107-yr-old activist Thimakka convinces Karnataka CM to not chop trees for road widening

Environment

Following the meeting, the Chief Minister called up concerned officials and asked them not to carry on with the road widening project.

TNM Staff

Intervention by 107-year-old Padma Shri awardee Saalumarada Thimakka may save the fate of hundreds of trees which were at the risk of facing the axe courtesy of a road widening project. Thimakka met Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy and Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara on Monday asking for the Bagepalli-Halaguru road widening project near Bengaluru to be called off. Incidentally, Thimakka had shot to fame for planting and tending to 385 banyan trees along a four-kilometre highway stretch between Kudur and Hudikal in Ramanagara district, a part of the same road in the 1960s. “I will not allow the trees I have planted to be chopped. I will not allow the government to carry out this project,” the veteran environmentalist told reporters after the meeting. Following the meeting, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy called up concerned officials and asked them not to carry on with the project. Instead, he asked them to come up with an alternative alignment to minimise tree felling, the CM’s office said. In a statement, the Deputy CM said, “It is true that she has protected these trees as her own children. It is our responsibility to protect these trees. We will try and come up with an alternate alignment for road expansion so that the trees which she planted are not harmed.” Before winning the Padma Shri, Thimakka had won the Karnataka Rajyotsava award, the Nadoja award by Hampi University, and the National Citizen award by the Government of India, among other national and international accolades. She was also part of the 100 influential and inspirational women list compiled by BBC in 2016. "Saalumarada" means rows of trees in Kannada. She had taken to planting trees after she and her husband failed to conceive after years of marriage. In an interview to Al Jazeera, she said, "One day we thought why not plant trees and tend to them like we would our children.”            

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On World Bicycle Day, Bengaluru cyclists appeal for their safety on roads

Cycling

A year-long campaign that aims to spread the message of safety for cyclists was also kicked off.

TNM Staff

Cyclists in Bengaluru gathered in front of the State Central Library in the Cubbon Park area on Sunday to appeal to motorists to keep cyclists safe on the city’s roads, ahead ofWorld Bicycle Day on Monday. The campaign, led by Citizens for Sustainability (CiFOS) and the Bicycle Mayor of Bengaluru Sathya Sankaran, also kicked off a year-long campaign that aims to spread the message of safety and push for better facilities for cyclists in the city. “While infrastructure and good design can solve the problem to a certain extent, attitudes of people and the culture of sharing our roads is a mindset issue. This is why we are here calling for a change in the driving culture to make equity on streets a reality,” Sathya said, speaking at the event. During the year-long campaign, CiFOS will hold discussions with bus and cab operators to sensitise them about keeping cyclists and pedestrians safe. This will include programmes for BMTC bus drivers as well as Ola and Uber cab drivers. Bengaluru civic officials also took part in the event and reiterated the need for the city to be turned into a bicycle-friendly city along the lines of Amsterdam. “We have provided more than Rs 80 crore in this budget for bicycle lanes and more than Rs 200 crore for improving footpaths to ensure the city is walkable and bicycle-friendly,” Mahendra Jain, Additional Chief Secretary of Urban Development Department, said. He further added that cycle lanes will be built on white topped roads to add to the earlier plan of building cycle lanes in over 100 km of roads in the city. In a bid to encourage cyclists, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) had earlier drawn up a detailed plan to build cycle lanes in roads connecting metro stations from Baiyappanahalli to MG Road on the purple line of the metro, areas in Whitefield, and a portion of the Outer Ring Road. This is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2019. A group of organisations including CiFOS are also building a database of working professionals in the city cycling to work. Qualcomm, Bosch and Cisco were honoured at the event for encouraging cycling among its employees. This campaign will also be extended to new offices in the city next year.

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Kallada Travels at it again: Bus abandons woman at night, makes her run on highway

Controversy

Instead of apologising, the driver reportedly shouted at her and took no responsibility for leaving her behind.

Soumya Chatterjee

Representational Image

On Sunday, a 23-year-old woman was made to run for more than five minutes after the bus she was traveling in abandoned her on a highway after they had stopped for a dinner break. And the bus company is the same one that was in a massive controversy in April – Kallada Travels – after they had brutally attacked two men travelling from Kochi to Bengaluru, for asking about a delay in their journey. Stella*, a Bengaluru-based HR professional was travelling from Thiruvananthapuram to Bengaluru on Sunday night. “I had boarded the bus at 6.45 pm from Kazhakootam, Thiruvananthapuram, and the bus stopped for dinner around 10:30 pm, I think at Tirunelveli. I was actually having dinner and within 10-15 minutes, the bus started moving without any warning,” Stella said. “When I saw the bus moving, I literally ran towards the bus. People who were around understood and they started shouting and even cars were honking. But the bus just left and I started running behind like a mad person. Seeing me running, some people offered me a lift. But at that time I was traumatised and did not know whether to trust them. And then, literally, a car chased the bus and stopped it. Even then, the bus did not come back and I had to run myself on the highway all the way,” she said. When she got in finally, rather than apologising for leaving her behind, the bus driver behaved rudely with her, she said. “I did not understand fully what he said. I was not in the frame of mind to carry on that conversation. I just got back to my seat,” Stella said. “I had thought just like in any other bus, they would have checked that everybody was in their seats before leaving,” she said.   After some time, Stella called up her friend and narrated the incident. When her friend, C Sahaya Christen called the driver seeking an explanation, he was threatened. “I asked him why they left a woman behind. I asked this is in Tamil. Then he (the driver) said that he doesn’t know Tamil and asked me to speak in Malayalam. I asked the same thing in Malayalam again. Then he said that it’s not his duty to see if the passengers come inside the bus or not. I said ‘don’t you have any sense? You leave a girl and make her run and then say you it’s not your duty?’ He then said ‘do you know to which travels you’re talking to? This is Kallada travels. Do you know who is Kallada’?” Sahaya told TNM. TNM could not reach the driver, Thirupathy for a reaction. When asked for a comment, an official at the Kallada head office, said, “We are unaware of this incident. No such complaint has reached us." In April, seven Kallada Travels staff were arrested by police in Kerala for brutally assaulting two young men for questioning a delay in the journey. They were chased and beaten up by several thugs. The Travels company owner, Suresh Kallada was summoned by the Kerala State Human Rights Commission over the issue. (Additional inputs by Korah Abraham) *Name changed on request  

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Meet Bengaluru boy Niranjan Mukundan, a para-athlete making waves for India

Sports

Niranjan has made it to the Forbes U30 list and won medals at the World Series in Brazil.

Pooja Prabbhan

All of 24, para-athlete Niranjan Mukundan's indomitable grit is taking him places. And clearly, 2019 is his year. After making it to the Forbes U30 List, and clinching 1 gold in 200m I.M and 1 silver in 50m Butterfly events at the World Series 2019, Sao Paulo, Brazil, he has his sights set on a bigger innings:  Para-Swimming World Championships to be held in London in September.  Wise beyond his years, Niranjan has a sense of calm and the aura rubs off on you.  Soaking up all the praise that's coming his way post his recent feat at the World Series in Brazil, Niranjan says, “Well, I have clocked the MET ("B" Qualifying Time) for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics as well, so my main aim at the World Championships would be to achieve the MQS ("A" Qualifying Time) so that I will have one full year to train for the Paralympics." Niranjan’s journey hasn't always been smooth. Diagnosed with spina bifida, a neural tube defect which affects the spine, and having had to wade through a series of complex surgeries since birth, the Bengaluru boy had a slew of difficult decisions to make. But, that’s what made the pursuit all the more worthwhile. “If you’re really invested in your dream, challenges only make you want to push harder. One of my goals is to help the next generation of sportspeople, and most importantly, para sports athletes,” avers Niranjan, who’s armed with a Masters' degree in Sports Management. As the pressure mounts with every milestone that he crosses, the Bengaluru youngster is pinning all his hopes on focused training for his forthcoming pursuits. "I would be training at my overseas train base (Thailand) for a while before I come back to India for some final fine-tuning,” he adds. Like most true blue Bengalureans, Niranjan has a penchant for filter kaapi, idli-sambar, cricket and movies. While most know him owing to his swimming and para-olympic endeavours, not many are aware that this sportsperson massively roots for the Royal Challengers Bangalore and Bengaluru Bulls Pro Kabaddi Team. These are some of the things he often makes time for, while taking a break from work. Elaborating on his passions, he says, “Whether we win or lose, I’ll always be a die-hard RCB fan. And of course, nothing beats the comfort that a plate of piping hot idli-sambar offers, or a cup of filter coffee. Maybe these are just very Bengalurean things! I'm also an ardent movie buff, so whenever I am in India and I am free, I love to go and watch movies with friends.” Coming from a modest family, Niranjan attributes all his success to his family and inner circle. “They have never said a 'No' to me for anything. Also, that passion towards my sport has always driven me. Sometimes I win and other times I have so much to learn. The sense of pride in representing my country at the highest level keeps me motivated and inspired. It's the passion that plays out, in the end,” he says. The social media-verified sportsperson, who’s quite active (though not acutely anxious about experiencing FOMO) believes that the medium is more a boon than a bane. “I love spending time on all the social media platforms. I think it’s a great way to stay connected, and I often spend a lot of time scrolling through my feed, whenever I can. Don’t we all?” he chuckles. With so much in his kitty, we wonder if there’s a bigger plan in the making. Has Niranjan ever considered writing a book or starting something on his own? And well, turns out, quite like his peers and other sportspersons in the industry, Niranjan too harbours lofty entrepreneurial pursuits. “I am planning to start off with my own foundation, and then an academy of my own in the long run.” He has his agenda set: To inspire those who want to start from scratch, sans a godfather. “One of my biggest goals is to help the next generation of sportspeople, narrowing it down to para sports.” Staunchly believing that inspiration is all around, Niranjan adds,  “But I’ve always looked up to Rahul Dravid (The Wall Of Indian Cricket) and Michael Phelps (Greatest Olympic Swimmer Of All Time) for their nature and composure on and off the sporting arena." Sporting victories aside, it’s also been a year of uber-satisfactory media attention. Speaking of an added feather to his cap - on being listed in the Forbes 30 U30 (April, 2019 Issue) Niranjan elatedly says, "That was such a sweet surprise, I still remember that morning when I woke up to hundreds of messages, then I realised that I was one among the 2 Indians under the sports category to be named in the Forbes 30 U30 list. It gives more responsibility and a sense of pride to try and inspire more people and particularly, people with disabilities, in the world."  Niranjan is crystal clear about where he sees himself next. "It's every athlete's dream to represent his/her country at the Olympics and that's my dream too. I am a few microseconds away in achieving that dream and I am very positive and hopeful in achieving it by the end of this year and also to see the tricolor go up at major competitions,” he signs off.

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Bengaluru police arrest serial killer who targeted ATM security guards

Crime

Two months after he escaped from police custody, the Bengaluru police nabbed Benki Raja for multiple murders in the city.

TNM Staff

The Bengaluru police on Sunday arrested a 28-year-old serial killer, who had escaped from police custody in April this year. After a two-month chase the Kumaraswamy Layout Police arrested Rajendra alias Benki Raja on Monday. The investigators in the Kumaraswamy Layout Police Station had initially arrested Benki Raja on April 4 this year in connection with the murder of a security guard in the area, which had occurred in March. At 4.22 am on March 24, the police control room received a call from a woman named Nischita, who had found the body of a security guard at the Karnataka Bank ATM near Uttarahalli. The police found that the security guard, 60-year-old Lingappa Davalagi’s head was smashed with a stone. The police had also found a bloodied stone outside the ATM, which they had suspected was the murder weapon. “The weapon was sent to the forensic science lab and the blood matched the security guard’s,” the police said. During the investigation, the police came across the CCTV footage of Benki Raja carting a stone around and walking towards the same ATM on the morning of the murder. Soon, the police tracked him down and arrested him on April 4. “We had taken him for a medical exam and he escaped from police custody,” the police said. Upon his arrest on Monday morning, the police have unraveled a series of killings which Benki Raja is suspected to have committed. Police say that Rajendra allegedly set his younger sister on fire and killed her at the age of eight, thereby earning him the moniker Benki (fire) Raja. Five years ago, he was arrested by the Basavanagudi Police in a drug possession case. The Basavanagudi Police say that he was in possession of cocaine and was lodged in the Parappana Agrahara Central Prison for four years. In 2018, Benki Raja was released and his first victim was allegedly a security guard at an ATM in Basavanagudi Police Station limits. “There is a murder case registered against him. In that case too, he had smashed a security guard’s head with a stone, while he was asleep inside the ATM. The Next case was in the Konanakunte Police Station limits. Here too, he smashed a sleeping security guard’s head with a stone. In both these cases, he had stolen their mobile phones, sold them and used the money to purchase drugs,” an investigating officer said. Benki Raja’s third victim was the 60-year-old Lingappa Devalagi. He allegedly attempted to kill another ATM security guard in JP Nagar days after killing Lingappa. “He tried smashed the security guard’s head with a stone in JP Nagar. But the guard was taken to the hospital on time by one of the beat constables, who was patrolling the streets. He survived. He described the man to the police and that’s when we knew that it was Benki Raja,” the police said. The Kumaraswamy Police have also registered another case of attempted murder against Benki Raja with the Puttenahalli Police Station. On April 4, when Raja escaped police custody, he allegedly tried to kill the head constable, who was chasing him down. “Our head constable was chasing him when he escaped from the hospital. He smashed our head constable on the head with a stone. He was bleeding profusely and we rushed him to the hospital. He survived the attack. After his arrest, we are now looking to see if he has committed similar murders in other areas in the city,” the Kumaraswamy Layout Police said. Benki Raja has been booked for murder in Basavanagudi, Kumaraswamy Layout and Konanakunte Police Stations. He has also been booked for attempted murder in the JP Nagar Police Station.    

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Bengaluru man kills son as part of 'suicide pact,' video captured by daughter

Crime

The video was captured by his 17-year-old daughter whom the man planned to hang as well.

TNM Staff

Representation photo/Bengaluru City Police Facebook page

A 48-year-old man was arrested by Bengaluru police after a video of him hanging his 12-year-old son from the ceiling fan went viral. According to the police, the incident was part of a ‘suicide pact’ planned by the man. In the disturbing video, 48-year-old Suresh Babu is seen smothering his 12-year-old son’s face with a pillow. The boy fell unconscious. In a second video, Suresh Babu is seen hanging him from the ceiling fan at their residence in Vibhutipura near HAL. “Baba (Father), please don’t do this. I beg you. Please leave him,” the boy’s 17-year-old sister is heard saying. The mother and sister –  the latter was capturing the video – were heard crying in the video. The boy’s mother, Geeta Bai, is seen banging her head against the wall after the death of the child. Soon after, Geeta Bai too took her own life. The entire incident caught on camera was part of a ‘suicide pact’ that the man had hatched to escape indebtedness, the police said. According to the police, Suresh Babu worked as a sales executive in a private firm and Geeta Bai, who worked as a cook in a few households, also ran a chit fund, which was running under severe loss. The family had allegedly accumulated a debt of Rs 5 lakh, which they were unable to pay off. On Saturday evening, investors in the chit fund business had allegedly visited their home, demanding that Geeta and Suresh return their money, police said. With debtors breathing down their neck, the couple allegedly decided to end their lives. “We have questioned the girl. She says that her mother took her own life too after her son died. She was the third in line, after which the father had planned to hang himself,” an investigating officer said. The 17-year-old girl began screaming for help when her father tried to hang her as well, which alerted the neighbours, who rushed to her rescue. However, Suresh Babu allegedly informed them that his wife and son had taken their own lives. At around 2.30 pm on Sunday, Suresh Babu was making arrangements for the funeral, when the local media, which had heard about the incident, went to his residence. “Initially, the media too was under the impression that it was a suicide. One reporter from Raj News asked Suresh Babu for a picture of the mother and son. He gave them his phone and asked them to transfer it. Suresh did not know that his daughter had recorded the entire incident. The journalist found the video and immediately called the HAL Police Inspector,” a senior police official told TNM. The Inspector was on leave and when there was no response from any senior police officials, the local media aired the story on Sunday evening. Additional Commissioner of Police (East), Seemanth Kumar Singh, then demanded that DCP Abdul Ahad take charge of the case immediately. Suresh Babu was arrested on Sunday night and his daughter was taken in for questioning. Suresh Babu has been booked for murder and will be produced before the magistrate later on Monday.

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What explains Cong win in Karnataka local body polls just after massive LS defeat?

Politics

The Congress, which got just one seat out of 28 in the LS polls, recently won the most number of ULB wards (509), followed by the BJP (366) and the JD(S) (174).

Sowmya Aji

Representational image

Six days after the BJP swept Karnataka to win a dominating 25 of the state’s 28 Lok Sabha seats, a phase of polling for urban local bodies (ULBs) was held across all regions on May 29. The election was for 1,296 wards out of a total 3,988 across all the ULBs in the state that includes town panchayats (TPs), town municipal councils (TMCs) and city municipal corporations (CMCs), which rule over what is termed as a ‘rurban’ – a combination of rural and urban – landscape. The first phase of these polls to 2,662 wards was held in September 2018, where ruling coalition partner Congress got 982, principal opposition got 929 and ruling partner JD(S) got 375 seats, all in the regions where each party had its ‘strongholds.’ In the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, these results were hailed by the coalition partners to mean the BJP’s ‘jhumlas’ were being rejected by the people. No one acknowledged the closeness of the fight, given that Congress used to traditionally dominate these polls. The May 29 elections, results, however, has stunned all political parties. The Congress, which has got reduced to just one seat out of 28 in the Lok Sabha polls – a never-before scenario in their traditional bastion of Karnataka – won the most number of ULB wards (509), followed by the BJP (366) and the JD(S) (174). This is a pattern that is very similar to earlier polls, with a bigger edge to the Congress. Given that the elections were held just after the stunning victory of the BJP in all regions of the state including all the traditional strongholds of the Congress and the JD(S), the apparent flip-flop by the electorate in a matter of days has given rise to a slightly hysterical euphoria in the Congress camp and some concern in the BJP. A bemused Congress functionary said in idiomatic Kannada just after the ULB results came in: “Heng helodu yaake anta. Devarige gottu jana yavudakke vote haaktaare!” (We can’t explain it. God knows what people vote for.) That pragmatism was not evident in his party leaders, including state president Dinesh Gundu Rao who claimed that it was a thumping victory for the Congress that instantly cast aspersions on the recent Lok Sabha results. He tweeted: “Congress wins 509/1221 of the #KarnatakaUrbanLocalBodiesElections Winning almost 42% of the seats, it clearly shows that the people of Karnataka are with the Congress. What surprises me is how did BJP lose after winning by huge margins in the Loksabha. Needs investigation.” (sic) The results, however, are completely aligned with Karnataka’s history. The state has consistently voted differently for each level of elections, whether it is gram panchayats, ULBs, state assembly or Lok Sabha, irrespective of how close together the polls have been. Political parties have often made the mistake of assuming that the electorate is showing its preference or rejection of them based on individual election results, but the people have made the difference clear. The minority Janata Party led Ramakrishna Hegde government in 1983, which introduced Panchayat Raj in the state, saw Karnataka voting overwhelmingly for the Congress party in the Lok Sabha polls of 1984. Hegde, as CM, took it as a referendum on his government – the first non-Congress one in Karnataka – and resigned. Elections were held again for the state assembly in 1985 and Hegde came back with a sweeping majority, barely a few months after that result for the Congress. This pattern has continued since, with no major variations. In 2004, SM Krishna decided to dissolve the state assembly six months early and the state saw simultaneous elections for both assembly and Lok Sabha. The state gave a clear 17 of the 28 Lok Sabha seats – a majority – to the BJP. But simultaneously, even in the regions the BJP won hands down, voted for a very mixed result in the 224 member state assembly – BJP got 79 seats, Congress got 65 and JD(S) 58. All the three parties have their distinct vote bases in the state and, in general, the voting patterns reflect these strengths. And that is what the ULB results, which all three parties fought on their individual strengths, also reflect. The recent Lok Sabha polls were an anomaly that saw a two-cornered fight all across the state, with the division working along the lines of non-Congress votes or non-BJP votes. The JD(S) had no real role to play, as they were seen as ‘surrendering’ to the Congress that led to even their traditional votebank of Vokkaligas going with the BJP’s brand of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s muscular Hindutva. So the ULB results are neither a matter of ‘victory’ for the Congress nor ‘loss’ for the BJP, but just a reaffirmation that Karnataka has space for both of them and for the JD(S) in their individual capacities. Each party has a base that has not changed all that much. Sowmya Aji is a political journalist who has covered Karnataka for 26 years. Views expressed are the author’s own.

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