Both parties agree the focus should be on pocketbook health issues, rather than a dramatic overhaul like "Medicare for All."
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Wednesday, February 19, 2020
Trump's next health care move: Giving Silicon Valley your medical data
Privacy hawks say health records policy lacks patient protections.
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Poet and journalist arrested in Karnataka for anti-CAA poem
The arrests were made based on a complaint by a BJP functionary alleging that Siraj Bisaralli recited an anti-CAA poem while journalist Rajabaxi uploaded the video of the recital on social media.
FIle: SIRAJ BISARALLI, IN A FACEBOOK POST
A poet and a journalist were arrested on Wednesday in connection with a poem against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizen (NRC) at a government-sponsored function in Koppal district of Karnataka last month. They will be in police custody after a local court rejected their bail. The arrests were made based on a complaint by a BJP functionary alleging that Siraj Bisaralli, a poet had recited an anti-CAA poem at 'Anegundi Utsava' in Gangavathi town of Koppal district in January. Rajabaxi, the editor of an online news portal, was booked for uploading a video of the recitation on social media. Police had registered a case against them under section 505 of IPC (statements conducing to public mischief). On Tuesday, Bisaralli and Rajabaxi surrendered before a court in that district, which rejected their bail plea and remanded them to police custody for investigation into the matter. "Siraj had recited the poem and Rajabaxi had shared it on social media. Based on a complaint by a BJP leader, the case was registered under section 505 of the IPC. They went absconding after the case was registered. They, however, surrendered before the court on Tuesday," a police officer told PTI. The duo sought interim bail, which the public prosecutor objected to and sought police custody to conduct an inquiry. The court granted Bisaralli and Rajabaxi custody until Wednesday afternoon. "We may not seek further extension of their custody until some fresh evidence surfaces. We have seized their mobile phones to ascertain whom they had shared the details with," police said. Reacting to the incident, a protest by the Student Federation of India (SFI), the student wing of the CPI(M), has been organised in Bengaluru’s Town Hall. This case in Koppal comes after police across Karnataka has registered sedition cases in Mysuru, and Bidar. In Bidar, the police had arrested a mother and a teacher of a child who played a role in an anti-CAA play. In January, the police booked a student in Mysuru for holding a ‘Free Kashmir’ placard.
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‘No rebellion,’ says BJP after unsigned letter calls for Yediyurappa’s removal as CM
An unsigned letter claimed that Yediyurappa has age-related health issues and his son Vijayendra has become the "defacto CM".
The BJP in Karnataka has denied the contents of an unsigned letter that called for removal of BS Yediyurappa as the Chief Minister of Karnataka. BJP leaders including Deputy Chief Minister CN Ashwath Narayan and Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar said that the letter was an attempt at “cheap politicking” by the opposition. The BJP maintained that there was no trouble or rebellion within the party. What was in the unsigned letter? The unsigned letter, purported to be concocted during a meeting of several disgruntled BJP MLAs last week, claims that Yediyurappa has age-related health issues and that he is heavily reliant on his son, Vijayendra Yeddyurappa to perform his duties. The letter also dubbed Vijayendra the “super CM”, who is in-charge of Yediyurappa’s affairs by proxy. It goes on to state that Vijayendra has taken over his father’s political affairs. “Vijayendra is the defecto CM, super CM. It is wrong for a son to help his ageing father? Vijayendra has overseen the appointment of officials to every ministry. He is running the administration instead of his father,” the letter alleged. The denials The unsigned letter, although circulated in the media last week, went viral on Tuesday morning, especially after around 15 BJP MLAs met at Karnataka Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar’s residence in a show of strength. Speculation was rife that several old timers and indigenous BJP leaders were unhappy about being left out of the state cabinet. These two developments led to speculation that trouble is brewing in the BJP’s Karnataka unit. Denying the speculations, Deputy Chief Minister Ashwath Narayan said, “There is no secret meeting or any question of rebellion within our party. Yediyurappa is our leader and he will continue as the Chief Minister. Everything is normal and good in the party.” Medical Education Minister Sudhakar accused the opposition of creating the unsigned letter to spark unrest within the party. “This looks like the handiwork of the opposition and they are politicking cheaply. This will not work here and Yediyurappa’s government is stable,” Sudhakar said. A BJP spokesperson said that the unsigned letter contained false information and maintained that there is no rebellion within the party. “An unsigned letter in Kannada circulating in the social media is bogus, as it was fabricated in the name of Santosh, a private secretary to Yediyurappa. The talk of about 20 loyal MLAs ganging up against Yediyurappa is a speculation as rumour mills are working overtime. No rebellion is brewing against the Chief Minister,” BJP spokesperson Madhusudan said.
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Conserving water in Bengaluru? You can apply for an award
According to a 2018 survey, close to 80,000 out of 1.76 lakh buildings in the city did not have rain water harvesting units.
Image for representation
In a move to incentivise conserving water in the city, the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) will recognise and reward people for reusing and reducing consumption. BWSSB is planning to give Bangalore Jala Rushi Puraskar (award) to institutions and private individuals on World Water Day which is celebrated on March 22. The awards will be given under categories of apartment complexes, individual houses, educational buildings, industrial setups, hostels and government offices. The applications for the awards can be filed on the BWSSB official website (here), along with relevant photos. The deadline for applications is March 5. However, the authority is yet to decide if there will be prize money or other rewards that will be given along with the award. BWSSB spokesperson Manjunath said that these details are yet to be finalised, and will be deliberated upon by the BWSSB and the state government. The awards come even as conservation methods proposed by the BWSSB is yet to be enforced. In the summer of 2019, Bengaluru had a hard time in meeting the water demands; suburban areas which are yet to get Cauvery connections have been living at the mercy of water tankers with borewells going dry. Even in 2018, during the acute water crisis at Cape Town in South Africa, Bengaluru featured in BBC’s list on ‘The 11 cities most likely to run out of drinking water’. However, this was argued against, and debunked too. At present, 36% of Bengaluru’s water, which is drawn from the Cauvery, is unaccounted for. While 25% is wasted in leakages, another 11% is suspected to be in use without being billed. In an event in Bengaluru in October 2019, Tushar Girinath, the BWSSB Chairman said a law was in the making to make it mandatory for all new and existing buildings in Bengaluru to install smart water meters on their premises. These water meters will be used to charge for water per individual usage instead of the current practice where the whole building is billed for the entire water consumption and residents pay uniformly. As part of the same prospective law, all new buildings being built on a 60x40 ft site or larger area will be mandated to have a rainwater harvesting facility with a minimum capacity of 60 litres. An official said that while BWSSB has sent the proposal to the government to enact the law, but the latter is yet to take action. According to a 2018 survey by BWSSB, close to 80,000 out of 1.76 lakh buildings in the city did not have rain water harvesting units.
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Mysuru-Kerala rail project to go ahead despite opposition? Activists to move court
A recent reply by Railway Minister Piyush Goyal in Lok Sabha revealed the Indian Railways has not scrapped the controversial Thalassery-Mysore railway line.
On February 5, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal revealed the Indian Railways had not scrapped the controversial Thalassery-Mysuru railway line, despite long-standing opposition to the project. He also said that the work to prepare Detailed Project Report (DPR) for Nilambur–Nanjangud Rail Line has also been entrusted to Kerala Rail Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL). Both these rail lines, proposed by the Kerala government in 2007, connect Mysuru with northern parts of Kerala. However, these projects were in cold storage due to constant opposition from activists and the Karnataka Forest Department. The proposed Thalassery-Mysuru railway line passes through Kodagu, a district in Karnataka that suffered two successive years of floods and landslides. The Nilambur–Nanjangud rail line project, on the other hand, would jeopardise portions of two ecologically-sensitive national parks - Bandipur and Nagarhole. With the Railway Minister’s recent reply to a question in Lok Sabha, the debate and fears of deforestation for laying the rail lines has once again come to the fore. While the draft DPR of both the railway projects has been prepared, Goyal further said that the Railway Board has advised obtaining forest clearance and alignment with approval of all the stakeholders. “The government of Kerala has requested for a high-level meeting between Kerala and Karnataka at Chief Secretary level, along with officials concerned from Forest Department and Transport Department for approving the alignment. The DPR will be finalised in light of the outcome of this meeting,” he said in his reply to Congress MP K Muraleedharan from Kerala. Bhagya Lakhsmi, an activist, said that a group of activists in Bengaluru and Mysuru are planning to move the court to prevent any loss of forest resources. This development comes after the failure of the Kerala government’s move to lift the night traffic ban in order to construct an elevated corridor through the Bandipur forest. On one hand, people in Kerala’s Wayanad argued that the vehicular ban meant detour and longer travel time, which, in turn, affects tourism. Environmentalists from both states and Karnataka Forest Department officials pointed out that lifting the ban would destroy the biodiversity and tiger habitat in the Bandipur forest. In October 2019, environmental activists were further relieved when the Karnataka High Court asked the Indian Railways to seek environment-related clearances before commissioning projects. The court was hearing public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Colonel Muthanna, president of the Coorg Wildlife Society, and others, stating that the destruction of the pristine forests has already made Kodagu vulnerable to environmental catastrophes. Since June 2017, all large-scale projects have been opposed by environmental groups under the banner, ‘Save Kodagu, Save Cauvery.’ They feared that changing the geography of the area would alter the course of river Cauvery. Incidentally, most of south India is dependent on Cauvery, which originates from the Kodagu district. Speaking on the issue, Joseph Hoover, an activist and former member of the Karnataka Wildlife Board, said that both the rail projects have been opposed by environmentalists and rejected by the Karnataka governments in the past. “Even the Kerala government and railway officials know that they would not be able to get environmental clearance for these projects,” he added.
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‘Attempt to cover up police excess’: Karnataka HC on CAA protest fallout in Mangaluru
A total of 21 people, who were arrested in connection with the violence that erupted on December 19, have been granted conditional bail.
Justice John Michael Cunha passed the order while hearing the petitions filed by Mohammed Ashik and 20 others from Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts of Karnataka. The High Court stated that there was a deliberate attempt to cover up police excess by trumping up charges against innocent people. "The records indicate that a deliberate attempt has been made to fabricate evidence and to deprive the petitioners of their liberties. Any criminal antecedents of the petitioners are not disputed... There is no direct evidence to connect the petitioners with the alleged offences. The investigation appears to be mala fide and partisan,” the court observed as per The Hindu. The accused persons were arrested after they were charged with rioting and damage to property, among other charges, following the anti-CAA protests in December. Two persons were killed when police officials opened fire outside the Bunder Police Station in the city on the day. The court granted bail after directing the accused persons to furnish a bond of Rs 1 lakh and two sureties each in the like sum. This is in addition to the bail conditions, which include appearing before the trial when required, not threatening witnesses, not to be involved in similar offences and not to leave the limits of the trial court without prior permission, the Times of India reported. The High Court also noted that photographs of the day produced by the public prosecutor show that members of the crowd were not armed except for one person who was holding a bottle. It was also observed that the accused persons were not directly linked to the protests nor were they seen holding weapons in photographs or CCTV footages. The HC also noted that the police personnel were photographed pelting stones onto the crowd. In multiple first information reports (FIR) filed after the incident in December, Mangaluru police accused 'unknown Muslim persons' for instigating violence in the city. The FIRs registered stated that these men were armed with weapons like stones, soda bottles and glass pieces. Following the deaths of two persons in the police firing, Mangaluru police invited members of the public to send videos of the protests on December 19 to the police. The police then released videos, where some members could be seen pelting stones and indulging in arson, as proof of violence in Mangaluru. However, in other videos that emerged after the incident, police were seen firing at protesters who were hundreds of metres away and under no apparent threat of being overrun by them.
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