178 weak buildings identified in Bengaluru, owners will be asked to vacate

Infrastructure

The BBMP will conduct a structural audit on these buildings and decide whether they have to be demolished.

TNM Staff

Representation Photo

Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike or BBMP, Bengaluru's civic body has started issuing notices to owners of 178 buildings across the city and asking them to vacate the premises. The BBMP officials say that these 178 buildings are “on the verge of collapsing” as they have structural flaws. Of the 178 buildings, the BBMP issed notices to 77 building owners on Monday and have asked them to vacate the premises immediately and make way for structural audit of the building. BBMP officials say that notices to the remaining building owners would be issued by the end of Tuesday. Of the 77 buildings, 30 are located in the South Zone, 6 in the West Zone, 33 in East Zone, 8 in Yelahanka and 2 in Mahadevapura Zone. In July this year, the Karnataka High Court had taken suo motu cognisance of unauthorized and illegal constructions in Bengaluru after two buildings collapsed in Cooke Town and killed five people. The Karnataka High Court had pulled up the BBMP for not taking action against unauthorized and illegal constructions and it was then that the BBMP conducted a survey based on the court's directions. “The court had asked us to conduct a survey of all buildings in Bengaluru and come up with a list of structurally unsafe ones. Each zonal chief engineer was directed to conduct a survey and so far the survey has been completed in five zones,” said Prasad, BBMP Additional Commissioner of Town Planning. Once the structural audit is complete, the chief engineer of each zone has been instructed to write up reports stating whether the structural defects in each building can be repaired or not. “The owners, whose buildings can be repaired, can make the necessary repairs and only then can people occupy the building. If the building cannot be repaired, the BBMP will demolish such structures," Prasad added. The survey revealed that the buildings had either not complied with prescribed norms during the stage of construction or used substandard materials. In the Cooke Town building collapse case, the builder had constructed one additional floor without approval. The foundation and the building plan were flawed. The strength of the building could not withstand the weight of the additional floor and the people and items lodged in the building; Additional Commissioner Prasad says.   “In most of the cases, the building plans show two or three floors and the actual structure has more number of floors. There are a lot of such constructions in Bengaluru but in the ones we have identified, the structural integrity of the building cannot withstand the weight of the additional floors like the Cooke Town case,” Prasad said. Speaking to TNM, head of BBMP Legal Cell Keshav Deshpande said that the Karnataka High Court had instructed the BBMP to conduct an audit in July. The survey was completed last week and the details were also submitted to the High Court on Friday.  

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Setback for K’taka BJP as former MLA Raju Kage set to join Cong ahead of bye-polls

Politics

Speaking to TNM, Raju Kage said that he was would like to contest on a Congress ticket from Kagwad.

TNM Staff

Former BJP MLA from Karnataka’s Kagwad, Raju Kage, is all set to quit the party and join Congress on Tuesday. Raju Kage held talks with Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly – Siddaramaiah, on Monday and announced his decision. Speaking to TNM, Raju Kage said that he would like to contest as a Congress candidate from Kagwad. “I have spoken to Siddaramaiah and I will contest from Kagad on a Congress ticket if the party gives me a ticket,” Raju Kage said. Raju Kage is yet to tender his resignation to the BJP state President Nalin Kumar Kateel. He had come down to Bengaluru on Sunday and held talks with former Water Resources Minister DK Shivakumar before making the decision. Kage had openly expressed his disappointment at not being allotted a ticket to contest from Kagwad. The BJP has not yet announced its candidate list for the December 5 bye-elections as the Supreme Court has not yet delivered its verdict in the disqualified MLAs case. The 17 disgruntled leaders from the Congress and JD(S) had resigned en masse in July this year, which brought down the Congress-JD(S) coalition government. These rebel leaders had decided to join the BJP and contest bye-elections. However, former Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar had disqualified them, which led the renegade leaders to move the Supreme Court, seeking its order to quash the disqualification. The court’s judgment will be pronounced on Wednesday. Raju Kage was the BJP’s face in Kagwad, and is an arch rival of Srimanth Patil, the disqualified MLA from this segment. Raju Kage has been vocal about his disappointment with the BJP for not offering him a ticket to contest the bye-polls. Kage has also been campaigning against Srimanth Patil in Kagwad. He has alleged that Srimanth Patil faked an illness and got out of the resort where Congress leaders were lodged. Srimanth Patil was one of the legislators, who was cooped up in Golden Palms resort in Bengaluru ahead of the vote of confidence. Srimanth Patil had left the resort and was flown on a private jet to Mumbai’s Renaissance Hotel, where the rebel leaders were lodged. Srimanth Patil’s picture, where he was lying on a stretcher with cables monitoring his heart rate, had gone viral. Patil had also written an email to the Speaker saying he would not be able to attend the session as he was unwell and was on his way to Mumbai for treatment. Speaking to TNM, a senior Congress leader said that the party will decide whether or not Kage must be given the Kagwad ticket depending upon the Supreme Court's judgment in the rebel MLAs' case. Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, speaking to the media, said, "It does not matter who joins or leaves the party. BJP will win the bye-elections in at least 13 out of 15 constituencies."    

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'Curiosity makes reporters follow a story': Sports journo Sharda Ugra at Blr Lit Fest

Bangalore Lit Fest

Sharda Ugra, a senior editor with ESPNCricinfo, was speaking at the Bangalore Literature Festival, alongside former Australian umpire Simon Taufel and Indian cricketer Mayank Agarwal.

Prajwal Bhat

Twitter: Bangalore Literature Festival

What makes a writer follow a story? Ask sports writer Sharda Ugra and the reply comes almost immediately: "Curiosity".  Explaining this, she states an example: Almost 30% of footballers in India come from the northeastern states. "Why is a relatively small region with a fraction of our population contributing so many players? Journalists need to ask these questions and have the curiosity to find answers," said Sharda, who was speaking at the Bangalore Literature Festival, alongside former Australian umpire Simon Taufel and Indian cricketer Mayank Agarwal, at a panel discussion on 'Writing Sport'. Sharda is a senior editor with ESPNCricinfo and has been a journalist for three decades now. She began her career in November 1989. In April 2018, she reported on the state of football in the northeastern states of India. She specifically focused on Assam, where she found that the league football was not developed and that young footballers subsequently left to other states in their teenage years.  Sharda is among the few women sports journalists to report on cricket, which is her forte, and just as easily, she covers football, tennis and basketball.  She also recollected an incident from one of her first stories as a sports journalist in 1989 for the audience. "It was the time when Sachin Tendulkar was making his test debut in Pakistan. I looked up a telephone directory in Mumbai and found the landline number of his family. I called the number up and spoke to his (Tendulkar's) brother and parents for a quote on how they feel," she said explaining the difference in how sports journalism has changed today.  To this, Simon Taufel wondered if Tendulkar's phone number will be available anywhere now. Taufel, who won five consecutive ICC Umpire of the Year awards between 2004 and 2008, and is considered one of the best cricket umpires of his time. He spoke about the mental aspect of being a cricketer and a cricket umpire.  Indian cricketer Mayank Agarwal, who is from Karnataka, also received a warm response from the audience at the festival. He shared his experience of struggling in the Ranji Trophy before making his surprise debut in the Indian test team in December 2018. 

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Overnight Hosakerehalli lake breach floods low-lying houses in south Bengaluru

Civic

The corner bund of Hosakerehalli lake in south Bengaluru breached at 2 am on Sunday.

TNM Staff

Authorities were immediately notified of the breach on Sunday and after several hours working with earthmovers, sandbags and stones, the gap was filled.  Low-lying areas adjacent to Hosakerehalli lake in south Bengaluru were flooded after the corner bund of the waterbody breached at 2 am on Sunday. Residents living in the low-lying Pushpagiri Layout, which is adjacent to the lake, were up in arms against the contractor working for the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) for negligence, which caused the breach. They said that the contractor had cut open a part of the bund and laid a pipeline to connect it to a stormwater drain. Due to heavy rains on Saturday night, the water in the lake increased and the lake bund breached, residents told The Hindu.  Authorities were immediately notified of the breach and with earthmovers, sandbags and stones, the gap was filled after several hours. The city civic body, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner BH Anil Kumar said that a case would be registered against the contractor for his lapses.  He confirmed that the BDA had employed a contractor for restoration work at the lake and that the contractor had cut open the bund to lay a pipeline. But due to the faulty work and the heavy rains on Saturday, the lake bund breached. Commuters on the underpass of Kerekodi Road were also affected as the breach made the road slushy. Traffic movement was restricted on the road for a few hours. Hosakerahalli was chosen by the BBMP to store rainwater run in Bengaluru (South). Following the breach on Sunday, BBMP Mayor Gautam Kumar said that he is convening a meeting involving BDA, BWSSB (Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board) and BBMP officials, reported Deccan Herald.  This is the second such incident in Bengaluru in a month after a similar breach occurred at the Doddabidarakallu lake in October. The breach affected hundreds of houses and led to the loss of properties as well.   

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How Karnataka startup Fundmycrop is helping farmers earn a steady income

Agriculture

So far, Fundmycrop has worked with fruit and vegetable farmers in Dharwad, Belagavi and Mysuru.

Geetika Mantri

Some farmers associated with Fundmycrop

Crowdfunding has become a result-oriented new way of raising awareness about everything from social issues, natural disasters, urgent requirements of those in need, and even business ideas. And now, a young duo from Karnataka is using the concept to help farmers in the state earn a steady income and eliminate middlemen. Fundmycrop, a platform started by 23-year-old Nithin Bhat and 24-year-old Sharath aims to combine a subscription-based advance payment model with crowdfunding to not only help urban families and millennials connect with farmers, but to also enable the latter to earn assured salaries for their fruit and vegetable crop. The cofounders The initiative was started by the engineering graduates in January this year, and has also found some backing through government schemes. Incubated at Manipal Universal Technology Business Incubator (MUTBI), Fundmycrop has been selected under the National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (NIDHI-EIR) Scheme of the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Department of Science and Technology. MUTBI at Manipal is one of the Program Execution Partners of the NIDHI-EIR Scheme. It has also been selected to receive a grant under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana-Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied Sector Rejuvenation Scheme (RSVY-RAFTAAR). How it works Fundmycrop tweaked their business model just a month ago to make it more sustainable. Sharath explains how it will work: If a farmer has an acre of land and can grow 10,000 kilos of tomatoes, this information will be made available on Fundmycrop. “If you want to buy five kilos, you pay for that much in advance. Similarly, someone else can book two kilos. This way, we hope to ensure that the entire 10,000 kilos has takers.” “This is called advance buying,” adds Nithin. “You are helping the farmer grow what you require.” This quantity is then delivered directly to your home weekly, he adds. In doing so, Sharath says that they hope to remove middlemen, and also make urban populations connect with the farmer. “You can go to the field, which will likely be around 30 kilometres from the city, see the crops and so on. Gamification of anything makes it appealing to urban millennials,” Nithin points out. So far, Fundmycrop has worked with fruit and vegetable farmers in Dharwad, Belagavi and Mysuru. Presently, they have around 19 subscribers for this model – mostly apartment dwellers and families – and deliveries of the produce are likely to start by November 15. At the time of writing, the co-founders said that they are focused on Mysuru. Why the earlier model was ditched Earlier, Fundmycrop’s model allowed people to invest anywhere from Rs 2000 to Rs 5 lakh in a farmer of their choice on their platform. This was the crowdfunding aspect – where people could pledge their desired amount. These funds would be used by the farmer to cultivate crops, which would subsequently be sold by Fundmycrop to B2B clients. While 70% of the profit earned would go to the farmer, investors would get 5% interest after three months on their investment. However, Nithin and Sharath realised that this was not a sustainable model. “There were many hidden costs that we had not taken into account,” explains Nithin. “Sometimes, the produce was not good, or even if the crop failed, we had to get it from elsewhere for the B2B clients. We would also have to return the money to the investors with 5% interest regardless of anything. Profits would vary based on the market price at the time too.” At the time, Fundmycrop was looking at a demand of 400 kg from various companies that provide grocery items and delivery. Further, after surveying around 750 farmers, the co-founders realised that initial investment was not really a problem for fruit and vegetable farmers. Their earlier model was seeking to provide cultivators with the funds even before they sowed the crop. “The real issue farmers were facing was that of good prices for their produce, and assured returns,” the co-founders say. Therefore, Fundmycrop decided to change things up. Now they assure a fixed price per unit of the fruit or vegetable to the farmer – this depends on the market price too. The farmer gets whichever is higher. Once the funds are received through crowdfunding, Fundmycrop disburses the amount to the farmers in pre-decided monthly instalments. “Like a salary,” notes Sharath, “which is what we learnt during our surveys. The farmers wanted a steady source of income.” By next year, Fundmycrop hopes to have anywhere from 100 to 1,000 subscribers on board to “adopt” these farmers, be involved with them, and help them earn steady incomes. 

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Thousands in Karnataka pay homage to Tipu Sultan on his 270th birth anniversary

Birth Anniversary

With no state sponsored celebrations this year, a few private celebrations were held in Mandya and Mysuru districts, the seat of Tipu's erstwhile Mysore kingdom.

TNM Staff

Scores of people paid tributes to 18th century controversial Mysore ruler Hazrath Tipu Sultan (1750-1799) in Karnataka's Srirangapatna on his 270th birth anniversary. This included Congress legislator Tanveer Sait who paid tributes to Tipu Sultan in Srirangapatna. "Though the BJP government discontinued Tipu Jayanthi from this year owing to opposition from its legislators and right-wing groups, Sait, cadres and religious leaders paid tributes to the erstwhile king by offering flowers and a shawl (chadar) to his tomb at Gumbaz in Srirangapatna," party's state unit spokesman Ravi Gowda said. Hundreds of Muslims celebrated it along with Prophet Mohammed's birthday on Eid-Miladin-Nabi across the southern state amid tight security. Tanveer, a four-time lawmaker from the Narasimharaja assembly segment in Mysuru, is also chairman of Tipu's Saheed Wakf Estate in the state's cultural capital. Inayath ur Rahman Rizvi, Shahi Imam, Masjid e Aqsa, Gumbaz, prayed and read some verses of the Holy Quran. There were no celebrations in Kodagu district of Karnataka. The celebrations, which were held by the state government from 2015, were discontinued this year after an interim order was passed by the BJP-led government on July 30, just days after the party came to power in the state. In the first year of celebration, two persons were killed in Kodagu district after violent clashes.  The order by the BJP-led government was challenged in the Karnataka High Court and on November 6, the high court's division bench, headed by Chief Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice S.R. Krishnakumar, directed the state government to reconsider its July 30 cabinet decision and respond by third week of January 2020. The bench also said that private celebrations of Tipu Jayanti were allowed and asked the state government to place on record the order cancelling Tipu Jayanti celebrations in the state.  The previous Congress government revived Tipu Jayanthi in November 2015 and continued till 2018 when it was in the 14-month coalition government with the Janata Dal-Secular (JD(S)) till July 23 despite opposition by the BJP then. The ruling BJP and its right-wing allies consider Tipu a tyrant, religious bigot and anti-Hindu who forcibly converted hundreds of Hindus to Islam and persecuted those who opposed. Every year since 2015, the BJP ran a campaign criticising Tipu for killing Kodavas and Mangaluru Christians, and pillaging temples in south India. The opposition Congress, however, claim Tipu was a valiant hero, secular and a freedom-fighter who fought the British to protect his kingdom and its people from the invaders. The developments also come at a time when Appachu Ranjan, the MLA of Madikeri in Kodagu, has petitioned the Karnataka Education Department to remove all references to Tipu Sultan in textbooks printed in the state. With IANS inputs

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Additional Bengaluru-Whitefield train, reduced travel time between Bengaluru-Mysuru

Transport

Railway officials said that the Bengaluru-Whitefield train will have a composition of two motor cars and six trailing cars.

TNM Staff

PTI/ File image

Rail users from Bengaluru and nearby towns and cities have reasons to cheer with the recent upgradation of infrastructure undertaken by the South Western Railways. While a new train suburban service from Whitefield was flagged off on Saturday, traveling on trains between Bengaluru and Mysuru will take 30 minutes less than it used to take before. Benefiting a lot of people commuting between Bengaluru Central Business District areas and Whitefield, the South Western Railway has started an additional train service between City Railway Station (Majestic) and Whitefield.  The train will start from KSR Bengaluru at 5.50 pm and reach Whitefield at 6.40 pm and will run via Bengaluru Cantonment, Bengaluru East, Baiyappanahalli, KR Puram, and Hoodi. In the opposite direction, the train will depart from Whitefield station at 6.50 pm and reach Cantonment at 7.25 pm. Railway officials said that the train will have a composition of two motor cars and six trailing cars. While the motor cars can carry 226 passengers – 155 sitting and 121 standing – the trailing cars can carry 325 passengers  Flagging off the train, Bengaluru Central MP PC Mohan said, “In response to demand of commuters, I am happy to inform additional trains will commence operations. I thank the Minister of State, Railways, Suresh Angadi for agreeing to my request and sanctioning additional trains.” According to officials, automatic signalling works have facilitated this addition of service.   Krishna Prasad, a veteran suburban rail activist, said, “This is a long standing demand and it will benefit a lot of IT/BT professionals, students, domestic and factory workers alike.” This announcement comes after similar addition of services between Tumakuru-Yeshwantapur line. Bengaluru-Mysuru The electrification and doubling of tracks between Bengaluru and Mysuru will see as many as 11 trains to reduce the travel time between the two cities.  For this, the departure time of these trains have been deferred by 30 minutes. With the use of electric engines, the railways will also save a lot of financial resources otherwise used as fuel expenses as trains with 24 coaches need two engines in this route due to the undulating terrain.

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