Two weeks into launch, bus priority lane in Bengaluru shows signs of success

Transport

At present, the plan is only restricted to the 18.5 km stretch on the Outer Ring Road stretch between KR Puram Tin Factory to Silk Board junction.

Soumya Chatterjee

Despite some teething problems, the bus priority lanes which have been introduced in Bengaluru jointly by the BBMP, BMTC and Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) in mid-November are showing early signs of success. The idea behind bus lanes is to ensure priority access over private transport especially two-wheelers and in the process motivate people to ditch their own vehicles. This, in turn, is expected to reduce overall congestion in the city.  The Bangalore Traffic Police is expected to enforce the rule of only allowing BMTC (Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation) buses in the left-most lanes of the roads chosen for this initiative. Violators are punished with a fine of Rs 500 for the first offence and Rs 1,000 for subsequent violations since December 1. Traffic police said that for the first 15 days, they tried to communicate the message to motorists and create awareness about the initiative. Since November 15, the plan is only restricted to the 18.5 km stretch on the Outer Ring Road stretch between KR Puram Tin Factory to Silk Board. And a similar protocol is expected to be put in place for 12 other major roads in the city including the Hosur Road and Old Madras Road.  Car vs bus Yogeesh Prabhuswamy, an activist with Citizens for Bengaluru, who works at Global Technology Park and a friend Ghanshyam who works at Prestige Tech Park compared the travel times of a bus and a car between KR Puram Tin Factory to the Kadubessanahalli Bus Stop for JP Morgan office on the Outer Ring Road over three days in peak hour traffic. What they realised was that it roughly took the same time in a bus or in a private car –around 30 minutes. The two started from the same place and the same time between December 2 and 4, with Yogeesh taking the bus and Ghanshyam taking the car. Yogeesh said, “In fact, on the first day, the bus was faster than the car despite the bus having to wait at bus stops and give time for passengers to board and deboard. Moreover, the bus conductor often stops the bus to collect fares which can be avoided.” Day 1 Starting time: 8:45 am    29m to Kadubesanahalli :) By clock Bus might have one but let's attribute it to error margin and call it 'Same time' - 30m :) Because we also synced with call and we were there almost at same time ;) #BusPriorityLane with full force can be a clear winner :) @BMTC_Bangalore pic.twitter.com/azsWhzqSTc — Yogeesh Prabhuswamy (@yogeeshgp) December 2, 2019   Day 2 Starting time: 9:00 am   #BusPriorityLane #RaceDay 2 #BusVsCar Verdict - Tie again! ~27m from KR puram rly-Kadubesanahalli(JPMorgan stop)@BMTC_BENGALURU @BBMPCOMM @blrcitytraffic @DULTBangalore @citizensforblr @BBPVedike @WFRising @BellandurJothge @srinualavilli @NammaBengaluroo @ghanshyam_in pic.twitter.com/a7ROyfpokU — Yogeesh Prabhuswamy (@yogeeshgp) December 3, 2019    Day 3 Starting time: 8:10 am   So its a tie again today, 3 in a row - #BusVsCar #RaceDay3 on #BusPriorityLane! *Bus would've won if it had not stopped 3m for issuing ticket - @BMTC_Bangalore Nodrappa olle chance missu :( PS: We didn't time sync today. #Nimbus https://t.co/MGOfqU0axd pic.twitter.com/IT1AJhUu8G — Yogeesh Prabhuswamy (@yogeeshgp) December 4, 2019     Yogeesh added, “While there is a lot of improvement expected with the authorities creating barricades restricting vehicles entering the lanes midway, a lot can be done by the traffic police.” There have been multiple instances of road users complaining of an unabated violation of the rule due to the lack of effective enforcement.  On this, Yogeesh insisted just by manning only places near bus stops or where there is flyover down ramps, the system can be made more efficient in the short term. Another issue that Yogeesh pointed was the lack of awareness and signage created by the authorities to inform the road users. BMTC staff also conceded that the system is yet to be finetuned to perfection. Nagaraj Murthy BS, Division Controller for Central Division, said, “So far we are only seeing 10 minutes of average travel time reduction in the entire stretch. This is due to other vehicles entering the bus lanes as there are no physical barricades. But soon with greater awareness and enforcement, we are confident of bringing down the travel time by more than 30 minutes and more. We plan to run more than 450 Volvo buses in this stretch alone.” He added, “Once we establish a consistent pattern of travel times, we will form a timetable. This coupled with the upcoming real-time bus tracking app will make BMTC much more reliable and user-friendly.”         G M T Y     Detect languageAfrikaansAlbanianAmharicArabicArmenianAzerbaijaniBasqueBelarusianBengaliBosnianBulgarianCatalanCebuanoChichewaChinese (Simplified)Chinese (Traditional)CorsicanCroatianCzechDanishDutchEnglishEsperantoEstonianFilipinoFinnishFrenchFrisianGalicianGeorgianGermanGreekGujaratiHaitian CreoleHausaHawaiianHebrewHindiHmongHungarianIcelandicIgboIndonesianIrishItalianJapaneseJavaneseKannadaKazakhKhmerKoreanKurdishKyrgyzLaoLatinLatvianLithuanianLuxembourgishMacedonianMalagasyMalayMalayalamMalteseMaoriMarathiMongolianMyanmar (Burmese)NepaliNorwegianPashtoPersianPolishPortuguesePunjabiRomanianRussianSamoanScots GaelicSerbianSesothoShonaSindhiSinhalaSlovakSlovenianSomaliSpanishSundaneseSwahiliSwedishTajikTamilTeluguThaiTurkishUkrainianUrduUzbekVietnameseWelshXhosaYiddishYorubaZulu   AfrikaansAlbanianAmharicArabicArmenianAzerbaijaniBasqueBelarusianBengaliBosnianBulgarianCatalanCebuanoChichewaChinese (Simplified)Chinese (Traditional)CorsicanCroatianCzechDanishDutchEnglishEsperantoEstonianFilipinoFinnishFrenchFrisianGalicianGeorgianGermanGreekGujaratiHaitian CreoleHausaHawaiianHebrewHindiHmongHungarianIcelandicIgboIndonesianIrishItalianJapaneseJavaneseKannadaKazakhKhmerKoreanKurdishKyrgyzLaoLatinLatvianLithuanianLuxembourgishMacedonianMalagasyMalayMalayalamMalteseMaoriMarathiMongolianMyanmar (Burmese)NepaliNorwegianPashtoPersianPolishPortuguesePunjabiRomanianRussianSamoanScots GaelicSerbianSesothoShonaSindhiSinhalaSlovakSlovenianSomaliSpanishSundaneseSwahiliSwedishTajikTamilTeluguThaiTurkishUkrainianUrduUzbekVietnameseWelshXhosaYiddishYorubaZulu                     Text-to-speech function is limited to 200 characters     Options : History : Feedback : Donate Close  

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2RomRI6
via IFTTT

While we were laughing at his videos, how Nithyananda's dangerous cult kept growing

Cults

Despite the multiple controversies dogging him and his activities over half a decade, the self-styled godman continues to hog the limelight.

Manasa Rao

A scrawny man, all of 22, sits atop a deerskin mat in a nondescript hill somewhere in northern Tamil Nadu. Vibhuti (holy ash) is smeared across his forehead, as a photo is being taken of him in meditative posture. The image, one of seemingly harmless religiosity, is that of Nithyananda, the man who is in the news today for reportedly having 'bought' his own Hindu kingdom. But the photos one sees of the self-styled godman today – sitting on a large throne, adorned with gold jewellery and preaching to audiences with an outer-space backdrop – is a far cry from his days in Thiruvannamalai district as an aspiring ascetic.  Over the years, Nithyananda has been embroiled in many controversies. In March 2010, news channels published an investigative sting of the godman in an intimate relationship with a Tamil film actor. Nithyananda, who was known to preach a life of celibacy and abstinence, was suddenly facing protests from disillusioned devotees and others. Two days after the tape was broadcast, a woman devotee filed a complaint of alleged rape against him and all hell broke loose. Nithyananda, whose ashrams were already under attack, fled. In April 2010, he was arrested from Himachal Pradesh and brought to Bengaluru. Yet today, he’s an influential 'godman', with a following across countries. His YouTube channel simply titled ‘Nithyananda’ has nearly 2 lakh subscribers. His devotees run two Facebook pages – one titled HDH Nithyananda Paramashivam, with the official ‘verified’ sign from Facebook; the other is called The Avatar Clicks. The second channel, which posts short clips of his speeches, is wildly popular, not just among his devotees but also his detractors, who share the videos ridiculing him. Not many are aware that his devotees ultimately benefit from the page views accruing to the page, even if it is to diss them. So what explains the steady growth and continuity of his cult despite serious crimes he is yet to answer for, and questionable, illegal practices reported at his ashrams? The rise of Nithyananda It was in the year 2000 that Nithyananda set up his first ashram in Tamil Nadu. After spreading to a few districts in the state, the Nityananda Peetham opened its first big ashram in Bidadi in the outskirts of Bengaluru in 2003. The arrest in 2010, made him go under the radar for a while, but Nithyananda made a powerful comeback. Positioning himself as a victim of religious persecution – a 'Hindu guru being targeted’ – he launched a multi-pronged attack against his detractors. While the case was delayed in courts using many tactics, various complaints ranging from fund misappropriation to assault were filed on other whistleblowers.  In 2015, a woman devotee died inside the ashram leading to another controversy. The mother of a young man who had tried to kill himself in the ashram in 2008 also gave a statement to the Karnataka CID around this time. But nothing stopped the Nithyananda empire from growing. From ashrams in almost every district of Tamil Nadu and in Bidadi, he slowly started owning and operating properties across the country – in Telangana, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi and Puducherry. While initially Nithyananda ran one gurukul out of the Bidadi ashram, another one was started in Ahmedabad a few years ago. He has adheenams, or major ashrams in Madurai, Chennai and Hyderabad too. Hyderabad has been one of the biggest emerging destinations for the cult, with many business families in the city becoming followers. His operations in the United States too has spread to many cities in the past few years with ashrams set up in Ohio, San Jose, Seattle, Phoenix and a few other places. Nithyananda has been popular amongst a section of young people in America and over the years, many of them have been given administrative positions in the dhyanapeetham. While controversies took a backseat, the last one-and-half years have seen Nithyananda becoming a social media sensation.  Money power “There are two ways in which he manages to grow,” says a former member of the ashram who was with Nithyananda’s cult for seven years, “One is foreign funding from NRIs, and the second is domestic donations from large Hindu business families. His devotees come from middle and upper classes. The money keeps him afloat.” These donations are either money given upfront, or ‘gifts’ of acres of land to set up new ashrams. He was even touted to start an ashram next to the iconic Madurai Meenakshi Temple. Reports of Nithyananda fleeing the country have not stopped operations at his ashrams which continue to be thronged by devotees. These ashrams are also residences for many who are part of Nithyananda’s cult. They require significant amount of financial resources to feed and shelter his devotees, even though the labour may come from the volunteers.  His notoriety for his alleged crimes including rape and child abuses charges, unscientific claims and calls for a Hindu theocracy have, shockingly, had little effect on his cult.  The godman is currently on the run from the law but his devotees continue to ‘attend’ his ‘spiritual discourses’ with a cardboard cut-out of him placed on a plastic chair.  However, groups that support him are already making noises about an innocent man being persecuted, and the cult hopes that this wave too will make Nithyananda grow further.

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2DMabT0
via IFTTT

Hyderabad woman dies after moving car catches fire in Karnataka’s Bidar

Accident

39-year-old Kalyani was travelling back to Hyderabad from Maharashtra’s Udgir when the incident occurred.

Theja Ram

Screengrab

A woman from Hyderabad died in Karnataka’s Bidar district on Thursday after a car in which she was travelling caught fire. 39-year-old Kalyani was travelling back to Hyderabad from Maharashtra’s Udgir when the incident occurred. A video of the burning car went viral soon after the incident. At around 10.30 am on Thursday, Kalyani, her husband Uday Kumar (42) and two children aged seven and ten years old, were travelling back to Hyderabad in a Hyundai i10. Kalyani was sitting in the front seat, while her husband was driving the car along national highway 9 in Bidar’s Mannaekhelli in Humnabad taluk. According to the Mannaekhelli Police, the temperature of the air conditioning equipment in the car had increased drastically and smoke began coming out of the car. Within seconds, the car caught fire and Uday Kumar immediately parked the car on the side of the road and got out. He then rescued his children, who were sitting in the back seat, after instructing his wife to get out. However, the fire allegedly spread within minutes and Kalyani was unable to get out of the car. “She was wearing a seatbelt and it got stuck. She was unable to detach the seat belt when the car caught fire,” said Mannaekhelli station officer Sunita. Uday Kumar called an ambulance and within minutes a fire engine also arrived at the spot to douse the flames. However, due to the intensity of the fire, Kalyani couldn’t be saved and succumbed. The Mannaekhelli police took Uday Kumar and the two children to the government hospital where they were administered first aid. They did not sustain any injuries.  Sunita’s body has been sent for an autopsy. The Mannaekhelli police have registered an accident case. Sunita’s body will be released to the family on Friday. 

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2Lq7ICa
via IFTTT

Democrats’ 3 Impeachment Hazards: Speed, Squirrels and Guano

Avoiding them won’t necessarily remove Trump from office, but it might change public opinion.

from Politics https://ift.tt/2PiWd0v

Man arrested in Bengaluru for allegedly sexually assaulting ex-girlfriend in hotel room

Crime

The 29-year-old woman filed a complaint against Kiran Bishwakarma with the Madiwala Police.

TNM Staff

The Bengaluru police on Wednesday arrested a 31-year-old man for allegedly sexually assaulting and stalking a woman for months. On December 2, a 29-year-old woman filed a complaint with the Madiwala Police stating that her former boyfriend, Kiran Bishwakarma, allegedly sexually assaulted her after locking her up in a hotel room. The woman also said that Kiran had been stalking her ever since she broke off the relationship. In her complaint, the woman states that she was in a relationship with Kiran for three years and over six months ago, she had broken off the relationship alleging that he had physically and mentally abused her during the course of their relationship. Kiran allegedly kept stalking her and standing outside a building in Koramangala, where she lived in a paying guest accommodation. On November 26, Kiran allegedly showed up outside the PG and created a ruckus. Police say that the woman went down to send Kiran away but the dispute turned violent when he allegedly beat her on the road. The woman then ran inside the building. “Kiran kept calling her and the woman did not answer. He kept calling her well into the night and she answered his call. He allegedly asked her to meet him one last time and promised to leave her alone if she did so. He asked her to come to iNest Suites in Madivala,” the Madivala Police said. Police say that after she went inside to meet Kiran, he allegedly locked her up in the room, forcibly disrobed her and beat her up. “He tore her clothes and when she started screaming, he clamped his hand on her mouth. She then told that she would do whatever he says as she wanted to escape. He fought with her and when he fell asleep, she escaped,” the police said. Fearing another attack, the woman left town and went to stay with her sister in Hyderabad. She then decided to file a police complaint after she returned to Bengaluru on December 2. The Madivala Police registered an FIR under sections 354(A) (sexual harassment), 354(D) (stalking), 506 (criminal intimidation), 354(B) (assault with intent to disrobe a woman), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 354 (assault or criminal force against a woman with intent to outrage modesty) and 342 (wrongful confinement) of the IPC. The police arrested Kiran on Wednesday and he is currently in judicial custody. 

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2Yifa7z
via IFTTT

Bengaluru man orders pizza through an app, ends up losing Rs 95,000 in online scam

Crime

The man was a victim of a phishing expedition and the fraudsters were able to access his bank account details.

TNM Staff

Image for representation

Ordering a pizza proved to be costly for this Bengaluru techie, who ended up losing Rs 95,000 in an online scam. At around 1.30 pm on December 1, NV Sheik, a resident of Bengaluru’s Koramangala, used food delivery app Zomato on his phone to order himself a pizza. According to the police, even after an hour of waiting, his order had not been delivered following which he looked up the number for the app’s customer care service. Upon calling the number, he was allegedly informed that the restaurant was not accepting orders and was assured that a refund would be initiated. The fraudster posing as a customer care executive allegedly informed Sheik that he would receive a message on his phone after the call and upon clicking on a link in the message, his refund request would be processed. The Madiwala Police, who are investigating the case, say that once Sheikh clicked on the link, he became a victim of a phishing expedition and the fraudsters were able to access his bank account details. Within minutes, Rs 45,000 had been deducted from one of his bank account and before he could transfer the remaining amount to a different account, another Rs 50,000 had been deducted. Sheik approached the Madiwala police station in the city and a complaint with them, following which further investigations are currently underway. He had reportedly been saving the money to pay for the expenses of his mother’s cancer treatment. Zomato does not have a customer care number. Speaking to TNM, a Zomato spokesperson said that the company does not have a calling service for customer care. "We constantly remind our users via different channels of communication that we do not have a customer care number. Chat and email are our primary channels of care. While we take every effort to ensure customer safety and security, we also urge our esteemed customers to be vigilant and not share their personal or bank account details with anyone." Though it is true that when an order is delayed or faces issues on Zomato, one has to go to help section and chat with customer care, a random Google search does throw up a lot of fraudulent numbers. Of late, a number of cases of cyber crime have been reported. Earlier in November, a man from Bengaluru had alleged that he had lost around Rs 85,000 from his bank account via a UPI pay scam operation. Police have also warned that skimming machines have been kept in certain ATM kiosks through which culprits take money out of the account of unsuspecting individuals. Police officials have requested individuals not to share their personal details and to be cautious when using digital forms of payment. Also read: Why conviction rate for cyber crime cases in Karnataka is abysmally low

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2r73lVM
via IFTTT

Karnataka bye-polls live updates: Crucial test for ruling BJP as polling begins

Politics

As many as 165 candidates, including 126 Independents and 9 women are in the fray in the 15 Assembly seats.

TNM Staff

Bye-polls to 15 Assembly constituencies in Karnataka are underway since 7 am on Thursday. The polls are crucial to the survival of the BS Yediyurappa-led BJP government in the state. The BJP needs to win at least six seats to remain in power in the state. Polling began at 7:00 am in all the 15 Assembly constituencies amid tight security to elect the new legislators. Voting will go on till 6:00 pm. In Bengaluru alone, where four seats are witnessing bye-elections, close to 3,000 police personnel including central forces have been deployed to ensure smooth and peaceful electoral process.  Bye-elections are being held in Athani, Kagwad, Gokak, Yellapura, Hirekerur, Ranibennur, Vijaynagara, Chickballapura, KR Pura, Yeshwanthpura, Mahalakshmi Layout, Shivajinagar, Hosakote, KR Pete and Hunsur Assembly seats. The 15 constituencies have nearly 38 lakh eligible voters, including 19.25-lakh men and 18.52-lakh women. As many as 165 candidates, including 126 Independents and 9 women are in the fray in the 15 Assembly seats. The BJP and the opposition Congress are contesting in all 15 Assembly seats, while the JD(S) is standing in 12 constituencies. The 3,185 polling stations have a total of 8,326 ballot units and 8,186 controlling units and 7,876 VVPATs (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) for casting the ballots. These bye-polls are necessitated due to disqualification of rebel MLAs belonging to the Congress and JD(S) ruling coalition. While a total of 17 MLAs left the coalition, elections in two assembly segments -- Muski (Raichur district) and R.R. Nagar (Bengaluru) have been withheld due to litigation in the Karnataka High Court over their results in the May 2018 stare assembly elections.  Follow live updates here: Note: Please disable your ad blocker if the blog is not loading      

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2YgP4le
via IFTTT