Soon, an all-in-one Namma Bengaluru app to solve the city’s civic woes

Civic Issues

The app, Namma Bengaluru will be a single window interface to all utility providers and parastatals too.

TNM Staff

Representational Image

A new all-in-one app will be launched in Bengaluru for all civic-related issues by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). The “Namma Bengaluru” app will act as a single-window interface for residents with all major parastatal organisations and government departments like the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewage Board (BWSSB), Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), Bengaluru Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA), and Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (Bescom). The new app is getting the finishing touches and the BBMP is targetting its launch on the first day of the new year, Commissioner BH Anil Kumar said at an event in the city on Wednesday.  The current Sahaya app, which was launched in 2016 for residents to report complaints with regards to civic infrastructure, has a number of glitches.  Other than new additional features, the highlight of the new app will be a real-time compliant tracking mechanism. An SMS will be sent to the complainant about the updates regarding their complaint. With the new app, once a complaint is lodged, it will get automatically assigned to the concerned official and no complaint can be closed before its actually addressed. All cases of road infrastructure-related complaints will be geotagged and complainants will have the option to upload photos of the same. The app will also have a feedback mechanism and complaint section for e-khata registration. Similarly, to solve the city’s garbage problem, the Solid Waste Management Depart will have a dedicated smart control room in the new year. The Commissioner announced that the facility will be only ready by August. The control room can track all vehicles deployed for waste management in the city real-time. 

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Kids with disabilities buried neck-deep in goat dung during solar eclipse in K'taka village

Superstition

A four-year-old child was unconscious by the time she was rescued.

Prajwal Bhat

In a shocking incident, three children with disabilities in Kalaburagi district's Taj Sultanpur village were buried neck-deep in goat dung by their family members in the hope that doing so during a solar eclipse will cure them. The incident came to light at 9 am on Thursday morning when activists working with the Janwadi Mahila Sangatane rushed to the spot to rescue the children.  A four-year-old child was unconscious by the time she was rescued while two other children, aged 8 and 11 were also buried neck-deep.  "All the children rescued are currently being treated in a hospital. The children were buried in neck-deep due to a belief among the village residents that doing that during a solar eclipse will cure them of their physical problems," a police official at Gulbarga Rural Police Station told TNM.  Activists involved in the rescue said that no cases were registered in connection with the incident. Ashwini Madankar of the Janwadi Mahila Sangatane told EdexLive that the parents come from poor households who resorted to the step of burying their children after hospital treatment did not help. She said that the parents did not mean to hurt the children and only wanted them to walk around freely.  Police officials at Gulbarga Rural Police Station said a case will not be registered unless a complaint is made by the activists. Commenting on this, rationalist Narendra Nayak said, “Around ten years ago, we came across a case of children with polio buried neck-deep in a Kalaburagi village. It is terrible because the children could have been asphyxiated since they were prevented from breathing. They were also unable to move and there is a fear created in them.”

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Hindu outfit seeks to ban New Year parties on MG Road and Brigade Road in Bengaluru

New Year

The Hindu Janajagruthi Samiti, in a letter to Commissioner Bhaskar Rao, has requested the police to ban the celebration, alleging that it is leading to “moral degradation of India’s youth”.

TNM Staff

The Hindu Janajagruthi Samiti, a Hindutva outfit, whose members have been accused of killing journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh, has written to the Bengaluru Police Commissioner, Bhaskar Rao, asking him to ban New Year celebrations on MG Road and Brigade Road. The annual New Year celebrations in Bengaluru’s MG Road and Brigade Road is iconic and revellers from across the city come to part-take in the celebrations at midnight. These two prominent roads in the city, are closed for traffic and are turned into a pedestrian zone for the New Year walk. The Hindu Janajagruthi Samiti, in a letter to Commissioner Bhaskar Rao, has requested the police to ban the celebrations, alleging that it is leading to “moral degradation of India’s youth”. “Currently, the influence of western cultures across the country has resulted in people indulging in bad habits especially on midnight Dec 31 under the pretext of new year’s celebration. The influence of western cultures has increased,” the letter states. The outfit claimed that revellers consume alcohol, drugs and smoke cigarettes in public and that these incidents are on the rise, which has led to Bengaluru’s image deteriorating internationally. The letter states that the New Year celebrations have also led to an increase in underage drinking. “On Bengaluru’s MG Road and Brigade Road, smoking, consumption of alcohol and drugs have increased and people performing obscene dances has also increased. Also a few years ago, goonda elements had sexually harassed several women. Bengaluru’s image had taken a beating internationally. Due to this, the morality of India’s youth is degrading. And the need of the hour is the youth be led into the right path,” the letter states. The letter states that the Police Commissioner must not give permission for the New Year celebrations this year. “In view of protecting Bengaluru’s youth, our request is that you ban the New Year celebrations on MG Road and Brigade Road and permission must not be given for the same. And in that in Bengaluru Fort, and in other touristic places, consumption of alcohol and cigarettes be banned. I request you to provide ample police personnel in these areas,” the letter adds. This is not the first time the outfit has sought the ban on New Year’s Eve parties. On December 20, 2018, members of the outfit had met the then Police Commissioner T Suneel Kumar and submitted a memorandum, requesting a ban on New Year’s Eve parties on MG Road and Brigade Road. The previous memorandum too, was starkly similar to the one this year.    

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Democrats seize on anti-Obamacare ruling to steamroll GOP in 2020

The party looks to regain the offensive on an issue critical to its success in the 2018 midterms.

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Fact check: Mangaluru police who opened fire on protesters will not receive an award

Fake News

A fake message has reportedly gone viral over social media and private messaging platforms that the Mangaluru police are being rewarded for ‘controlling’ the protesters.

Soumya Chatterjee

A fake message has reportedly gone viral over social media and private messaging platforms that the Mangaluru police are being rewarded for ‘controlling’ the protesters. A text message claiming that the Karnataka government has announced a monetary reward for the police in Mangaluru for “controlling” the protests has gone viral on social media and messaging platforms. However, this message is fake.  The viral message is accompanied by a photograph of a purported government order. The fake government directive says the concerned DCP, ACP, Inspector and eight others will get Rs 50,000 each while others will get Rs 10,000 each. The message has since then gone viral over social media, private messaging platforms and was picked up by a section of media too. Fake message being circulated on social media This message incidentally went viral a day after Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa withdrew the ex gratia compensation of Rs 10 lakh which was to be given to the families of two persons who were killed in Mangaluru police firing.  Abdul Jaleel (49) and Nauseen (23) were the two men killed on Thursday last week.  Speaking to TNM, a top official in the Public Relations Department  confirmed this as fake news.   Mangaluru Commissioner of Police PS Harsha said, “Few people are trying to misrepresent facts and spread rumours of various kinds. I appeal to all to restrain from spreading rumours based on false information.” Few people are trying to misrepresent facts and spread rumours of various kinds .. There is an incidence of trying to misrepresent even official communication. An appeal to all to restrain from spreading rumours based on false information.. — Harsha IPS CP Mangaluru City (@compolmlr) December 26, 2019 Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa had earlier on Sunday announced that an ex gratia amount of Rs 10 lakh will be given to the two victims’ families. But later on Wednesday, he said the compensation has been withdrawn and will be given only when the investigation into the firing and protests is complete. This volte-face was purportedly due to pressure from the central leadership of the BJP.  CM Yediyurappa suggested compensation may be given only if the two deceased, who have been booked for rioting, are found to be innocent. The Chief Minister earlier this week ordered a magisterial inquiry into the killings of Abdul Jaleel (49) and Nauseen (23) after initially ordering a CID probe. 

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Mysuru man moves Karnataka HC against Akshay Kumar's ‘Good Newwz’, seeks stay

Court

Alleging that the movie is ‘misdirecting people,’ the plea has sought for a stay on the release of the film, which is set to hit the screens on December 27.

TNM Staff

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Karnataka High Court seeking a stay on the upcoming Hindi movie Good Newwz which stars Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor Khan in lead roles. The vacation bench of the high court is likely to hear the petition on December 27, the day the movie is set to release across the country. The PIL was filed by Mir Sameem Raza, President of a Mysuru-based NGO called Yes Trust. The petition claims that the movie is misdirecting people into believing that private In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) centres are not trustworthy, with higher chances of semen mix-up in assisted pregnancies. “The movie is about two childless couples, who come for IVF treatment, and the sperms get exchanged. This is bound to create a lot of confusion and uncertainty about the credibility of IVF treatment itself. As childless couples are already under immense social and psychological pressure, this may further cause emotional disturbance for them,” the petition reads. The petition also states that the film endorses Indira IVF, a company which has been in the business of assisted pregnancies. “The lead actors of this film are endorsing that this type of mix-up does not happen at Indira IVF Center, which creates doubts in the minds of people about the credibility of other IVF treatment centres across India. The petitioner has absolutely no reservation for somebody making an effort to increase the credibility of Indira IVF but not at the cost of the others in the field. This is the wrong type of product placement,” the petition adds. The petitioner has also named the Central Board of Film Certification as a respondent and has questioned why the CBFC certified such a film for release. The vacation bench of the Karnataka High Court is set to decide whether the stay should be granted or not on Friday. Speaking to TNM, Mir Sameem Raza said, "It may be a fictional movie. But the plot is evident that there is a sperm mix up. By endorsing only one IVF centre, it is indirectly saying that mix-ups happen a lot in other IVF centres. Hence, we have petitioned for a stay," he said.  Apart from Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor Khan, Good Newwz also stars Kiara Advani and Diljit Dosanjh. Directed by Raj Mehta, the comedy-drama is scheduled to release on December 27.    

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Mangaluru police firing deaths to be probed by officer who investigated 2009 pub attack

CAA

The Mangaluru pub attack was not the only controversial point in officer Vinay Gaonkar’s career.

Harsha Raj Gatty

The investigation officer of the infamous 2009 Mangaluru pub attack has been appointed as the investigation officer of the December 19 police firing incident which claimed the lives of two people in Mangaluru.  Vinay Gaonkar, the Assistant Commissioner of Police with the City Crime Records Bureau, has been appointed by the Mangaluru City Police to investigate the deaths of Abdul Jaleel and Nausheen, who were killed in police firing last week near the Mangaluru North (Bunder) Police Station. Vinay has already conducted an inspection of the site of the police firing on Azizuddin Road in Bunder, a port area in Mangaluru. Read: Lack of tear gas led to police firing? Cops, witnesses divided on Mangaluru firing deaths Vinay was part of the prosecution team that investigated the infamous pub attack in which people gathered at the Amnesia pub in Mangaluru were assaulted by a group of men who charged inside. The attack was caught on camera and beamed on television channels across the country. The Sri Rama Sene took credit for the attack and Pramod Muthalik, the outfit’s chief, was produced before the 2nd JMFC in Mangaluru in 2009. However, nine years later, the court acquitted him and others due to lack of evidence. The court in its judgement clearly stated that investigating officers could not cite witnesses in the charge sheet of the case. “The women customers are the victims and they are the best witnesses in this case. If the investigating officer examined them, the real truth would come out. They are the best witnesses to identify the accused persons. Non-securing the victim women is fatal to the prosecution and it creates the doubt in the mind of this court about the involvement of the accused persons as alleged by the prosecution,” the court noted in its judgement. The court also noted that videos and photographs captured by media persons could not be used as evidence since none of the journalists stepped forward as witnesses. Pramod Muthalik and 30 others accused in the case were acquitted by the court. This is not the only occasion in which Vinay Gaonkar’s actions have been under the lens. In 2010, the Dalitha Sangharsha Samithi had demanded action against Vinay for abusing its members who had come forward with a complaint. In 2011, Muneer Ahmed, a resident of Mangaluru’s Bunder, alleged that Vinay had threatened him for not collecting ‘hafta’ on his behest, Daijiworld reported. Nevertheless, Vinay Gaonkar has been awarded the President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service in 2016 while he was ACP, Cubbon Park sub-division, Bengaluru. Vinay Gaonkar, as the chief of the anti-rowdy squad, was also said to be instrumental in the arrest of associates of underworld don Bannanje Raja. Story by Story Infinity (Subs and Scribes Media Ventures LLP.)

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