Reserve Mysuru Dasara elephant Drona dies, caretakers allege neglect

Negligence

The Mathigodu camp’s mahouts, who had tried to revive the elephant, allege that timely medical intervention could have saved Drona’s life.

By Mubarak Ailing 37-year-old male tusker Drona died at the Mathigodu elephant camp in the Nagarhole sanctuary near Titimati in Karnataka on Friday. The death of the reserve elephant for the Mysuru Dasara has created a stir among the camp’s mahouts, who had tried to revive the elephant and who allege that timely medical intervention could have saved Drona’s life. According to the mahouts, Drona was ill for quite some time and given the summer heat, his condition had further aggravated. “On Friday morning, noticing that Drona’s body movements were weak, we even took him to a water reservoir and repeatedly splashed water on him. He was slipping and unable to stand. We repeatedly called the zoo authorities to summon the veterinarian to take a look at him, but medical help did not arrive until he died,” a mahout said. Highlighting the medical neglect of the animals, the caretakers said that despite the district housing two elephant camps, one at Dubare and another at Mathigodu, the swiftest medical help for the 26 elephants has to come from Mysuru city and is not available within the camp or in Kodagu district. “Even the mandatory medical check during summer is not carried out as per schedule and the consultants have not changed the animals’ diet for the summer, which has us worried,” a mahout alleged. Once a rouge elephant, Drona was captured for raiding agricultural areas in Hassan by forest officers in 2014. From there, he was sent to the Mathigodu camp to be tamed. According to the local mahouts, Drona also aided the forest officials in tiger combing operations. “Drona was a senior elephant and his presence restored a sense of confidence among the officials, who were out to capture other rogue elephants,” they claimed. In two previous seasons of the Mysuru Dasara, Drona was positioned in the ‘reserve elephant’ squad. “Given his training, he was never troubled by sharp sounds or crowd presence and acted casually when visitors posed for a selfie with him,” the caretakers said. While the Director of Nagarahole National Park, KM Narayanaswamy, said that it was a case of heart attack, the mahouts are insistent that the neglect of animals must also be probed. Story by www.storyinfinity.com (Subs and Scribes Media Ventures LLP).

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Out on bail, Congress MLA Ganesh says MLA who he assaulted is like a 'brother'

Politics

Kampli MLA JN Ganesh was in jail for two months for allegedly assaulting fellow Congress MLA Anand Singh in January.

TNM Staff

File photo

“Anand Singh is still my brother and he is angry with me. I hope everything will be fine and relations will be normal,” Karnataka Congress member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) JN Ganesh said less than a week after getting bail in an attempt to murder case for allegedly assaulting fellow Congress MLA Anand in January. Ganesh, the MLA from Kampli constituency in Ballari district, said this on Saturday following a meeting with senior party leader Suryanarayana Reddy. “There are people who committed major mistakes and got away with it. In my case, it was a minor incident, blown out of proportion by some people. I will not speak much about what happened in the resort. Anand Singh knows me for the last 15 years and even today, I respect him a lot. Even if he rejects me, I will continue to remain his brother,” Ganesh added. Ganesh, who was in jail for two months in connection with the case, was granted bail by the Karnataka High Court on Wednesday. Ganesh was arrested on February 20, a month after he absconded when he was booked by Bidadi Police for allegedly assaulting Anand Singh that took place at Eagleton resort on January 19. The Congress legislators were holed up in the resort after a special legislature meeting was called by party leader Siddaramaiah during a time of threat to the coalition government. In his statement to the police, Anand Singh had said Ganesh had threatened to shoot him dead and even had sought his gunman’s weapon. The injuries landed Anand Singh in hospital and he reportedly had to undergo eye surgery, too. Ganesh was booked under sections 323 (Voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (Voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons), 307 (Attempt to murder), 504 (intentional insult to breach peace) and 506 (Criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Following the incident, Ganesh was suspended by the party pending action from the party High Command. Speaking alongside Ganesh, Suryanarayana urged the party’s state leadership to restore Ganesh’s position in the party. He added, “I will urge Karnataka Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah, KPCC president Dinesh Gundu Rao and Bellary MP VS Ugrappa to bring about a truce between the legislators Anand Singh and JN Ganesh.”

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5 people including 4 siblings drown in a pond near Bengaluru

Accident

Four of them jumped into the pond to rescue one of the siblings after he slipped and fell in.

TNM Staff

Five persons, including four from the same family, died on Saturday afternoon after they drowned in a pond near a dargah in Dobbspet in Bengaluru Rural district.   The incident occurred when 14-year-old Usman Khan apparently slipped and fell into the pond, and his three siblings — Reshma (22), Yaarab Khan (21) and Mubbin Taj (21) — jumped in to rescue him. 49-year-old Muneer Khan, who was an autorickshaw driver, also died when he jumped in to save the four siblings. All five were residents of Hegdenagar near Thanisandra. According to the Dobbspet police, the four had gone to the dargah to offer their prayers, and were near the pond to have food.   The Hindu reported the police and fire and emergency services personnel were alerted by Shakeela, the mother of the deceased siblings. The five had come to the dargah as a planned weekend getaway.   “The group lived in Hegde Nagar on Thanisandra Main Road. After their prayers at the dargah around noon, they cooked food at the spot. Between noon and 12.30 p.m., Usman ventured near the pond, slipped and fell in. His brother Yaarab jumped into the water to save him, but he too was seen struggling to stay afloat. When they saw their brothers struggling in the water, Reshma and Mubeen Taj also jumped into the water. All four did not know how to swim. At this point, Muneer tried to rescue them, but in vain,” a police source told The Hindu. “The incident occurred at 12.30pm. Muneer Khan’s brother screamed for help but they could not be rescued as there were no people around. Later, villagers got to know about the incident and alerted the police. The rescue team of fire and emergency service was called in and all the five bodies were fished out with the help of local divers. The bodies were handed over to their families after post mortem,” a police official told The New Indian Express. Following the incident, Bengaluru Rural Superintendent of Police Ram Nivas Sepat visited the accident spot and asked the district administration to fence the pond and erect warning boards.              

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Infosys turns barren campus land into forest in Mangaluru

Enviornment

The campus is located about 20km from the city centre at Kamblapadavu in Bantwal local body near Pajeeru hamlet.

IANS

Global software major Infosys has transformed a barren land into forest in its 360-acre sprawling campus in Karnataka's port city Mangalluru on the west coast. "As part of our commitment to environment conservation for creating a better world for present and future, we have decided to make our campus to be intrinsically green," said a company spokesman in a video that depicts the metamorphosis of a dry land into a green forest. As safeguarding nature is a fundamental responsibility of everyone, the company decided to make its campus intrinsically green. "We believe whatever we strive to do has to be done with due respect to what surrounds us. When we built the campus over a decade ago, we promised to transform the vast land into a living rain forest". Through rainwater harvesting, the IT behemoth made water walk through the campus and not run out of it. The port city, about 350 km west of Bengaluru, receives about 80-100 inch rainfall every year during the south-west monsoon from June to September. "We planted native trees in high densities from an open exposed landscape and let nature take its own course. As a result, the campus has become a home amidst a forest, with trees that are so rare and wildlife that flourishes as in a pristine rain forest. The water the company has strived hard to preserve has returned to flow through the campus and goes even into the neighbourhood. The campus is located about 20km from the city centre at Kamblapadavu in Bantwal local body near Pajeeru hamlet.  

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Bengaluru police do precautionary security checks, comb malls and bus stops

Security

Bengaluru stepped up security in the wake of the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka

Theja Ram

Image for representation

On Saturday, police officials in Bengaluru conducted security checks in public places as a precautionary safety measure. Police officers were sent to public areas including bus stops and malls in order to make sure that CCTV cameras, metal detectors and other screenings devices were working effectively. Speaking to TNM, Commissioner T Suneel Kumar stated that the measures taken on Saturday were just a part of routine safety checks. “We conducted the checks to make sure that all the CCTV cameras and safety devices were intact and working properly. Our officers checked public spots including bus stops. It was just a routine check,” he said. Following the deadly terror attacks in Sri Lanka, police officials in Bengaluru had issued a notice calling for increased security measures in public places including malls and places of religious worship. The terror attacks on Easter Sunday in Colombo killed more than 250 people including six children. Among the dead were 10 Indians including seven JD(S) functionaries from Tumakuru in Karnataka. In a meeting held by officials, places which saw a daily influx of more than 500 people were instructed to ensure that CCTV cameras were installed and functional. Security measures were also beefed up. The commissioner had said to TNM at the time, “This is a security meeting with the in-charges of all religious places for awareness creation. We want to brief them and tell them to be aware and advise them in light of the Sri Lanka attacks.”  

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How a Mangaluru professor is using geo-tagging, QR codes to help save trees from the axe

Environment

Dr Smitha Hegde, an expert in the study of ferns, has documented more than one thousand trees with her students so far.

Arza Safiya

A Mangaluru professor and her students are working towards documenting the trees and plants in the area in an effort to save the city’s greenery. The team, led by Dr Smitha Hegde, a scientist who studies ferns and a professor at the Nitte University Centre for Science Education and Research (NUCSER), has worked to geo-tag more than a thousand trees. From June 2018 to February 2019, Smitha and students who volunteered for the project, have been geo-tagging more than 1,200 trees, plus over 700 medicinal plants. “If you walk on the streets of Hampankatta or Falnir, you’ll notice very few trees. Most of the trees have been felled for road widening projects,” said Smitha. Plant saplings were not planned for either, she said, but planted randomly on either side of the road, only to be cut down to accommodate further road works. “Our town planners need to have a proper plan in place before carrying out saplings drive. It does not hold any good if you plant a sapling today and tomorrow you axe it for civic projects,” said Smitha. In February this year, Smitha launched the second phase of the project -- developing QR codes for the trees. The process is ongoing and more than 100 trees that have been geo-tagged have also been bar-coded so far. The students have documented important information about the trees -- its botanical name, the common name, its origin and its benefits. A well-regarded expert in her field, Smitha has been awarded the Professor SS Bir gold medal in Pteridology for her scientific work towards the advancement of science in the area of ferns. She has extensively worked on ferns of the Western Ghats region, particularly the Kudremukh National Park region. Besides, she has also undertaken a project on DNA fingerprinting of ferns of the region. Through her efforts, Smitha wants her students and others to be aware of the carbon released into the atmosphere. “Such projects sensitise them as they are directly involved with the plants and they maintain a bond while documenting them,” she said. And QR codes will help people immediately get to know each tree. “It is something like when you meet a person for the first time, you would ask his/her name. Isn’t that a way to build a bond?” asks Smitha. She now plans to have students from other institutions of the campus join the project. The novel initiative was launched to commemorate the International Day of Forest. The United Nations had declared this year’s International Day of Forests theme to be 'Forests and Education – Learn to Love the Forests.' Smitha has worked relentlessly on the conservation of trees. Earlier, she had earlier audited 1,904 trees on the campus besides geo-tagging them on the Google Earth. In a span of one year, she had also audited the plants and geo-tagged them at her former employer's campus at St Aloysius College. "The tree auditing has immensely helped in assessing the total carbon emission at Aloysius campus. Through the process, the amount of carbon corrected by a tree was calculated and compared it to the amount of carbon released by human beings. If the score was equal, the carbon emission would be null," she said. In due course, Smitha says she wants the policymakers to take cognisance of the importance and role of the tree and further intends to roll out a similar drive to conserve tree in the public sphere. “The need to educate the masses in this region is urgent and immediate,” she said. Content provided by http://bit.ly/2DX7vnh and Scribes Media Ventures LLP).

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Chased and assaulted by goons at night, victims of bonded labour rescued in Bengaluru

Bonded labour

A building contractor had allegedly harassed Jyothi and her family for years after lending them a sum of Rs 20,000.

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It was around 8 pm on Thursday night when Jyothi, a 32-year-old woman informed her children and sister that they had to pack their bags and flee from Bengaluru. Jyothi wanted her family to be free of bonded labour. While they were walking out of their home in a slum at HBR Layout in Bengaluru, a group of five men allegedly began chasing them. With her 7-day-old baby in hand, two other daughters in tow, Jyothi, her sister and brother-in-law ran for their lives. By the time they reached Shampura Road, the goons had allegedly caught up to them and allegedly began assaulting Jyothi and her family. Fortunately for Jyothi, the incident took place in front of social worker Habeebullah Khan’s office. When Habeebullah heard Jyothi’s cries for help, he rushed out and intervened. When Habeebullah informed the men that he would call the police, they allegedly fled the spot. Up on talking to Jyothi, Habeebullah realised that Jyothi and her family members were victims of bonded labour for the last seven years. Speaking to TNM, Jyothi says that she and her family arrived in Bengaluru seven years ago from Villupuram in Tamil Nadu. “Jaysilla is a building contractor here and he promised us construction jobs. Initially, he had set up hutments for us in an empty site where were living and we were getting paid for the work we did,” Jyothi says. Jyothi’s hutment in HBR Layout was demolished by the BBMP seven years ago and Jaysilla had allegedly loaned the family Rs 20,000 to build a house in the HBR Layout slum. “He told us that we had to pay Rs 4,000 interest every month. We were basically not getting any salary as we were getting paid only Rs 100 per day. Somehow, with the help of our family, we managed to get Rs 20,000 but when we went to Jaysilla to return it two months ago, he assaulted us and told us that we have to pay interest until he feels we have paid him back,” Jyothi alleges. Jyothi began feeling trapped and unable to bear the harassment, she decided to escape with her family members on Thursday night. After Jyothi was rescued by Habeebullah, he took her to Bowring Hospital, where a medico-legal case was registered. Jyothi and her 16-year old daughter had injuries due to the assault they had allegedly suffered at the hands of Jaysilla’s goons on Thursday. “My 7-day-old baby too had injuries on her arm because the goons did not even spare my baby. Now they are threatening to kill us. My brother-in-law was stabbed in the back two months ago when he questioned Jaysilla as to why he was refusing to take back the Rs 20,000. Now he is threatening to kill us and anyone who helps us,” Jyothi adds. She and her family are currently lodged at an undisclosed location in the city, as they fear harm from Jaysilla. According to Jyothi, Jaysilla’s men Karthi, Vijay, Surya, Vinod, Shiva and Bharat, who had allegedly attacked her on Thursday night are still threatening her. Jyothi alleges that when she had approached the KG Halli Police, wanting to file a complaint, the officers did not take her seriously. “They did not take my complaint. I don’t know why,” she said.

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