Labour union demands safe transport facilities for workers in Karnataka, submits memo

Road Safety

Karnataka Labour Department held a meeting on Thursday to discuss provisions of safe and affordable transport for workers.

Anusha Itnal

Representational image

The All India Central Council of Trade Union (AICCTU) recently submitted a memorandum to the Karnataka Labour Department highlighting the problems faced by workers who travel in unsafe conditions and demands to improve the current situation. Following this, the Karnataka Labour Department held a meeting on Thursday to discuss provisions of safe and affordable transport for workers.  This meeting was held in pursuance of the order of Karnataka High Court. In the writ petition, it was mentioned that workers across the state are compelled to travel in extremely dangerous and hazardous conditions. The AICCTU, in its letter, pointed out that it is necessary to recognise that workers do not travel in such dangerous forms as a matter of choice. It is an absolute lack of choice that pushes them to take such modes of transportation. This is caused by a total absence of transportation facilities that are affordable and safe. It is also essential to note that the workers who are often forced to travel in these methods are from the unorganised sector. A large number of them are women raising very serious concerns with respect to their safety. The AICCTU’s District Secretary Nirmala M. listed out in the letter, the set of challenges faced by the workers coming from various unorganised sectors. The construction workers who work in conditions without minimum wages, are unable to afford even public transport, compelling them to use vehicles that transport goods along with construction material, which is both unsafe and undignified. Besides, the Building and other Construction Workers Act under Section 34 makes it mandatory for the employer to provide housing for the workers, the lack of which has forced them to stay in tiny sheds i.e. ‘labour camps’. Powrakarmikas (municipal workers), 90% of who are women, work very early in the morning at around 6am to 6:30am. Due to lack of availability of buses that early in the morning, they are left to use private transport which is both expensive and unsafe. Cases of sexual harassment have been reported on multiple occasions. It is mandatory for the municipality or the municipal corporation to make travel arrangements between their residences and workplace. Workers who work in autos and lorries that carry garbage, are compelled to sit on top of the garbage which is absolutely unsanitary and the most degrading and inhuman practice. Earlier in April end, the state Chief Secretary, TM Vijay Bhaskar had held a meeting after the Karnataka HC had lashed out at the state government for neglecting the issue of labourers being transported in goods vehicles. The HC was hearing a petition filed by a member of the state legal services authority raising safety concerns of the workers. Last September, five agricultural labourers in Somanal village of Karatagi taluk in Koppal district died, and 10 were injured, when the tractor on which they were travelling to duty, fell into the Tungabhadra canal. Similar predicaments were faced by garment workers, street vendors and domestic workers. Low income and extra charges for luggage were making public transport less viable. Thus, they are left to walk for kilometres to get to their workplace, the letter stated.  The AICCTU has laid down certain basic demands that need to be addressed by the authorities immediately: 1.      Responsibility of the State to ensure the provision of proper          transport: BMTC or KSRTC bus services must be provided between places of residence to place to work, especially for those who work in the wee hours. 2.      Responsibility of private employers to ensure the provision of proper transport. 3.      Need for a Committee with representatives of trade unions to study the issues faced by the workers and provide recommendations for necessary steps to be taken.      4.      Time bound Action Plan has to be prepared and implemented.   5.      Compensation for workers who suffer injury or death during transport.    

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Win for activists: Hundreds of trees saved from axe in Karnataka highway expansion

Environment

The project involved the expansion of National Highway 169A between Thirthahalli and Megaravalli.

Soumya Chatterjee

Representational image

Active intervention by a group of environmentalists saved over one hundred trees in Karnataka’s Shivamogga district. The trees, most of which are decades old, were set to be axed for the highway expansion on a 13 km stretch of National Highway 169A between Thirthahalli and Megaravalli. In a survey conducted by all the stakeholders of the stretch — which includes the National Highways Authority of India, the state forest department, environmentalists and locals — on Wednesday, environmentalists and forest department officials convinced officials of the NHAI to change the alignment of the highway. The new alignment will now involve felling of 93 trees, as opposed to felling 256 trees. The survey was initiated after environmentalists objected to the initially proposed felling of 337 trees in the public consultation meeting held on March 11. United Conservation Movement, a collective working to protect the Western Ghats from further destruction following the devastating floods in Kodagu in August 2018, objected to the expansion. “We were successful in making the NHAI realise that a 16-metre wide road in sensitive areas of the Western Ghats is not possible as the trees marked for cutting were more than 100 years old and the survival of these trees is the need of the hour,” said Ajay Kumar Sharma, a chartered engineer and a member of United Conservation Movement. “The NHAI had planned 10-metre asphalt road with provisions for road shoulder and drainage and electric poles on each side measuring three meters, and the total width of the road coming to 16 meters. We saved a majority of the trees by requesting for a realignment of the road at several places, and in most places, the total width of the road was reduced. We asked NHAI to maintain the 10-metre and reduce the width of the road on either side in the best interest of the environment,” he added. While Wednesday’s development was a victory, repair work is also being undertaken on a different stretch of the same highway near Agumbe Ghat, on the border of Shivamogga and Udupi districts, is in contravention of norms. United Conservation Movement is now petitioning Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, Chief Secretary TM Vijaya Bhaskar and the Forest Department chief to intervene. Nithin Herald, an activist who was also present during Wednesday’s proceedings, said, “Hundreds of square feet of forest land is getting swallowed due to the unofficial widening of the road, which is taking place in the name of road repair. This road work is impacting the Someshwara Wildlife Sanctuary, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The work is in contravention of The Wildlife (Protection) Act, Environment (Protection) Act and UNESCO World Heritage Site guidelines.” “Any more widening of roads will seriously impact the fragile ecosystem of this land. It is already prone to landslides, and further felling of trees will trigger landslides. The Wildlife Act clearly states that in forest areas, they cannot alter any road infrastructure without the clearance of the National Wildlife Board,” he added. Activists say that if the current repair work is allowed to continue, it will force king cobras, which are common in the area, to move into nearby which could lead to an increase in man-animal conflicts. The region is also home to tigers, lion-tailed macaques along with 300 more globally threatened animal species.    

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Karnataka hospital under scanner after relatives of man allege anaesthesia overdose killed him

Health

40-year-old Kashyapa Bajandhri died on Wednesday. His family alleges that doctors at the hospital administered an overdose of anaesthesia.

Dr Nimeshika Jayachandran

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A private hospital in Karnataka’s Bagalakote district has come under the scanner after relatives of a man alleged that he died after being administered an overdose of anaesthesia. Kashyapa Bajandhri, a 40-year-old resident of Bagalakote, went to Kerudi Hospital and Medical research Centre on May 3 after he developed a cyst in his cheek. Doctors who examined him had stated that he required a surgery to remove the cyst. He was scheduled for surgery on Wednesday. However, he died on Wednesday. Following his death, his family members took to protesting outside the hospital on Wednesday morning. Kashyapa’s relatives have approached the Bagalakote Town Police police alleging that he was given an overdose of anaesthesia, which led to his death. Basavaraj Shivayogi Bajandhri, the brother of Kashyapa approached the police with a written complaint on Wednesday. The police registered an FIR under section 304 (causing death by negligence) of the IPC.  “He was earlier admitted for the same issue, but the problem recurred so he was advised by doctors to get the surgery done. The family claims that anaesthesia was given twice and the overdose led to his death,” an official from Bagalkot Town Police Station told TNM. According to the police, investigation is still underway and the exact cause of death is yet to be determined. “The issue will be taken up with the medical council and a proper enquiry will be conducted, only then can we determine if any negligence or error on the part of the hospital occurred,” the police added. Earlier in December 2018, a Bengaluru hospital had come under the lens after a corporator from the city died days after an alleged ‘botched surgery.’ He too had been admitted for removal of a cyst. Following the introduction of the Consumers Protection Act of 1986, several complaints were registered against medical practitioners, by people alleging that negligence had occurred.

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LGBTQI+ job fair to be held in Bengaluru in July: Here are the details

LGBTQI+

The job fair aims to bring together companies that are willing to stand with the LGBTQI+ community and provide them with livelihoods without discrimination.

Geetika Mantri

Courtesy: RISE/Pride Circle

“Largely, the narrative at formal workplaces is that you’re either the gay guy at work, or you’re somebody at work,” says Ramkrishna Sinha, 31-year-old co-founder of Pride Circle. “We wanted to change this narrative, and say, you can be out at work and also be somebody at work.” With perspectives and goals such as these, Pride Circle, a two-year-old platform, is organising a job fair exclusively for the LGBTQI+ community on July 12. Called Reimagining Inclusion for Social Equity or RISE, organisers say that it’s the first event of its kind in India, and they are expecting over 300 applicants and 50 companies including those from the IT sector, hospitality, banking, finance expected to be there, along with start-ups, to attend. Pride Circle, founded by Ram and Srini who are award winning Diversity & Inclusion professionals, was started to bring together people from the communities and executives in the workplaces who want to be allies but do not know how. They have been organising meetups to that effect in several Indian cities including Bengaluru, Hyderabad, New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Pune, among others. “After section 377 (that criminalised homosexuality) was read down by the Supreme Court, there were some companies that expressed solidarity, and coloured their logos in rainbow hues. However, not many have inclusive policies such as covering costs for gender affirmation surgeries,” Ram says. Discrimination is still rampant, especially in formal workplaces – it’s tough to survive if you’re out or you have to keep pretending to be in the closet, he adds. “There have been instances where a trans person has been selected for an interview, but they are simply not able to go in because the security personnel do not allow them.” To change the narrative, the job fair aims to bring together companies that are willing to stand with the LGBTQI+ community and provide them with livelihoods without discrimination.   Ram explains that the event on July 12 will have three major aspects – a daylong conference, and a job fair a marketplace for half the day each. All of these will be happening simultaneously at The Lalit Ashok. The conference will have global and national executives, as well as renowned LGBTQI+ representatives from the community in India such as Akkai Padmashali. They will talk about the best inclusion practices which Indian companies can adopt. There will also be a leadership lunch, where a select group of 20-25 people from the community will be able to have a sit down with an executive who is out about their queer identity at their workplace in India. The job fair meanwhile, will have up to 50 companies coming in and setting up their stalls. Community members will be able to interact with them, and the company and applicant(s) can also make use of an interview zone to take the process forward. Organisers expect 300-400 prospective applicants to attend the event. The marketplace on the other hand, will see businesses owned by queer persons set up stalls. “The idea behind this is to show that entrepreneurship is a real option for the LGBTQI+ community, and to also showcase them as options for other companies to do business with… diversify their partnerships and vendors,” Ram explains. The marketplace will also be an opportunity for queer-owned businesses to network with each other and team up for potential requirements, he adds. The organisers say that the buzz around the job fair has been good so far, and there is a lot of excitement in the community. However, in order to be able to participate in this job fair, one has to register and/or send in their resume; walk-ins are not allowed. While the website to register will be up and running by May 15, if you are from the LGBTQI+ community and wish to send your resume, you can do so here. So far, they have received over 100 resumes, Ram says. It includes people with a variety of skill sets – from those who have been homeschooled to PhD holders. Pride Circle is going to send a blind resume to participating companies, where a person’s qualifications, skill set, CTC expectation and such will be provided without personal identifiers. If a company likes certain candidates from these, only then will the other personal details be provided. Consideration will be given to things like whether an applicant will be comfortable being out at work as well.  Access the Facebook page of RISE here.

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Activists protesting against clean chit to CJI detained by police in Bengaluru

Protest

According to the protesters present at the spot, the police detained them stating that they did not have the required police permission to stage the protests.

Sanyukta Dharmadhikari

Twitter/gopikabashi

Several women, activists and lawyers who were staging protests against Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi were detained by the Bengaluru police on Thursday. The protesters, who were staging a silent protest at Mysore Bank Circle, were corralled into police vans and were taken to Halasuru gate traffic police station. According to the protesters present at the spot, the police detained them merely minutes after they had reached. “They were waiting in full strength. I was one of the first to arrive and had a placard with me. While the rest were walking up to the venue, the cops said we couldn't display placards; they told a policewoman to grab my placard and bundled me into the police van,” activist and journalist Cynthia Stephens, who was one of the 26 people detained by the police, told TNM. We want answers!! #SupremeInjustice pic.twitter.com/93NHu0g1Mz — Gopika Bashi (@gopikabashi) May 9, 2019 Police taking us away 30 seconds into starting #SupremeInjustice pic.twitter.com/BsOpljWxf6 — Gopika Bashi (@gopikabashi) May 9, 2019 Protesting against Judges violating the law, fighting to implement the law can get you detained in India these days. pic.twitter.com/6JysJ8pm0u — vinaysreenivasa ವಿನಯ (@vinaysreeni) May 9, 2019 Photos from inside the police station #supremeinjustice #Bangalore pic.twitter.com/aCiftiRwpf — Gopika Bashi (@gopikabashi) May 9, 2019 Cynthia shares that the police detained them stating that they did not have permission to stage protests at the spot. However, she shares that they had submitted a letter of intimation to the concerned police station before the protests. The activists were released about an hour later. The silent protest was being held against the clean chit given to Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi in the sexual harassment case and to express solidarity with the complainant who had levelled the charges. This was the second protest held in Bengaluru, on Tuesday evening, many people had gathered at Mud Tank in Bengaluru’s Richmond Town to stage a silent protest against the CJI. Also read: Bengaluru activists, citizens stage protest against clean chit to CJI Gogoi Protests have been announced across cities in India against the dropping of the charges against the CJI and the manner in which the in-house inquiry was conducted into the sexual harassment charges. In New Delhi, the protests were held for the third day since the Justice SA Bobde-headed in-house panel of the Supreme Court, which was looking into the charges of sexual harassment against CJI Gogoi, dismissed the allegations, stating that there was no substance to the allegations. Several organisations and women’s collectives have protested against the CJI and the panel demanding that a fresh probe be launched into the allegations and the inquiry process follow the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) Act as well as the Visakha Guidelines. The complainant, a former Supreme Court staffer, had submitted a sworn affidavit to 22 judges on April 19, accusing CJI Gogoi of sexually harassing her on two occasions in October 2018. The CJI has denied the charges, claiming that the allegations were a part of a ‘larger threat to the judiciary.’

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Woman in critical condition after gang rape in Mysuru, police search for suspects

Crime

A man accompanying the woman was also attacked and is being treated for a fractured leg.

Theja Ram

Representation Photo

A horrifying case of gang rape has come to light in Karnataka's Mysuru, where a woman in her late-twenties was allegedly raped by four men on Wednesday night in Mysuru's Lingabudi area.  According to the police, the woman worked at a lodging facility as an assistant. On Wednesday night, she and the lodge's front desk manager set out to return some money she had borrowed from a person in Lingabudi, police said.  On the way, the man had parked his two-wheeler on the road as he wanted to urinate. "According to the statement given by the man, there were four men who had parked their car in the dilapidated area and they seemed to be drunk. They saw the woman waiting for the man and attacked her," said Mysuru SP Amit Singh.  He further stated that the men dragged the survivor and the man into an empty plot of land near the road. "The four of them raped the woman and also assaulted the man," he added.  Police say that the attackers allegedly threw a huge stone on the man's leg and fled the spot. "The man's cries for help woke up a few people who live in a colony near the empty plot of land. They immediately called the police and the Jayapura Police arrived at the spot," he said.  The survivor and the man were rushed to KR Hospital in Mysuru City, where they are currently undergoing treatment. Police say that the man has three stitches on his forehead, a fracture on his right leg and bruises on his arms. The woman is in critical condition and is undergoing treatment. The Jayapura Police have registered a case against four unidentified persons under section 376D (gangrape), 376 (punishment for rape), 323 (assault), 324 (assault with deadly weapon) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC.  Mysuru SP Amit said that eight teams have been formed to nab the suspects. "We are checking CCTV footage and pursuing all lines of inquiry to catch the culprits soon," he said.     

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Another shot at CM? How Yeddyurappa could unseat the Congress-JD(S) govt

In depth

Bye-elections to the two seats of Kundagol and Chincholi are crucial for the survival of the coalition government in Karnataka.

Sowmya Aji

The fate of the troubled JD(S)-Congress coalition government in Karnataka hangs in balance as bye-elections to two state Assembly seats are to be held on May 19. The bye-polls to the two seats -- Kundagol and Chincholi -- has brought the coalition to a knife-edge. Both seats were held by the Congress but are in danger of being swept up by the opposition BJP amid grumbles of discontent between the coalition partners. So much so that former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has had to forcibly state that he was not in the race to become the CM again in place of HD Kumaraswamy of the JD(S) as "the seat is not vacant." The Kundagol bye-poll was necessitated as sitting MLA and Minister CS Shivalli, who won the 2018 Assembly Elections with a super-slim margin of 634 votes, passed away in March. The Congress-JD(S) has fielded his wife Kusuma, while the BJP has chosen Eshwargoud Chikangoudra, the man who beat Shivalli earlier and almost pulled it off in 2018. Chincholi had elected Umesh G Jadhav of the Congress, who was up against BJP’s Sunil Valyapure last year. But Jadhav fell out with his mentor and Congress leader Mallikarjun M Kharge, who is the MP of his district, Kalburagi. Umesh went on to quit the seat and the Congress party in March, joining the BJP. He recently contested against Kharge in the Lok Sabha poll that was held in April. His son Dr Arvind Jadhav is the BJP candidate in the bye-poll, while the Congress-JD(S) candidate is another Kharge protege, Subhash Rathod. If the BJP manages to wrest these two seats, the party could bring down the Congress-JD(S) government. The numbers The Congress presently has 77 MLAs excluding the Speaker, who only votes in the event of a tie, while the JD(S) has 37 legislators. With one BSP MLA also supporting the coalition, the Congress-JD(S) combine have 115 MLAs. The BJP has 104 MLAs in the 224-member Assembly. The majority mark is 113. BJP, which now has the support of two independent MLAs, could see its tally rise to 108 if it wins the bye-elections.  However, with four Congress MLAs reportedly ready to switch camps and indications that a fifth legislator may cave in under tremendous pressure from the powerful mining barons, Janardhan Reddy-Sriramulu, the BJP may be able to touch the magic figure.   The results of the Lok Sabha Elections are a double-edge sword for the Congress. Even if the party manages to retain one or both these bye-poll seats, it faces the risk of losing three sitting Congress MLAs - Krishna Byre Gowda, Rajshekar Hitnal and Eshwar Khandre - who have contested the Lok Sabha polls. If they win and give up their Assembly seats, the Congress has put itself under tremendous pressure to retain the seats and save the state government. This is said to be a major reason why a "winning" candidate like Khanapur Congress MLA Anjali Nimbalkar was not asked to contest against Anantkumar Hegde of the BJP for the Karwar Lok Sabha seat. From 2018 to now The 2018 Assembly Elections, which delivered a fractured mandate, saw the BJP emerge as the largest party with 104 seats. The Congress and JD(S) which came together post polls managed to cobble together 118 seats, excluding the support of two independents, while the BJP at the time was stuck nine short of the 113 mark. A seething BS Yeddyurappa of the BJP, who had to step down after two days as Chief Minister, conceded defeat and did not take a trust vote, after the intervention by the Supreme Court. It paved the way for Kumaraswamy to take charge as the head of the coalition government. In the last one year, however, the coalition has seen many ups and downs and repeated efforts on both sides to maintain balance. Karnataka has already seen the BJP blueprint of Operation Kamala in 2004, where opposition MLAs were lured to resign from their seats, contest again on a BJP ticket and win with huge money power, and be made ministers. Both Congress and JD(S) had ‘safeguarded” their MLAs last year around this time, putting them up in resorts and keeping vigil over phone calls. The situation is different now as there is open disgruntlement among some Congress MLAs who were not accommodated in the cabinet or were dropped in a reshuffle. Four MLAs have been openly dissenting and siding with the BJP, led by former minister Ramesh Jarkiholi, who even issued a statement that he was leaving the Congress and would contest on a BJP ticket in Yamkanmaradi constituency against his brother Satish, who replaced him in the Kumaraswamy ministry. If the BJP wins both Kundagol and Chincholi, the magic number of 113 will be very much within their grasp. And this time, Yeddyurappa’s claims of becoming the CM of Karnataka might not just be empty bravado. Sowmya Aji is a political journalist who has covered Karnataka for 26 years.    

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