‘Cong not opposing NPR as they introduced it’: Kavita Krishnan at Bengaluru anti-CAA meet

CAA

The public meeting to protest against CAA, NRC and NPR was held at in Jayanagar on Monday, right opposite the office of BJP MP Tejasvi Surya.

Alithea Stephanie Mounika

Continuing their protests demanding the repeal of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR), scores of people turned up for a public meeting in Jayanagar on Monday, right opposite the office of BJP MP Tejasvi Surya. The crowd sat at the Shalini Grounds in Jayanagar — many holding the Indian flags and others holding placards like ‘Give us jobs! Not NPR-NRC-CAA’ — eager to hear what local leaders thought about the controversial citizenship laws and exercises. However, the biggest draw was the activist Kavita Krishnan. Speaking to the crowd, Kavita pointed out how the energy of the protesters has not diminished, and that victory to the protesters is imminent. “People keep asking me, do you think you are making any difference through your protests? What will you get? But I am asking you, a year, or even six months ago, did you think that the whole country will unite and come out to protest like this? Not me. But people kept coming out. This, in itself, is a huge victory!” She spoke about the Union government’s response to the protests. “Amit Shah is saying that they won’t take a single step back. But they have gone back, a considerable amount of kilometres back, while we keep going ahead, determined that we will not step back until our Constitution is saved.” Kavita questioned the government’s denial that they ever spoke about NRC. “How have they backed down? Narendra Modi, in his recent speeches, said that he never said anything about NRC. But they were the ones who were talking about the chronology and proclaiming that they will implement NRC across the nation.” She explained why it is important to understand NPR, and not to comply with it. “The NPR is the first step towards NRC. It is a process that began with the Congress, which is why they are not opposing it, like they should be. But we need to be aware, and not show our papers,” she said, amidst slogans of ‘hum khaagaz nahi dikaaenge’ (we will not show our papers). Giving an example of Shaheen Bagh in New Delhi, she said that protesters, irrespective of the weather or other conditions, have been energising her to continue her protests. “Will the women sitting in Shaheen go home? No! We won’t stop protesting until we get their demands, and save the Constitution,” she added Some of the people gathered at the protest meet were also hoping to listen to eminent social activist and freedom fighter, HS Doreswamy. However, he was unable to attend as he has been hospitalised, said the organisers. Watch: What is CAA and how is it linked to NPR, NRC? Lawyer Gautam Bhatia explains     Protests against CAA and NRC are still on. TNM explains why Protests against CAA and NRC are still on. TNM explains why Posted by TheNewsMinute on Monday, December 23, 2019  

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Actor Chetan to marry partner Megha in ‘non-ritualistic’ and ‘progressive’ ceremony

Wedding

The couple will get married on February 1 at the sub-registrar’s office in Bengaluru, followed by a ceremony the next day.

TNM Staff

Photo by Nandeesh

In a celebration that will unite the progressive ideals of Periyar and Ambedkar, along with the couple’s love of social work and activism, Kannada actor Chetan will marry his fiancee Megha in a Bengaluru ceremony on February 2. The couple will get married on February 1 at the sub-registrar’s office in Bengaluru’s Gandhinagar. The ceremony will take place at Vinobhabhave Ashram in Kumara Park on February 2, followed by a dinner reception on the same day. “We are inspired by these non-ritualistic, socially-conscious marriage ceremonies that promote equality and service,” Chetan said. The couple has created a website for communicating their story. Chetan shot to fame after he acted in the film Aa Dinagalu, a movie about Bengaluru’s underworld. He has acted in several films including Athiratha, Noorondu Nenapu, Myna, Dashamukha, Birugaali and Suryakaanti. Megha and Chetan’s wedding is a celebration of their mutual interest in social issues. The wedding ceremony will include the couple taking “vows of values” followed by vibrant tribal dance performances. The wedding ceremony will include vachana, sufi and folk music and also a book exhibition. Their story Megha was born in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh and worked as an engineer, but she eventually decided to pursue a law degree in human rights. The website says that Megha aspires to continue her fight for gender equality and social justice. Chetan, who is known for partaking in socially-driven causes, says that he met Megha in Bengaluru five years ago and became friends. Their mutual interest in working for progressive causes, social service and travel led them to get into a relationship. “We have worked on issues regarding nomads (SC, ST, OBC, minority) who live in extreme poverty across the state. As well as working with orphanages and old-age homes together. Last year on my birthday (February 24, 2019), Megha and other friends arranged a blood donation camp to reach out to all our fellow social workers and cinema enthusiasts across the state,” Chetan says. Actor Chetan worked with the social workers and activists, who helped the Adivasis in Kodagu’s Diddahalli obtain land rights after a long struggle. “Megha was the one who guided me to take up the Dhidalli Adivasi cause, which ended up resulting in the success of 528 homes for Coorg Adivasis in 2017,” he added. Two years ago, the couple decided to get married. “Icons like Savitribai Phule and Mahatma Jyotiba Phule as well as Prakash Amte and Mandakini Amte are role-model husband-and-wife duos for Megha and Chetan,” the wedding website says.  

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Why fisherfolk in Karnataka are protesting against the expansion of Karwar port

Protest

Uttara Kannada DC Harish Kumar said that officials in the state will re-examine the expansion project and the construction of the breakwater, which is part of the expansion, has been halted.

Prajwal Bhat

The fishing community in the coastal town of Karwar in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka has steadfastly opposed the expansion of the port in the town. On Thursday, January 16, the community spilled out onto the streets to agitate against the construction of a breakwater, a barrier built out into the sea to protect a coast from the force of waves. The construction on the breakwater started on Monday and the fishing community fears that this is the first step in the proposed expansion of the port which they say will wipe out traditional fishing families, irreversibly damage Rabindranath Tagore beach and affect the movement of fishing boats in and out of Aligadda and Baithkoli beaches.  "The construction of the breakwater and the expansion of the port will adversely affect the lives of traditional fishermen who practice fishing in Karwar. There are traditional fishing families who practice fishing in Baithkoli, Tagore Beach and Aligadda beach in Karwar. Over the years, the construction of tourism initiatives, a naval base, and coast guard buildings has seen the spaces for traditional fishermen shrink to just these three spots," Mahabaleshwar Hegde, an environmental researcher from Karwar, who is currently working as a visiting faculty at the University of Winnipeg, Canada, told TNM. "We want the construction of the breakwater, which was started in the sea on Tagore beach, to be stopped immediately," KT Tandel, a member of the fishing community said. The expansion of the port in Karwar was taken up under the Sagarmala Project of the Union government. It received an environmental clearance from the State Level Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) of Karnataka in January 2019. The project also received a provisional Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance in the same month. The clearances were granted for the construction of five additional berths, reclaiming the sea behind the berth to make a stockyard, a petroleum oil jetty, and ‘dolphins’ –  berthing and mooring structures. The clearances also mentioned the construction of an additional breakwater of 238 metres in the sea. The Uttara Kannada District Fishermen Association Forum, which opposes the expansion project, wrote to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) stating that the SEIAA was not authorised to grant environmental clearance in cases "where a project is either partly or wholly located within 10 kilometers of an Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA)". The forum, in its letter, pointed out that the Kali river, considered a Critically Vulnerable Coastal Area (CVCA), which is an ESA as per the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, is located within 5 km of the project site. Taking note of the concerns raised by the forum, Vinod K Singh, an MoEFCC scientist wrote to the SEIAA in July 2019 asking the state-level body to take action based on the forum's letter. The SEIAA in turn asked the Uttara Kannada Deputy Commissioner Harish Kumar to file a report after inspecting the site. In December 2019, the SEIAA  gave 15 days time to the port authority constructing the project to show-cause on why the clearances should not be cancelled. Eventually, CRZ and environmental clearances were granted on December 30, 2019 but protesters say that their concerns were not taken into consideration. Following this, the Union government decided to go ahead with the construction of the breakwater but were stopped by protesting fishers on January 14. In the past week, fishers from Bhatkal and Karwar have protested against the construction of the breakwater near Rabindranath Tagore beach. On Thursday, shops in Karwar remained closed and public transport was shut down after the protests intensified and the fishermen called for a bandh to be enforced in the town. Uttara Kannada DC Harish Kumar told the protesting fishermen in a meeting called at the DC’s office that officials, both in Karwar and Bengaluru, will re-examine the expansion project. "The district administration is with you (protesters). Peaceful protests were held in Karwar today. There is no question of ego here and the district administration is working to resolve the issue through discussions. So far, this has not happened and you (protesters) have taken to the streets," Harish Kumar said. The DC added that the construction of the breakwater will be halted temporarily till the issue is resolved. He said that protesters have changed their stance on the issue and are now open to the project going ahead as long as Rabindranath Tagore beach is preserved. "Now, the protesters are changing their demand and are allowing for the expansion project to go ahead as long as Tagore beach is preserved. I have requested officials to have another round of discussion with those opposing the expansion," the DC added. However, protesters leading the opposition against the expansion of the port stated that they will not go back on their demand and want the entire project to be scrapped. "We want the lives of traditional fishermen in Karwar to go on uninterrupted," says KT Tandel, a member of the fishing community. 

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'Muslim traitors hiding weapons in mosques': BJP MLA Renukacharya at pro-CAA rally

Politics

The legislator went on to state that he would not allocate funds for the welfare of the Muslim community and instead divert funds to Hindus.

TNM Staff

BJP MLA from Karnataka’s Honnali in Davangere and Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa’s political advisor Renukacharya has courted controversy for a statement targeting members of the Muslim community on Monday. Renukacharya was addressing a pro-CAA meet at Davangere on Monday when he specifically targeted members of the Muslim community and called them traitors. “There are a few traitors who sit in mosques and issue fatwas. What is there in mosques? Do you (referring to members of the Muslim community) pray there? Instead of praying, you collect weapons. Is this why you want a masjid? Is this why you want a mosque?” Renukacharya said. The legislator went on to state that he would not allocate funds for the welfare of the Muslim community and instead divert funds to the Hindu population. “I will resort to such politics in my taluk (referring to his constituency of Honnali) where the money allotted for Muslims can be used for betterment of the Hindus and their welfare. I will put you (Muslims) in your place and show what politics is,” Renukacharya said. This is not the first time a BJP legislator has openly made such bigoted statements. “I want to caution those who are protesting… This (the crowd at the pro-CAA rally) is just 5%. If your antics grow, if 100% people come, just imagine what your situation will be. Bewakoofs (idiots) from Congress are lying to you,” he continued, “and you’re believing them and coming out onto the streets. Hey, we’re the 80%! You’re just 17%. If we turn against you what will your situation be?” Somashekhara Reddy had said. Somashekhara Reddy had made the speech at a pro-CAA public meeting on January 2 at Ballari. The BJP has been holding pro-CAA rallies and meetings in all districts in the state to gather support for the legislation. These rallies began after the CAA and NRC received massive opposition. 

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Mangaluru cops piece together timeline after bag containing bomb was left at airport

Crime

Police are also probing a bomb threat received by Mangaluru airport officials on Monday afternoon.

Theja Ram

Investigation into the improvised explosive device (IED) found at the Mangaluru International Airport on Monday morning have led the police to probe whether there is a connection between the incident and the alleged bomb threat received by the airport manager the same afternoon. According to the police, while the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) was in the process of isolating the bomb, at around 3.30 pm on Monday, the Mangaluru Airport terminal manager received a threat call regarding a bomb in an IndiGo flight. The caller allegedly informed the terminal manager that flight 6E-528 travelling from Mangaluru to Bengaluru had a bomb inside it. Police say that the flight, which was due to take off, was called back immediately. "Nothing was found inside the flight on checking. A complete sweep was done of the flight. The caller informed the terminal manager that the bomb in the flight was just a trailer to a larger picture. This scared them for a while,” the police source said. Mangaluru Police Commissioner PS Harsha said that the investigators are looking to see whether there is a connection between the bag of explosives and the threat call. Investigators, meanwhile, are in the process of creating a timeline of the suspect’s movements in the city before and after the bag with the IED was left at the ticketing counter at the airport. The police had on Monday released visuals of the suspect and the autorickshaw he used to get in and out of the airport. The timeline Investigating officers say that the suspect got into a bus named Rajkumar at Mangaluru’s State Bank Of India bus stop and got off at Kenjaru. Opposite the Kenjaru bus stop is the Royal Men’s Saloon run by 30-year-old Salman Ali. Police say that the suspect got off the bus and approached Salman and allegedly asked him whether he could leave his bag inside the saloon for a few minutes while he ran a few errands. Speaking to TNM, Salman Ali corroborated the police’s statement and said that a man wearing a white cap approached him after getting off a bus. “I was standing outside the saloon and speaking to my mother when this man approached me. He was wearing a cap and looking down. I could not see his face properly but he spoke fluently in Tulu. He asked me if he could leave his bag inside my saloon. I told him he couldn’t and asked him to leave,” Salman Ali said. Salman says that he saw the man get into an auto while he was walking into a hotel next to the saloon. Investigating officials, who have questioned the auto driver, who drove the suspect to the airport say that the man asked the driver to take him to the airport as he had to drop off a package. “The auto driver says that the suspect spoke to him in Tulu and that he was very friendly. He told the auto driver that once he dropped off the package, he had to go to Pumpwell bus stop. After the man left the bag at the ticket counter, he got into the same auto and got off at Pumpwell. He paid the auto driver Rs 400,” the police said. The auto driver is currently with the investigation team and will be let go after a four-member National Investigation Agency team, slated to arrive in Mangaluru questions him. “We are trying to create a timeline of his movements after he got off at Pumpwell. We are also checking to whether any of the bomb threats received in other airports in the state have any connection to this incident. The BDDS (Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad) has detected the materials used in the IED and the technical team is trying to see if any clues can be found based on the materials detected,” the police source said.  Read: Bomb left at Mangaluru airport safely detonated, police release photo of suspect  

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With high fares and limited riders, are AC buses in Bengaluru unsustainable?

The Last Stop

While activists cite BMTC’s budget constraints and environmental concerns to not acquire AC buses, officials point out that the airconditioned buses make up less than 20% of the fleet.

Soumya Chatterjee

HAYATHKHAN VIA WIKImedia COMMONS

The News Minute brings you The Last Stop, a series of stories on the state of public buses across south Indian cities.   In the absence of a functional suburban rail system like that in Mumbai, Chennai or a vast metro network like Delhi, a large percentage of Bengalureans rely on the state-run Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) buses. But over the years, the average daily ridership of the BMTC has been going down as private vehicle usage increases.   This decline in BMTC ridership has been attributed by experts to the lack of reliability of the buses and the high price of tickets, which are in fact the highest in the country. Activists have argued that fares in some cases may be more expensive than travelling on two-wheelers. This even as the length of cancelled routes increased almost 200% over four years, from 241.6 lakh km in 2013-14 to 717.9 lakh km in 2017-18. Read: Dwindling fleet, no last mile connectivity: Buses in Hyderabad’s IT sector are sparse  A 2018 study of BMTC’s accounts by Janagraha, a non-profit organisation, found that unlike other state-run transport corporations in the country, the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation is not well subsidised, and is expected to fund operational expenses from own sources of revenue. ‘Unsustainable choice’ Given BMTC’s budget constraints and citing environmental concerns, some activists have advocated that BMTC not acquire more AC buses and instead use funds to increase its fleet and lower ticket prices. The primary rationale that activists make is that AC buses cost double if not triple the amount of a normal bus and consume more fuel than ordinary buses. So, more non-AC buses can be acquired by the same amount of money. They also argue Bengaluru largely having a temperate climate does not need ACs for the majority of the year and the emissions released by the AC buses will contribute to local heating. Sandeep Anirudhan, an activist and advocate for sustainability, said, “The facilities we are provided shapes our behaviour.  Bengaluru has a naturally pleasant climate, it's a naturally air-conditioned city, and hence, it’s sacrilege if buses or trains are air-conditioned.  Not only is it an unsustainable choice, but the public would also get insulated from the conditions around them, and they would normalise the destruction and degradation of habitat, pollution of air, disappearing trees, increasing temperatures, garbage and stink.” He added, “On the other hand, if we have non-AC buses and suburban trains, people will stay in touch with their environs, and demand more trees, and improvement of the air quality and waste management, and steps to reverse the environmental damage. Better behaviour and planning will take place, only if we are connected to our surroundings and environment.” ‘AC buses make up less than 20% of total fleet’ However, this opinion is not shared by those in authority.  “The logic of replacing AC buses with non-AC buses does not make any sense. While there is no doubt the city needs at least double if not triple the number of buses, but we cannot choose to shut one in favour of the other. We will lose a specific class of bus users, especially in the airport routes if we stop AC services. We also run AC buses only where we feel there will be enough patronage.  Moreover, we don’t have that many AC buses, in fact less than 20% of our entire fleet are AC ones,“ BMTC MD C Sikha told TNM. Other BMTC officials suggested that as a public carrier like the railways, they are obliged to cater to the different needs and class of consumers.  But Shaheen Shasa of the Bangalore Bus Prayana Vedike (BBPV), a bus users and advocacy forum, said, “The cost of operations for AC buses are high. It's an unnecessary burden on BMTC and it's not at all clear if it's really beneficial in any way. The so-called shifting car users to buses is not evident and it is unlikely that the shift is large enough to cover the opportunity cost of serving much more people in ordinary buses.” She further argued that citizens should have universal quality for all and not different quality based on paying capacity. AC buses are expensive and discriminatory based on class, Shaheen said. Read: Taken over by share autos, Vijayawada’s bus service is long due for an overhaul    She added, “As part of our informal surveys we found reliability, faster travel time, high-frequency availability of buses, less crowded buses, availability of seats etc are more important for people in public transport than AC. Moreover, if we make all buses AC, the environmental cost can also be high.” Nimisha Agarwal, a campaigner at Jhatkaa, a non-profit campaigning platform for social and environmental causes echoes Shaheen.  “There is a general perception that AC buses will attract more middle-class passengers but the problem is more with poor condition and overcrowded buses. But if we look at stats from last year BMTC decommissioned about 450 buses and added only 292 buses last year. So instead of increasing buses, the number has actually come down. In fact, in the last five years, overall there is only an addition of about 20 buses to the fleet with 1705 inducted and 1695 scrapped,” Nimisha said. “So, the focus should be on the poor condition of the buses and lesser size of the fleet. The lack of increase in the number of buses has resulted in crowding and more and more people not opting for it,” she said. Read: Declining patronage, mounting losses: How the Chennai MTC can salvage itself 

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Increase delivery time, don't risk drivers' lives: Bengaluru top cop to pizza chains

Law and order

Bengaluru Commissioner Bhaskar Rao pointed out that that food executives risk they lives by breaking traffic rules in order to deliver within the 30-minute window.

TNM Staff

Have you ever sat looking at the clock eagerly, celebrating when your pizza delivery executive doesn’t make it to your door within the 30 minutes that many outlets promise? If the delivery doesn’t happen in half an hour, your food is free. However, in a move that compels one to look at the other side of the story, Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao posted a tweet on Tuesday, appealing to pizza delivery companies to increase the amount of time for pizza delivery executives. “Do we have the heart to get a free pizza from a kid who is risking his life just because he crossed over 30 mins. Am seriously considering asking pizza companies to make it 40 mins as these kids risk their lives by breaking all traffic rules,” he said. Do we have the heart to get a free pizza from a kid who is risking his life just because he crossed over 30 mns. Am seriously considering asking Pizza companies to make it 40 mns as these kids risk their lives by breaking all Traffic rules. — Bhaskar Rao IPS (@deepolice12) January 21, 2020 While many users posted supportive and sympathetic replies, food delivery app Swiggy also replied, but clearly missed the point. Responding to a tweet which pointed out that Swiggy and Zomato delivery boys often jump signals, and overspeed, which can put them at risk, the food delivery app tweeted a reply saying, “Hi there, we understand your concern. We do not condone traffic violations of any nature. If you witness the same, please highlight it to us by contacting us at 080-46866699. Have a good day ahead.”/p> Mr Swiggy Cares, you are the biggest violators and have the temirity to tell me that you adhere to rules, your boys beg cops to let them go as you penalize them, next time a Swiggy kid bleeds on road, be sure, you management will be behind bars. — Bhaskar Rao IPS (@deepolice12) January 21, 2020 This wasn’t appreciated by Bhaskar Rao, who threatened to take action against the management next time a Swiggy delivery executive gets into an accident. “[…] your boys beg cops to let them go as you penalize them, next time a Swiggy kid bleeds on road, be sure, your management will be behind bars,” he said. Food delivery executives do not have an easy life, and often spend lunch or dinner hours for us, getting food to us while they eat at odd timings. A food delivery executive had told TNM for an earlier story, “I have lunch at 5pm and dinner around midnight. I feel hungry around the usual lunch time, but can’t do anything about it. We just cannot afford to take such risks during peak hours.” His 11-hour-day ends at 11 pm every day. Many others working in food delivery forgo time with their families and loved ones because of their odd hours, and because they cannot take time off on weekends as those days are peak days for restaurants and eateries. Added to this is the hours they spend stuck in traffic and pollution, and the mistreatment and anger they face from customers for being late. “All I can do is mutter a ‘sorry’ and assure them that I’ll be there as soon as I can. Often, I am caught in a traffic jam or in the rain. So obviously, I run late. But we cannot offer that as an excuse to the customer,” another delivery executive had told TNM. Read the full story here: Invisible heroes: Food delivery boys and their hunger for a better life

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