh is allegedly cooling his feet at a resort in Goa. If rumours are to be believed, then forces in both the Congress and BJP are working to bring down the coalition government and ultimately the pre-poll alliance. The question is - will the BJP succeed this time?

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Over 40 per cent of road accident victims in Bengaluru are pedestrians

Accident

Traffic police stats show that while total road accident deaths decreased in the last 4 years, the percentage of pedestrian deaths remained around 40-45%.

Soumya Chatterjee

A total of 1,218 pedestrians have died in road accidents in Bengaluru over the past four years, which translates to almost one person every day on average.This is more than 40% of the total number of people who died in road accidents in the same period. Statistics maintained by the Bengaluru City Traffic Police (BTP) show that over the last four years, while the number of casualties in road accidents has gradually decreased, the percentage of pedestrian deaths has remained around 40-45%. The number of pedestrian deaths in Bengaluru for 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 were 338, 320, 284 and 276 respectively. The corresponding figures for injuries to pedestrians in these years were 1254, 1292, 1346 and 1217. Experts attribute the drop in the number of pedestrian deaths, along with all form of road fatalities in Bengaluru, to the drastic reduction of average vehicular speeds due to increased congestion on the roads. Read: A bright side to Bengaluru’s traffic: Fewer road accidents this year Bad infrastructure, more deaths The data also points to another trend. Places with apparently better civic infrastructure had lesser accident casualties including pedestrian deaths, while places like the Outer Ring Road with comparatively poorer facilities witnessed more frequent incidents. For example, the highest number of deaths due to road accidents (not only pedestrians) in 2018, was in Yelahanka, the northern fringe of the city, with 48 deaths followed by KR Puram in the eastern fringe with 43 deaths. The same was true for 2017 and 2016 as well, with the two areas faring worst in this regard. It may be noted that the figures for injuries are recorded by the Traffic Police department only when a motor vehicle is involved. There is no record of injuries due to bad footpaths and roads alone. While the BTP does not keep station-wise data of pedestrian deaths, analysis by the Footpath Initiative— an organisation advocating better pedestrian facilities, shows a similar pattern in 2017. The study showed that the highest number of pedestrian deaths was recorded in KR Puram, Banaswadi, Byatarayanapura, Yeshwanthpur, Madiwala, Peenya, Electronic City and Yelahanka. With 25 deaths in just one year, KR Puram alone contributed to 9% of total pedestrian deaths. Anusha Chitturi, member of The Footpath Initiative, said, “Crashes are evidently lesser in the Central Business District, where most areas have wide footpaths and safe pedestrian crossings and such infrastructure safeguards the pedestrians from motorists.” She added, “This is not the case in the peripheral areas which have wide ring roads without basic infrastructure such as footpaths and crossings. Vehicles also travel at very high speeds. All of these create conditions for high-severity crashes involving pedestrians in these areas.” Need for skywalks, raised pedestrian crossings The lack of skywalks and raised pedestrian crossing in areas like the Outer Ring Road is another reason that puts life of pedestrians at risk. For instance, until October 2018, the entire stretch of five kilometres between Marathahalli Junction and Ecospace Bellandur did not have any skywalks. The skywalk that eventually came up too was sponsored by corporates and not by the BBMP. The only other skywalk that has been built near Columbia Asia Hospital was a result of large scale protests following the death of two pedestrians in two weeks, in a public-private partnership (PPP) model. Five more skywalks are planned to be built on this stretch but residents say work is yet to begin. Policy and budget Ashish Verma, an expert on sustainable transportation at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru blames the existing system of policy, planning and design for the present situation. “These days, there is more and more focus on making commute faster, so we hear talks of grade separators, elevated corridors and flyovers. There is scant provision and focus for pedestrian facilities and this certainly leads to situations where walkers are forced to move in risky conditions, leaving them vulnerable to road fatalities. When a flyover is built with crores of rupees, there is no space for walkers nor is there any provision made for those on foot below the flyover. On the other side, pedestrian facilities itself are pathetic. At present, walking on footpaths is dangerous and akin to walking on a landmine. The only difference is instead of being blown up, you will get caved in,” he said. Also read: Video: Bengaluru’s footpaths are so bad, you have to thakadhimithaaaaaa! Pavement or death trap? Bengaluru man grievously injured due to broken footpath He added, “Also many times, if the footpaths are fit for walking, they are encroached upon for parking or shoppers and the like drop construction waste on them. So there is never effective width ensured for walkers. Next is the absence of safe crossing facilities, whether it is signalised junctions or not. Even in signalised junctions, pedestrians are given time just for lip service, sometimes the time given is not enough to cross even half the road. In most situations, traffic police are also under pressure to clear the traffic. This inconvenience leads to more and more people switching to personal motorised transport. It’s a vicious cycle that we are stuck in.” At present, for a city of 1.2 crore people, Bengaluru has 78.5 lakh registered vehicles, meaning an average of 65 vehicles for every 100 persons. This number is without counting the vehicles, which are registered outside the city. A total of 1,697 vehicles were added to the city’s roads daily on average, given there was an accretion of 6,19,745 vehicles to the city’s roads between November 2017 and November 2018. Sapna Karim, Head of Civic Participation of Janaagraha, which has analysed budgetary allocations of the BBMP, said, “It is true that the allocation for pedestrian infrastructure is not very high but as a caveat, many of the road projects that are tendered might also include works related to footpath. So it is very difficult to know what exactly is spent for that purpose alone,” she said.

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