Commuters can soon use one smart card for bus and metro trains across Bengaluru

Transport

The pilot phase will be implemented at two Metro stations by October.

Soumya Chatterjee

If things go as planned, Bengalureans can soon travel cashless on metro trains and buses across the city. The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) and Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation will soon introduce an interoperable smart card that would work for both modes of public transport. Currently, the smart card ensures users do not have to wait in the queues while using the metro. The new cards will work both at the metro automatic fare collection gates and also the handheld ticketing machines used by BMTC conductors. Studying the usage patterns of both BMTC and BMRCL, it has been decided that the pilot project will be carried out in Bayappanahalli and Kempegowda (Majestic) metro stations. Speaking to TNM, BMRCL Managing Director Ajay Seth said that the pilot project will start in October first week. “The commuters who will be travelling from Kempegowda station to Whitefield can travel in the metro and then take the BMTC bus at Bayappanahalli using the same card. These smart cards can be used at the exit and entry gates of these stations. Based on our data, we have found many people are already using this interchange for their daily commute,” Ajay Seth explained.   BMRCL is currently working on making the pilot project operational in four months. “But implementing the full system will take time,” said Seth, adding, “We are taking more time as we will be using ticket collection gates, which Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) along with Centre For Development Of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) has developed indigenously.” “We have requested BEL and C-DAC to develop a prototype for us. If the ticket collection gates are made in India, then the costs will go down significantly. Currently, all ticket collection gates across the country are imported,” he added. Both BEL and C-DAC are central government institutions which are also working on the first Indian automatic ticket collection gates. BMRCL is owned by the state and Centre equally, while BMTC is owned by the state government. BMTC, BMRCL, BEL and C-DAC convened a meeting at the national capital on April 23 to discuss the matter. If the pilot phase runs smoothly, then the same gates will be used for all the stations in Phase-II of the Namma Metro. At the same time, BMRCL will phase out the existing smart cards steadily. Sanjeev Dhyamanavar, a public transport expert at Prajaa (an organisation of citizens working towards urban civic issues in the city), said this will increase the ease of use of public transport and increase ridership over time. “The common smart card will help commuters save time and travel hassle-free without worrying about change or queues during rush hours. Using the smart card also helps in keeping an account of the expenses. It also works well with children as many parents are worried about their children using cash. With the facility of cashless travel, more people will start using the bus and metro if they are using either mode of transport,” he said. The Delhi government in December 2018 had launched similar common mobility card that works in the metro, Delhi Transport Corporation buses and cluster buses in the capital. In March 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC), which was initially proposed by the Union Urban Development Ministry in Ahmedabad. The NCMC is a debit, credit or prepaid card that can be used as a cashless means of payment across all segments, including metro, bus, suburban railways, toll, parking, smart city and retail. A press release from the Press Information Bureau also added that the stored value on the smart card supports offline transaction across all travel needs with minimal financial risk to the stakeholders concerned. So far, payments platform RuPay and Visa have decided to support the initiative.

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Mangaluru couple held for murder of woman whose mutilated body was found in gunny bags

Crime

Shreemathi Shetty was murdered by Jonas Samson and Victoria Mathias on Sunday and her body parts were stuffed in a gunny bag and kept in three different areas in the city.

Prajwal Bhat

Mangaluru police arrested a couple in connection with the gruesome murder of Shreemathi Shetty whose body parts were found stuffed in a gunny bag in two different areas in the city on Sunday. Preliminary investigation suggested that the motive for the murder was financial reasons. Mangaluru Commissioner Sandeep Patil confirmed that the husband-wife duo arrested were Jonas Samson (36) and Victoria Mathias (46), both residents of Attavar in Mangaluru. As per the police, Jonas had borrowed around Rs. 1 lakh from Shreemathi Shetty (36), and he had repaid a part of the loan. Shreemathi had requested Jonas to pay her back the balance amount of Rs. 60,000 at the earliest. "We went to the residence of Jonas to arrest him, he tried to kill himself. We immediately took him to Father Muller Hospital and the doctor has stated that the injuries are not serious. We interrogated his wife Victoria and we found that they had borrowed money from Shreemathi," Mangaluru Police Commissioner Sandeep Patil said.  Read: Mangaluru woman murdered, body parts found in two different places On Saturday, Shreemathi went to collect money at the couple’s home, when she was murdered by them. "On Saturday morning, Jonas and his wife murdered Shreemathi when she came to their residence to collect the remaining money. They cut up the body into pieces and placed them in three different spots in the night," added Commissioner Sandeep.  Police also stated that they had recovered the items used to dispose the body and the jewellery worn by Shreemathi from the accused couple. Shreemathi's scooter was found near a garage at Naguri in the city on Monday. Following the discovery of the body parts on Sunday, Mangaluru police had formed three teams to investigate the death. The head and limbs were discovered on the roadside of the highway between KPT and Nanthoor in the city, and the torso was found in Nandigudda. On Wednesday morning, a part of her leg was found near the Kadri Park. Police officials from Kadri and Pandeshwar stations were investigating the incident. Shreemathi was a resident of Amar Alva Road in the city. She owned an electrical equipment repair shop at Attavar. She is the native of Polali Mangalore and resided with her aunt. She was married to a man named Sudeep from Madikeri in 2017 against the wishes of her family. But she had applied for divorce, owing to disagreements. Sudeep is currently in judicial custody for theft and he was questioned by the police in connection with the murder. Incidentally, the day before the body parts were discovered, Shreemathi's family had filed a missing complaint at Pandeshwar police station, stating that she had not returned home. Story by Story Infinity (Subs and Scribes Media Ventures LLP.)     Mangaluru woman murdered, body parts found in two different places   

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9 arrested over drunken brawl in upscale Bengaluru restaurant

Crime

Two simultaneous fights broke out between drunk patrons at a Bengaluru restaurant on Sunday night.

TNM Staff

A weekend party at an upscale restaurant in UB City in Bengaluru turned into a brawl after drunk persons assaulted each other with beer bottles. Two separate fights took place simultaneously at the Japanese restaurant Shiro in UB City on Sunday night.  The staff of the restaurant immediately called up Cubbon Park Police Station. When police officials arrived on the spot, they found two separate fights taking place. Police have registered three FIRs and arrested nine persons in connection with the incident. The arrests were made based on a complaint made by Archith Narayan, a resident of Malleswaram. He was dining at the restaurant along with his friends when a few persons, who were drunk and celebrating a birthday in the table next to them. When Archith and his friends raised objections to the noise they were making, the two groups got into a heated argument, and thereafter into an ugly brawl. Archith and his friends were allegedly hit with beer bottles, injuring him and the others. Meanwhile, the police received a counter complaint by Darshan, part of the group celebrating the birthday. In all, 9 persons from both groups have been arrested in connection with the incident, as per Deccan Herald. Simultaneously, Devayani (25), who had arrived at the restaurant for dinner found a woman lying unconscious in the ladies’ washroom. “In her statement, she said that a man and a woman claiming to be friends of the unconscious woman entered the washroom. They presumed that Devayani had assaulted their friend. They slapped her and punched her on the face,” said the police speaking to The Hindu. Devayani sustained injuries and later approached Cubbon Park police station to file a complaint. Police are yet to arrest the persons involved in this fight.    

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Grandmother, 2 grandchildren killed in Karnataka’s Dharwad after building collapses

Tuesday’s incident comes after more than a month after an under-construction building collapsed in Dharwad city killing 19 people.

TNM Staff

A grandmother and her two grandchildren died in north Karnataka’s Dharwad district on Tuesday after a building collapsed on them in the early hours of Tuesday. The deceased were identified as Yallavva Gadad (53), Jyoti Meti (9), and Shravani Radhai (4).    Speaking to TNM, a policeman attached to Kundgol Police Station probing the incident, said, “It was an old earthen building. The damage was due to the ongoing rain for the past couple of days. There is no negligence or any other angle. We are not probing the case any further.” “The persons who died were siblings and their grandmother,” he added. Others injured have been taken to the nearby KIMS hospital. Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah visited the accident site and met with the injured, alongside Congress bye-poll candidate Kasumavati Shivalli. Kundgol's bye-polls is set to be held on May 19 along with the seventh phase of Lok Sabha polls. Bye-poll in the Assembly seat was necessitated with the untimely death of Municipal Administration Minister and Congress MLA CS Shivalli on March 22. Kasumavati is the late minister’s wife. Tuesday’s incident comes more than a month after an under-construction building collapsed in Dharwad city killing 19 people. The earlier collapse, which had trapped more than 50 people under the debris, had taken a total of five days for rescue and relief operation to conclude. The entire operation had included 111 National Disaster Relief Force personnel, 205 fire officials and 42 State Disaster Relief Force persons as well as local police officials. Seven officials of the local civic body were suspended until a departmental enquiry cleared them of any dereliction of duty after police had arrested all the seven owners of the building, including the father-in-law of former minister Vinay Kulkarni.    

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Thunderstorms with scattered rainfall expected in Bengaluru over next two days

Besides Bengaluru, coastal and central Karnataka will also get rain.

TNM Staff

Officials in the Karnataka Disaster Management Department have warned of thunderstorms along with lightning and scattered rainfall in Bengaluru and rest of south interior Karnataka for the next two days. Thunderstorm activity accompanied with light to moderate rains is also forecast for isolated places in central and coastal Karnataka from Tuesday onwards. However, the northern part of the state is not expected to get any rainfall. At the same time, the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Management Centre has warned that maximum temperatures are likely to be above normal at many places in the state during the next 24 to 48 hours.  A note from the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) also said, “Thunderstorm with gusty winds speed reaching upto 30-40 kmph and lightning likely to occur at isolated places over Bangalore Rural, Bangalore Urban, Chikkamagaluru, Chamarajanagara, Chikkaballapura, Hassan, Kodagu, Kolar, Mandya, Mysuru, Shivamogga, Ramanagara and Tumakuru.” This comes after all five southern states in India were expected to receive rain and thunderstorms over the weekend due to the current western disturbance and ongoing moisture incursion from the Arabian Sea. Fishermen have been warned not to venture into the sea off the coasts of Karnataka, Kerala and Lakshadweep. For the period of May 13, 8:30 am to May 14, 8:30 am, Maddur in Mandya got the highest rainfall of 66mm. Anekal in Bengaluru Urban received the highest rainfall of 19.5mm rainfall in Bengaluru district for the same period.  Many parts of south Bengaluru also saw close to 40mm of rain which resulted in inundation of streets and slowing down of traffic on Monday. BTM Layout was one such neighbourhood which was majorly affected. The waterlogging was so severe that Traffic Police closed down the 29th Main Road temporarily, both for vehicles and people on foot, fearing people might drown. Water entered homes in some low lying areas while basements of apartment complexes saw water entering parked cars. Other areas that were affected were Indiranagar, Kengeri, Koramangala and Kodichikkanahalli among others.

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Bengaluru’s BTS Main Road will be affected by proposed elevated corridor: Activists

Civic Issues

Activists, who conducted a social impact assessment of the elevated corridor project say shop owners were unaware they might lose their shops to the proposed corridor.

TNM Staff

Bengaluru activists conducted the second phase of the social impact assessment on the controversial elevated corridor project proposed by the state government in Bengaluru. It found that shop-owners along the side of BTS Main Road, where a section of the corridor is proposed to be built, were unaware that they might lose their shops. The social impact assessment is being carried out by a team consisting of members of Bengaluru Bus Prayanikara Vedike, Citizens for Bengaluru, The Student Outpost and Bengaluru Suddi. The controversial elevated corridor project was proposed by the Karnataka government. It plans to build a network of elevated corridors in Bengaluru. The plan has come under criticism from residents and activists who argue that the project will only add to the city's traffic issues and lead to loss of green cover.  The Karnataka High Court has put the project on hold by passing an interim stay order on starting work on the project until the next hearing in the case on June 3.  Activists conducting the social impact assessment say that they have taken up the task of doing it since the state government is yet to conduct its own social impact assessment, as mandated by the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation & Resettlement Act, 2013. An environmental impact assessment report prepared by Karnataka Road Development Corporation Ltd. (KRDCL) noted that over 1100 properties will be affected by the project. This includes 209 residential. 577 commercial and 32 religious properties which the government must acquire by spending over Rs 11,000 crore The social impact assessment conducted by activists identified several issues related to the impact the elevated corridor will have on communities, public infrastructure and the environment. "The detailed feasibility report itself states that in the N-S corridor, more than 250 properties are to be affected. In this stretch covered today, it was seen that many of the houses, shops are likely to be impacted," reads the report. The maximum impact was observed on BTS Main Road, which is just 12 metres wide. The proposed elevated corridor is 19 metres wide and would need properties to be acquired on both sides of the road.  The assessment also noted that none of the property owners knew that their shops might be acquired for the project. "Many of the properties have been marked with yellow paint, and residents were unaware of why this is so. Similar markings can be seen in the Jayamahal portion of the elevated corridor as well. There are also several street vendors who were there who did not know of the corridor and were apprehensive of the impact of the corridor," adds the report.  The project is also expected to have an adverse impact on the environment at the heart of the story. The social impact assessment also noted that some of the pillars of the elevated corridor will be inside the storm-water drain along BTS Main Road. According to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and orders of the Karnataka High Court, this is illegal. Around 274 Trees along BTS Main Road could be cut down for the project.  Further, a study conducted by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has also found that the construction of the elevated corridor will lead to more traffic congestion and pollution in the future. A protest was held on March 16 in Bengaluru in which hundreds of residents and activists came together to demand a public consultation before the project is started by the state government. Following the protest, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy announced that a public consultation meeting will take place.  The next and final phase of the social impact assessment by activists will be completed on May 18.

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Bengaluru’s BTS Main Road will be affected by proposed elevated corridor: Activists

Infrastructure

Activists, who conducted a social impact assessment of the elevated corridor project say shop owners were unaware they might lose their shops to the proposed corridor.

Prajwal Bhat

Bengaluru activists conducted the second phase of the social impact assessment on the controversial elevated corridor project proposed by the state government in Bengaluru. It found that shop-owners along the side of BTS Main Road, where a section of the corridor is proposed to be built, were unaware that they might lose their shops. The social impact assessment is being carried out by a team consisting of members of Bengaluru Bus Prayanikara Vedike, Citizens for Bengaluru, The Student Outpost and Bengaluru Suddi. The controversial elevated corridor project was proposed by the Karnataka government. It plans to build a network of elevated corridors in Bengaluru. The plan has come under criticism from residents and activists who argue that the project will only add to the city's traffic issues and lead to loss of green cover.  The Karnataka High Court has put the project on hold by passing an interim stay order on starting work on the project until the next hearing in the case on June 3.  Activists conducting the social impact assessment say that they have taken up the task of doing it since the state government is yet to conduct its own social impact assessment, as mandated by the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation & Resettlement Act, 2013. An environmental impact assessment report prepared by Karnataka Road Development Corporation Ltd. (KRDCL) noted that over 1100 properties will be affected by the project. This includes 209 residential. 577 commercial and 32 religious properties which the government must acquire by spending over Rs 11,000 crore The social impact assessment conducted by activists identified several issues related to the impact the elevated corridor will have on communities, public infrastructure and the environment. "The detailed feasibility report itself states that in the N-S corridor, more than 250 properties are to be affected. In this stretch covered today, it was seen that many of the houses, shops are likely to be impacted," reads the report. The maximum impact was observed on BTS Main Road, which is just 12 metres wide. The proposed elevated corridor is 19 metres wide and would need properties to be acquired on both sides of the road.  The assessment also noted that none of the property owners knew that their shops might be acquired for the project. "Many of the properties have been marked with yellow paint, and residents were unaware of why this is so. Similar markings can be seen in the Jayamahal portion of the elevated corridor as well. There are also several street vendors who were there who did not know of the corridor and were apprehensive of the impact of the corridor," adds the report.  The project is also expected to have an adverse impact on the environment at the heart of the story. The social impact assessment also noted that some of the pillars of the elevated corridor will be inside the storm-water drain along BTS Main Road. According to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and orders of the Karnataka High Court, this is illegal. Around 274 Trees along BTS Main Road could be cut down for the project.  Further, a study conducted by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has also found that the construction of the elevated corridor will lead to more traffic congestion and pollution in the future. A protest was held on March 16 in Bengaluru in which hundreds of residents and activists came together to demand a public consultation before the project is started by the state government. Following the protest, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy announced that a public consultation meeting will take place. The next and final phase of the social impact assessment by activists will be completed on May 18.

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