‘Bengaluru airport station a gift from Railways’: Piyush Goyal's tweet draws flak

Controversy

The rail station is being built by the Bangalore International Airport Ltd, the company managing the airport.

Soumya Chatterjee

A tweet by Union Rail Minister Piyush Goyal taking credit for connecting the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru with the city central railway station through a rail network has not gone well with a section of Bengalrureans. While some pointed out that the project was delayed without any rationale, others pointed out that it was not the railways but the airport management which is building the station. On Sunday, the Union Minister tweeted, “Railways' Gift to Bengaluru Flyers: Fulfilling decade-old demand of people, a halt Railway Station is coming up near Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru. Providing relief from road traffic, this facility will allow people to comfortably travel to the airport.” Along with the text was a video with Hindi narration stating the benefit it will give to thousands of workers and flyers alike and how it will also decongest Bengaluru. Railways' Gift to Bengaluru Flyers: Fulfilling decade-old demand of people, a halt Railway Station is coming up near Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru Providing relief from road traffic, this facility will allow people to comfortably travel to the airport. pic.twitter.com/MlkjiEmgDt — Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) August 16, 2020 Rajkumar Dugar, convenor of Citizens for Citizens (C4C), a citizen who has been advocating for the station for long, reminded that it was the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) which is building the railway station. “The BIAL should be congratulated for doing a good job, along with the Railways for facilitating the same. But the Railways need to focus on a few things to ensure that travelling in trains to the airport becomes successful.” He opined that technical issues like electrification of Devanahalli-Yelahanka section, setting up of a crossing station at Doddajala have to be fixed swiftly. Further he asked that the station should be given access to the Highway side and the South Western Railways should run trains to the airport and back not only from Majestic but also other routes like Cantonment, Hosur, Bangarpet, Tumakuru, etc. TNM has earlier reported how the railway station coming up near the Kempegowda International Airport is almost in the final stages and will be ready for operation by August-end. AK Singh, General Manager, South Western Railways confirmed that trains can start any time from September with the approval of the ministry. Tara Krishnaswamy, a Bengaluru-based citizen activist and co-founder of Citizens for Bengaluru, reminded that the wait was not for a decade but actually for 15 years and it was the failure of successive governments that the station has not been inaugurated till now. Tara, like many others pointed out that the video was made in Hindi, not Kannada or English. #BengaluruAirportHalt #SuburbanToKIAL, thank you! FYI 1/ KIAL started 2005, 15 years wait for train not decade. 2/ KIAL sanction was conditional on train to airport; failure of successive govts DESPITE lines existing 3/ Speak Kannada/Tulu/Konkanai to us, or English; not Hindi. https://t.co/P7PG0Nscqt — Tara (@tarauk) August 17, 2020 Vishu Guttal, an assistant professor in Indian Institute of Science, tweeted the Minister’s tweet highlighting that the ministry took more than a decade to ready the station and the video was made in Hindi which is not majorly used by the city residents His tweet read, “Although we knew the immense benefits of it, we took more than a decade to build a small train station, and it's not even ready yet. Made a video in a language that the majority of local people don't understand." Many took exception to the fact that the Minister called the railway station a 'gift' to Bengalureans, when it was a legitimate demand and made using taxpeyers money. Fixed it for you: "Although we knew immense benefits of it, we took more than a decade to build a small train station, and it's not even ready yet. Made a video in a language that the majority of local people don't understand." https://t.co/Adajsxm8gU — Vishu Guttal !! ವಿಶ್ವೇಶ ಗುತ್ತಲ್ (@vishuguttal) August 17, 2020 What on earth is this ‘gift’, honourable @PiyushGoyal avare? Has this been done free of cost to call it a gift? Is fulfilling a demand from a decade called a ‘gift’? And for whom is the message in only Hindi and English intended for? BiMaRU states? https://t.co/8R4qyJmyMS — Kannadiga (@Kannadiga1956) August 17, 2020 Sir, This halt stn is being built by @BLRAirport and was supposed to be ready by Dec 2019. In fact, BIAL offered to build this stn in 2014. Doubling & electrification of Bengaluru-Devanahalli section & clearing suburban rail project will have a greater impact. https://t.co/eCD3TcVvfb — ChristinMathewPhilip (@ChristinMP_TOI) August 17, 2020

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Karnataka prohibits processions for Muharram due to COVID-19

Coronavirus

Guidelines were issued for observing Muharram with restrictions from August 21-30.

IANS

The Karnataka government has prohibited Muharram processions this year, in view of the Coronavirus pandemic, an official said on Monday. "Public gatherings and taking out of processions are strictly prohibited," said Minority Welfare, Haj and Waqf Secretary A.B. Ibrahim. "This order of restricting the celebration issued only this year in view of the infectious pandemic of Covid and shall not be a precedent for future cases," Ibrahim said. The senior officer issued guidelines for observing Muharram with restrictions that stretch from August 21-30. All the ashurkhanas, masjids and dargahs have to be sanitised and disinfected while no alams or panjas should be installed in public places. "The number of participants may be reduced at fateha and for Majilis-e-Imam Hussain (religious sermon). Preferably, the general public and devotees are advised to offer fateha and majilis at their respective homes in view of Covid," said Ibrahim. Though the religious sermon is allowed, it is only permitted in halls, maintaining physical distancing with all preventive measures. The management committees of the religious places should display the number of devotees who can be accommodated in asthanas or ashurkhanas for majilis and close the gates after the devotees enter. "Carpets should be removed and sitting places should be clearly marked by maintaining physical distance after every sermon," he said. Entry of devotees should be monitored to avoid large gatherings and no congregation will be allowed in graveyards. Likewise, sharbat, tabaruk and water can be distributed only in sealed packets. People above 60, those with comorbidities and children below 10 years should not be allowed for ziyarat and have been advised to offer prayers at home. Maintaining physical distance of 6 feet, compulsory thermal scanning and the provision of liquid soap and hand washing facility should be made available. Likewise, unknown visitors should be monitored and no beggars are allowed outside the religious place. The state government has issued these guidelines considering that the ashurkhanas, masjids and dargahs are practically not in a position to maintain physical distancing during Muharram rituals. Muharram rituals are known for attracting huge crowds, including children, senior citizens and also people from other faiths.

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With abysmal footfall, Karnataka hotels face loss of Rs 3,000 crore

Coronavirus

Around 2,000 hotels are up for sale in Bengaluru alone, and the owners have decided to shut down operations due to insurmountable losses.

Theja Ram

Representation photo

It has been over two months since restaurants in Karnataka were allowed to open for dine in services but the industry continues to reel under massive loss. In Bengaluru alone, the losses incurred due to the pandemic in the last six months can be pegged to Rs 1700 crore. This amount is over Rs 3,000 crore in the entire state, according to various hotel owners’ associations.  Hotels have started using disposable cups and glasses for dine in services. Hand sanitisers are made available at every table. A mandatory temperature check is being conducted across dine-in restaurants. However, the fear of infections is keeping people indoors, says Chandrashekar Hebbar, President of the Karnataka Pradesh Hotels and Restaurants Association (KPHRA).  The myriad problems “There are 21,000 hotels in Bengaluru and 3,500 lodging cum hotels. Of these, many have not opened for business as the maintenance costs are higher than the profits they will tend to make now,” says PC Rao, President of the Bruhat Bengaluru Hotel Association.  He says that around 2,000 hotels are up for sale in Bengaluru alone, and the owners have decided to shut down operations due to insurmountable losses. According to the figures provided by the KPHRA, only 40% of the total number of hotels in the state were operational during the lockdown. This has now increased to 60% after restaurants were allowed to open for dine-in services  on June 8.  “Close to 5,000 hotels in Bengaluru alone have not opened because the maintenance costs are high. One of the biggest concerns is rent. During the lockdown, business was at 10%. Since the dine-in services were open, business is at 30% of what we were making before the lockdown. Currently, hotels in Bengaluru, falling under our association have incurred a collective loss of around Rs 300 crore per month,” PC Rao adds.  Chandrashekar Hebbar maintains that the biggest losses come from the lack of footfalls during the weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday). Hotel owners lament that families and groups of friends, who were regular customers on weekends, now choose to spend time at home, due to fear of getting infected.  “Close to 500 restaurants in Koramangala and another 500 in Indiranagar are facing severe losses as the IT and BT employees are now working from home. Most of our customers were people who come from other states, the blue collar workers, who would eat their meals at smaller hotels. Since many people have started working from home, footfalls are drastically reduced. Now it is only 30% of what we used to have last year,” PC Rao says. Another reason for the restaurant business to suffer losses is the lack of corporate outings, corporate meetings, large weddings and parties. “Caterers are suffering more than ever. Even restaurants had lots of business with parties. Many are under loss as they cannot serve alcohol,” Chandrashekar Hebbar adds.  Demand for relief The added cost of exorbitant rents, has also led to losses, hotel owners said. The minimum rent for a commercial space in core areas in Bengaluru is anywhere between Rs 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh per month. “This is for larger spaces. Many hotels have not even opened due to maintenance costs. They still have to pay huge amounts of rent and salaries for staff. The loss is at least Rs 3 to 4 lakh per restaurant per month. How can we sustain?” PC Rao questions.  The hotel owners associations say that if the state government waives payment of property taxes, building owners can be persuaded to reduce the rent. In addition, restaurant owners want the government to stop collecting fees for liquor licenses per month. “Even though we cannot sell liquor, we have to pay for the license. This cost is around Rs 75,000 per outlet. How can we pay so much money when we are not even allowed to sell alcohol for dine-in services?” Chandrashekar Hebbar adds.  The KPHRA has also requested that the state government waive the fixed electricity costs levied from them. “If this is waived, we can reduce our maintenance costs. We have sent so many representations and requests to the state government but they are not interested in helping us. We are hoping the central government will help this industry from collapsing altogether. Realistically, the industry is going to suffer until next March. Until then, we are asking for some relief,” PC Rao adds. 

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Bengaluru violence: Cost of damages to be recovered from culprits, decides govt

Bengaluru violence

The state government is set to approach the Karnataka High Court to appoint a Claims Commissioner to carry out this task.

TNM Staff

PTI : Bengaluru violence

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Monday announced that the state government will assess damages caused in the violent mob attacks in Bengaluru last week and recover the cost from the culprits. The state government is set to approach the Karnataka High Court to appoint a Claims Commissioner to carry out this task.  The decision was taken following a meeting chaired by Yediyurappa on Monday. Senior police and IAS officers briefed the Chief Minister about the investigation into the August 11 violent mob attacks on two police stations and the residence of Congress MLA Akhand Srinivas Murthy in the Banaswadi sub-division in eastern Bengaluru.  "Stringent action has been initiated against the culprits of DJ Halli and KG Halli violent incidents including invoking the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) Act," Yediyurappa said in a tweet.  A Special Investigation Team was formed to conduct a detailed investigation into the violence and the SIT will consider invoking the Goondas Act if warranted, Yediyurappa said. A team of three special public prosecutors will be appointed for conducting the cases.  Local residents in Banaswadi sub-division have alleged that the police have picked up a large number of Muslim youth without verifying whether they were part of the mob.  Bengaluru police have so far arrested over 200 people in connection with the violent mob attacks.  Around 80 accused persons were shifted to Ballari while the others have been detained in locations in Bengaluru. "We are reviewing the footage and zeroing in on the suspects. We have taken footage from the media, social media and those shot by our officers," SD Sharanappa, Bengaluru (East) DCP told TNM.  Those arrested so far include Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) leaders such as its Bengaluru district president Muzammil Pasha and Kaleem Pasha, who is the husband of a Congress corporator Irshad Begum. The violent mob attacks were triggered by a Facebook comment posted by Naveen P, a relative of Congress MLA R Akhand Srinivas Murthy, which was found offensive by Muslims. The violence began on August 11 night and was quelled only in the early hours of Wednesday morning after police opened fire against the mob.   A curfew has been in place since the violence died down in the Banaswadi sub-division in the city. Heavy police and paramilitary forces are also in place in the area.  Following the incident, BJP leaders Tejasvi Surya and CT Ravi had called for the seizure of the properties of rioters involved in the mob attack.

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Resilience during the pandemic – lessons from the family farms of Yadgir

Agriculture

Small farmers appeared to be more resilient during the lockdown compared to medium and large farms who cater to commercial demands.

Seema Purushothaman

Sheetal Patil

Exactly a month had passed since Indian Prime Minister announced a national lockdown in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak. We wanted to check how farmers known to us through our field studies in Karnataka are doing. Many of them have at least one family member doing wage labour in some far away city. With the COVID-19 crisis around, would they have come back as usual in the month of March, for Ugadi celebrations?  Tyranny faced by migrants in transit was being reported from all over India. Yadgir being one of the most backward districts of the state, our concern about farmers in this semiarid landscape was well-justified.  Usually, it was the vagaries of prices or climate that made farming in this district risky. The challenge posed by lockdown and the virus is new. It is new also because everyone – in cities and villages, old and young, farmers and others, small and large holders, NGOs and government agencies, private and public enterprises, retail and wholesale dealers – faced it. For a change, globalisation appeared quite egalitarian, albeit in the eyes of the virus. From New York to Yadgir, everywhere it was the same virus. But the felt impacts of the pandemic varied between urban and rural areas, between economic classes, age groups and also depending on morbidity conditions.   During a study in 2016 -17, we had repeated interviews with about 40 selected farmers in Yadgir district. We got in touch with 10 of them over the phone. After initial conversations reminding our past visits and interactions, we confirmed the readiness and availability of eight of them for two-three telephonic chats. Four of them were small farmers (<5 acres), two medium farmers (5 – 10 acres) and two were large farmers (>10 acres).  We refreshed our memory of their fields and families from the database and pictures from 2017. As we were already familiar with them it was easy to strike engaging conversations.  Small holders had a more diverse cropping pattern, mostly targeting food needs of the family. Among the food crops, bajra, jowar, green gram and other pulses were most common. Medium farmers had a mix of food and commercial crops and the two large farmers in the sample raised crops exclusively for the market- paddy, cotton and red gram. It was the third consecutive cropping season in despair for them. Furious monsoon of 2019 had impacted their kharif crop and the following rabi crop that was yet to be harvested when virus and lockdown inflicted their impact.  Lockdown experience varied among the holdings. Below we compare two representative cases, to bring out this difference. All small farmers had more or less similar experience and distinct from others. Impact on medium holdings tended towards that of the large ones.   Small and large farmers during COVID-19 Basavaraju, a 52-year-old Dalit farmer has 4 acres of land of which one acre is irrigated. He had grown bajra, jowar, green gram, red gram and cotton in the last cropping cycle. The family had harvested the food crops before the lockdown. Sacks loaded with the grains are ready for home storage and for the market. Bajra, jowar and varieties of pulses ensured a balanced diet for the family, even during the lockdown. The surplus after keeping enough for one whole year’s consumption goes to the market. In normal times the surplus will be transported 45 km away to the mandi near Yadgir town. This year Basavaraju sold it in the local market for a lesser price. Yet, he was glad that he did not stock the produce longer waiting for transport as that would have prolonged the uncertainties.  Basavaraju also works as a mason during summers – a lean period for farming activities, usually. This earns him Rs 600 per day for 3 or 4 days per week. As construction work halted completely during lockdown, this income ceased for three weeks. But he resumed the masonry work after the lockdown, for fewer days though. Basavaraju’s son - a college student, was at home due to closure of all educational institutions. He also started working in the construction sites. Together they could soon compensate for the wage days lost. The family also availed the national rural employment guarantee scheme (NREGA) whenever its work schedule didn’t clash with farming and mason work. Between construction labour and NREGA, the father-son duo managed to repay part of the crop loan pending since last year.  Paddy harvester  Unlike Basavaraju, 55-year-old Gururaju is a large holder. He had 15 acres of irrigated paddy and 10 acres of cotton this year. Although his assets looked impressive, problems were multifold. Gururaju had harvested 5 acres of paddy almost two months before the lockdown and the remaining 10 acres was ready for harvest when the lockdown was announced. Paddy fields of that scale required machines for harvest and trucks for transporting produce. Both were not available even after offering to pay above normal charges. His regular workers were ready to come, but were unable to get transport. We asked about the migrant villagers who had come back from the cities. According to Gururaju, they are not good at this work. Thus, Gururaju’s paddy crop was standing  in the field for another month till he sold it at APMC for a price lower by Rs 200 than the previous harvest two months ago. Harvested paddy two months ago was sold to a mill with an agreement to transfer the payment in two weeks’ time. Gururaju hadn’t received anything from the mill and was skeptical of getting it anytime soon. He was unable to pay the instalment against the loan taken, or wages pending to be paid for harvest. We indicated the three months’ moratorium declared by banks for loan repayment. But he wasn’t sure if he will be able to pay anything in three months’ time. Since farming was the only source of income, it was difficult for him to meet even day-to-day expenses of all family members. They are not used to doing manual labour for wages. Gururaju criticized the government and its policies for all his troubles. With no food crops grown and financial crunch, this 25-acre owning family relied on PDS for the past two months. Resilient family farms Food wasn’t an issue for all the 10 farmers we conversed with over a period of three weeks. Public distribution system and special relief package provided an essential ration of rice and dal.  But a balanced diet crucial during the viral pandemic was accessible only to those who raised food crops, mostly small holders.  Relatively speaking, small farms appeared to be financially secure, thanks to their off and non-farm wage labour. Crop diversity, low investment farming that met nutritional needs of the family and a diverse livelihood basket worked in their favor. This questions the call for scaling up farming with irrigation and mono-cropping to impart resilience in farming, even if farm incomes can double at times. And resilience is what a farmer needs when ecological and economic crises loom large. If agriculture is heavily dependent on capital and external resources including labour, vulnerability is certain. Food and agro-ecology oriented integrated systems of family farms and local marketing was complemented well by part-time non-farm engagement. This helped them tide over the shock comfortably, compared to the medium and large farms raising only commercial crops, targeting distant demand and with no other major source of income.   Seema Purushothaman is a professor at Azim Premji University and Sheetal Patil is researcher at Azim Premji University.

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Petition seeking to restrict Sanjay Dutt from acting in KGF 2 dismissed

The petitioner had sought to restrain the actor due to his conviction in the Mumbai bomb blast case.

TNM Staff

KGF: Chapter 2

The Karnataka High Court on Monday dismissed a petition seeking to restrict actor Sanjay Dutt from acting in the upcoming Kannada film KGF: Chapter 2. The petitioner had sought to restrain the actor due to his conviction in the Mumbai bomb blast case.  Chief Justice Abhay Oka, responding to the petition, asked, "Which law says that a person who is convicted under an offence and has undergone sentence is prohibited from acting in a film?," while dismissing the petition, Livelaw reported.  Sanjay Dutt, who was convicted in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts case, was sentenced to six years in prison. He surrendered to serve his prison sentence in 2013 but he was released in 2016. Last week, TNM reported that KGF : Chapter 2, the sequel to the 2018 film KGF: Chapter 1 starring actor Yash, was in its final stages of shooting. Karthik Gowda, the creative executive producer of Hombale Films, told TNM that 24 days of shooting was remaining when the shoot had to be stalled over the lockdown imposed due to the coronavirus outbreak in India.  The shooting is set to resume this week. But Sanjay Dutt was reportedly diagnosed with lung cancer last week prompting the makers of the film to rethink their schedule. He is now set to take a break of three months before returning to shoot the film. The actor announced that he is taking a break in a social media post. pic.twitter.com/tinDb6BxcL — Sanjay Dutt (@duttsanjay) August 11, 2020 KGF: Chapter 2 marks Sanjay Dutt's entry into the South Indian film industry. He is set to play the villain Adheera opposite Yash's role as Rocky in the sequel film. KGF:Chapter 1 was one of the biggest hits of 2018. It was directed by Prashanth Neel and also starred Srinidhi Shetty. The film was mostly shot at the Kolar Gold Fields near Bengaluru. Sanjay Dutt's look in the sequel has been likened to the Vikings series and the makers of the film say the look is inspired from it.   

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Video: Karnataka family forced to carry body by cycle after neighbours fear COVID-19

Coronavirus

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President DK Shivakumar criticised the Karnataka government asking why an ambulance was not arranged for the transportation of the body for the cremation.

TNM Staff

A heart-wrenching video of a family transporting a dead body of a man on a bicycle amid rains has emerged from Kittur in Belagavi district of Karnataka on Sunday.  The family had to take the dead body on the bicycle due to fears that the man who died was coronavirus positive. After neighbors did not help the distraught family, a bicycle was arranged to transport the body to a crematorium in MK Hubballi village in Kittur taluk of Belagavi. Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President DK Shivakumar criticised the Karnataka government asking why an ambulance was not arranged for the transportation of the body for the cremation. "Relatives of a 70-yr-old dead person in Kittur, Belagavi had to carry the body for cremation on a bicycle in heavy rains. CM BSY, where is your government? Why was an ambulance not provided? This incompetent government lacks humanity and has been a total failure in handling the pandemic," DK Shivakumar said in a tweet.  Relatives of a 70-yr-old dead person in Kittur, Belagavi had to carry the body for cremation on a bicycle in heavy rains. CM @BSYBJP, where is your govt? Why was an ambulance not provided? This incompetent Govt lacks humanity & has been a total failure in handling the pandemic. pic.twitter.com/PQfUe2oFXg — DK Shivakumar (@DKShivakumar) August 17, 2020 71 year-old Sadeppa Salagar suffered from fever for two days and the family was advised by the primary health care centre in the village to take him to the district hospital since he was showing symptoms of COVID-19. But before he could be taken for treatment, he died at 6 am on Sunday, Times of India reported.  While the family pleaded for an ambulance to transport the dead body, they allegedly did not receive a response from the local health department. This prompted family members to transport the dead body on a cycle. The incident comes a month after a woman in Athani of Belagavi district was forced to carry the dead body of her husband on a pushcart after no help was forthcoming due to COVID-19 feats.

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