Bengaluru’s active containment zones dip slightly to 15,229

Coronavirus

As of Sunday, Bengaluru has reported 38,231 containment zones till date, of which 23,002 (60%) have returned to normal.

TNM Staff

PTI

Bengaluru has 15,229 active containment zones across the city as per the bulletin issued by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) on Sunday, August 23. While there were 16,497 active zones on Saturday, it reduced by 1,268 on Sunday. Bengaluru has reported 38,231 containment zones till date, of which 23,002 (60%) have returned to normal.  According to the BBMP bulletin, Bengaluru West has the most number of active containment zones, at 3,802. This is followed by Bengaluru South with 2,561 active zones and Bengaluru East with 2,331 active zones. RR Nagara currently has 2,074 active containment zones, Mahadevapura has 1,613, Bommanahalli has 1,104, Yelahanka 903 and Dasarahalli 841. While Bengaluru South previously had the most number of active zones till date (9,663), it has also reported the most number of zones returning to normal (7,102).  A snapshot of the number of cases reported in the past 24 hours shows that Bengaluru West reported 23% of the cases, South 17%, Bommanahalli 16%, East 14%, RR Nagara 10%, Dasarahalli and Mahadevapura at 7%, and Yelahanka at 6%. Till date, as per the BBMP data, 29,657 streets have been demarcated as containment zones. A total of 2,759 are apartments and 38 are slum areas. One hotel was also marked as a containment zone. There have been 42 clusters, which is an aggregation of positive cases that were epidemiologically linked. On Sunday, August 23, Bengaluru reported 2,126 new cases of COVID-19, showing a slight downward trend from the past few days. However, Bengaluru continues to report the most number of cases in the state. A total of 1,468 people were discharged on Sunday, following their recovery from the disease. Bengaluru has 34,877 active cases of coronavirus. Five people succumbed to the disease on Sunday.  Meanwhile, Karnataka reported 5,938 cases of coronavirus on Sunday, taking the total number of cases in the state to 2,77,814. The state has 83,551 active cases.

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Bengaluru woman's murder: Son, estranged husband hired hitmen to kill her, say police

Crime

Police concluded that the 45-yr-old woman, who ran three beauty parlours in HSR Layout area, was killed by her son and estranged husband over Rs 2 crore worth of property.

TNM Staff

Representational image

A week after the murder of a 45-year-old woman in Bengaluru, police have now concluded that she was killed by her son and estranged husband over Rs 2 crore worth of property. Police said the father-son duo had hired four contract killers for the job, reported the Times of India.  Bandepalya police have arrested all the six persons. They have been identified as Anjani BR, 55, (the husband) and his son Varun A, 26, and contract killers Naveen Kumar D, 34, Nagaraju, 22, Pradeep, 22 and Nagaraja alias Naga, 21. Geetha (45) who ran three beauty parlours in HSR Layout area was found murdered in her Mangammanapalya residence around 2 am on August 16, reported Deccan Herald (DH).  Police said that the contract killers had entered her house through the roof after gaining entry by breaking cement sheets and then hacked her to death. In the process, the four hitmen also injured her nephew Nagarjuna. Her neighbour Shankarappa called the police on being woken up after hearing noises coming from the woman’s house with men running down her stairs. To mislead him, the three men claimed that they were staff from a nearby hospital and took her there.  Incidentally, when police wanted to inform Varun about the death at around 4 am, police said they found his phone switched off. But later Varun, at around 7 am, came to his mother’s house and claimed he was unaware of the conspiracy. However, police detained him for questioning and he reportedly confessed about the plot after being subjected to intense grilling.  Speaking with DH about the incident, Srinath M Joshi, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) said that Geetha had amassed property over the years which was the motive behind the murder after she got separated from her husband 15 years ago. Other than running the beauty parlours, she was also working as a loan and property agent.

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Bengaluru reports 2126 new COVID-19 cases, 1468 patients discharged

Coronavirus

A total of 34,877 COVID-19 patients are undergoing treatment in Bengaluru.

PTI

Representational image/PTI

Bengaluru city accounted for the highest numbers of fresh COVID-19 cases among all of Karnataka districts for yet another day, as 2,126 patients tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Sunday. On the same day, the city saw 1,468 patients getting discharged following their recovery from the disease. A total of 34,877 patients are undergoing treatment for the disease in the city.  Statewide, Karnataka reported 5,938 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total infection count to 2,77,814, while the death toll reached 4,683 with 68 fatalities in a single day. The day also saw 4,996 people getting discharged. As on August 23 evening, cumulatively 2,77,814 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in Karnataka, which includes 4,683 deaths and 1,89,564 discharges, the health department said in its bulletin. Of 83,551 active cases, 82,764 patients are in isolation at designated hospitals and are stable, while 787 are in the Intensive Care Units (ICU). Seven out of the 68 deaths reported on Sunday were from Ballari, followed by five each in Bengaluru Urban, Dakshina Kannada, Koppal and Tumakuru, four each in Haveri, Shivamogga and Vijayapura, and three each in Chitradurga, Dharwad and Hassan.  Deaths were also reported from Belagavi, Chikkaballapura, Davangrere, Kalaburagi, Kolar, Mandya, Raichur, Udupi (two each) as well as Bagalkote, Chamarajanagara, Uttara Kannada and Yadgir (one each). Most of the deceased either had a history of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) or Influenza-like illness (ILI). Bengaluru urban accounted for 2,126 of the fresh cases reported, followed by Ballari (406), Davangere (265), Koppal (256), Shivamogga (246), Kalaburagi (203), the bulletin said. Bengaluru urban district topped the list of total positive cases, with a total of 1,07,875 infections, followed by Ballari 17,679 and Mysuru 12,396. Among the discharges too, Bengaluru urban was on top with 71,329 discharges, followed by Ballari at 11,302 and Kalaburagi at 8,128. A total of 24,13,951 samples have been tested so far, out of which 40,848 were tested on Sunday alone. Among the samples tested on Sunday, 11,071 were Rapid Antigen Tests while rest were RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) tests.

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Ban traffic in Cubbon Park, preserve its air quality: Civic activists to K’taka govt

Environment

The letter was written after the Bengaluru Coordination Committee advised the government to reintroduce traffic in Cubbon Park.

Theja Ram

Bengaluru civic activists, on Sunday, wrote to Karnataka Chief Secretary TM Vijay Bhaskar asking him to roll back the government’s decision to allow vehicular traffic in Cubbon Park.  Heritage Beku, an organisation advocating to conserve Bengaluru’s heritage structures and spaces, urged the Chief Secretary to consider the impact that the government’s decision would have on the air quality in Cubbon Park.  The Bengaluru Coordination Committee, a committee of experts advising the state government on urban development policies in Bengaluru, is said to have advised the government to allow vehicular traffic in Cubbon Park starting Monday.  #TrafficFreeCubbonPark passed 30 Jun by @BBMPCOMM Council, tks 2 @BBMP_MAYOR w full support @PCMohanMP @ArshadRizwan , #police, #experts, #civilsociety & Horticult et al. Return 2 precovid times(!!),so it’s being rolled back Mon! Written 2 @CSofKarnataka n am sure he will sort it pic.twitter.com/ylh1LNYGy7 — HERITAGE BEKU (@HeritageBeku) August 23, 2020 Ever since the lockdown began in March this year, vehicular traffic was banned inside Cubbon Park. Earlier this year, Bangalore Rising had started a petition on Change.org demanding that traffic not be allowed in Cubbon Park like Bengaluru’s Lal Bagh.  Heritage Beku had also written to the Horticultural Secretary, Commissioner of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike asking for traffic to be banned in Cubbon Park. “Glad to hear that both the horticultural secretary, the BBMP Commissioner as well as several ministers were positive about this and supported this excellent move to keep Cubbon Park pristine and pollution free,” Heritage Beku said in its letter to the Chief Secretary.  In April this year, urban mobility experts along with civic activists had approached the traffic police with the issue. The traffic police had agreed with having no traffic inside Cubbon park as they felt that while managing full traffic might be difficult. Heritage Beku had then suggested that buggies, cycles and EV vehicles be provided inside the park to support the elderly, persons with physical disabilities and children.  On June 30, the BBMP Council passed a unanimous resolution for a traffic-free Cubbon Park.  “Therefore we were surprised to hear today that Bengaluru Coordination Committee plans to reintroduce traffic back into Cubbon Park this Monday, thereby putting an end to the current ecological status, and the painstaking build-up of the precious environment and air quality of Cubbon Park in the last five months,” Heritage Beku’s letter to the Chief Secretary adds.  Heritage Beku has demanded that the decision to reintroduce movement of traffic be rolled back. “We finally had a chance to see Cubbon Park at its pristine, aesthetic and environmental best, just like the traffic-free Lalbagh is. Now that we have seen and experienced how it benefited the park, it is a shame that our system chooses to roll back progress and good environmental practice by taking the easy route of infecting Cubbon Park with vehicles again,” the letter states.

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Karnataka govt seeks to ban SDPI, but is ban really a solution?

Bengaluru Violence

The Karnataka government has decided to gather evidence against the SDPI before recommending its ban to the Centre.

Naheed Ataulla

Image Courtesy: Arun Dev

The Karnataka government's decision, in principle, to seek a ban on the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and its parent organisation, the Popular Front of India (PFI), after gathering evidence on their activities will be the first time, the state will be approaching the Centre to initiate action against such radical groups. Official sources said no time frame has been set by the government for the police to submit evidence on both the outfits. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs is the empowering authority before whom the cases have to be recommended, while the legal recourse for the outfits to challenge any decision on the ban are the courts. According to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs official website, there are 41 organisations which have been banned under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act , 1967 so far.  The SDPI and PFI had come under the previous government’s scanner following incidents in the coastal belt. But the process to seek their ban did not happen due to various reasons. However, after the attack on Congress MLA Tanveer Sait in November 2019, followed by violence during the anti Citizenship Amendment Act protests in Mangaluru in December in which two persons died in police firing, Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai had made a statement in the Legislative Assembly, in January, of banning the SDPI which was a suspect in both the incidents. The recent violence in Bengaluru’s DJ Halli, which led to the death of at least four persons, and the arrest of SDPI members has the BJP government once again seeking its ban.   Is banning outfits the solution? According to political analyst Harish Ramaswamy, “Banning an organisation or a group is not the solution because there are multiple ways by which these people can come back. We need to make them understand that they are not discriminated against - ensuring equality and keeping up the Constitutional promises. There is a feeling among the minorities that they do not have equal opportunity. One way of doing it is by giving them a positive assurance in terms of language and action.”  Harish Ramaswamy further added that there has to be inclusive development. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken of ‘sab ka saath, sab ka vikaas’, but there will be peripheral elements in parties, who create problems. The Sachar Committee report on minorities mentions that the minorities are living in conditions that are worse than the SCs and the STs - the Caste Census leaked in Karnataka puts their population as second only to SCs and STs.  “But the question is, are the states sharing power and public space with them? There is a feeling that minorities are not selected for jobs or nor given positions they rightfully deserve. All these affirmative actions can help one quell these outbursts of violence which is condemnable and by these positive actions one can overcome their anger and make our society inclusive,'' he added. Supreme Court senior advocate and Congress party's spokesperson Brijesh Kalappa, supporting the ban, said the Centre need not wait for any recommendations from states to ban radical groups and organisations. “Why is Prime Minister Narendra Modi allowing the SDPI or the All India Majlis-e- Ittehadul Muslimeen to thrive? He can suo motu ban them. After the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, then Home Minister Sardar Vallabhai Patel banned the RSS immediately without waiting for any recommendation,” he maintained. Karnataka state SDPI president Elyas Muhammed Thumbe said if the state government was seeking to ban the SDPI, the same yardstick should be applied to the Congress as the majority of those involved in the DJ Halli violence were from that party. “The SDPI was accused of 27 political murders in the coastal belt which has come down to 13 after police investigations and even in these, some were done by the right wing groups due to family disputes or mistaken identity. Political murders is a decorative metaphor used against us to cover up for others lapses. All parties are swinging their swords at us,'' he alleged. A few of the founders of PFI, including E Abubacker and P Koya, were also founding members of the outlawed Student Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) in 1977 in Aligarh Muslim University, Uttar Pradesh. Most of the office-bearers of the PFI, including members of the current leadership, have had an association with SIMI before it was banned. Groups and organisations banned in the past The Rashtriya Swayam Sevak (RSS) has been banned several times. It was first banned by the British and later after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, demolition of the Babri Masjid and during the Emergency. Sardar Vallabhai Patel as Home Minister in Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's cabinet initiated the ban on the RSS in February 1948 which was revoked in July 1949. The ‘Iron Man’ as he was called, Patel wrote to the RSS explaining the reasons why he was banning it  The Vishwa Hindu Parishad, a socio-cultural organisation, whose founding fathers were RSS leaders MS Golwalkar and SS Apte was also banned after the Babri Masjid demolition, which was revoked a year later, reimposed in 1995 and subsequently lifted. The Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) founded in Aligarh in 1977 was banned for two years in 2001, also after the 9/11 terror attack in the United States. Though the ban was lifted temporarily in 2008, it was extended for another five years in 2019. The Popular Front of India was banned by the Kerala government in 2012 for allegedly spreading hate against people from the North East in the wake of Assam riots leading to mass exodus of these people from states down south.  Shortly after the demolition of the Babri Masjid in December 1992, the Narasimha Rao government banned Bajrang Dal as some members of this group had participated in the demolition. The ban was revoked a year later. Naheed Ataulla is a journalist who has covered Karnataka politics for over two decades, and is a former Political Editor of The Times of India.

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How this Bengaluru dog cafe is adapting to changing needs amid the pandemic

Pet care

Ever since the pandemic started, people have been hesitating to take their dogs to pet-friendly restaurants and TherPUP is coming up with new ways to stay afloat.

Theja Ram

Instagram/therpup_dogcafe

Ever since the pandemic changed the state of normalcy in everyday activities, one of the adverse impacts it has had is on pet dogs. Pet abandonment cases have increased and reports suggest that people are unsure about taking their pets to pet-friendly restaurants they once frequented. Bengaluru is home to several pet-friendly restaurants; however, there is one restaurant dedicated solely for animals. Spread across 7,200 sq ft in Whitefield with outdoor seating, swimming pool and trampoline for dogs is TherPUP. The pandemic and its fallout has reduced footfall drastically, says Ankur Jain, the 29-year-old owner of TherPUP. A techie who has worked with Flipkart and Quikr, Ankur says his life was monotonous. He then decided to start the cafe as he has been a dog lover since childhood. “We used to have so many people coming here. Before the pandemic, around 4,000 people used to visit us every month but now we have only 300 people coming in,” Ankur adds. The fallout Unlike most restaurants in Bengaluru that offered delivery and takeout services, TherPUP’s business model was based on customers bringing their pets in and also people simply coming here to enjoy the company of the 12 dogs who live at the dog cafe. The joy of a visit to TherPUP included dogs and puppies running around the lawn, playing on the trampoline or swimming in the pool dedicated for dogs alone. The restaurant, which serves fast food, also has a menu exclusively for dogs. “We couldn’t depend on takeout and home delivery. From March 24 to May 18, we were shut completely and were operating on reserve funds,” Ankur says. He adds that Zomato, the popular food delivery app, lent a hand, which helped the cafe remain open despite turbulent times. Ankur applied for the fund that Zomato started to help startup restaurants stay afloat due to the massive losses incurred by the industry due to the pandemic. “Luckily we’ve had an amazing relationship with Zomato since we opened in 2017. We got some funding from there. Our staff, who are trained to handle dogs, offered to work for less pay and our landlord reduced the rent. We’ve been staying afloat with the help of everyone involved at TherPUP,” Ankur adds. Coping with the change Besides being a place where one can enjoy the company of dogs and their love, Ankur has tied up with Bangalore Opts to Adopt, a dog rescue and adoption NGO. The 12 dogs at TherPUP are all rescues that were adopted and Ankur says that he wants to help as many dogs find good homes. “We help rescued dogs find homes. Bangalore Opts to Adopt finds these abandoned animals and provides medical aid. We help these dogs find homes. We have helped around 20 to 30 dogs find permanent homes,” Ankur says. Due to the pandemic enforced physical distancing, TherPUP has had to limit entry to only 30 people at a time in order to ensure they adhere to protocol. Temperature checks are conducted upon entry while each seating area has hand sanitisers. This has also resulted in a dip in business. In order to cope with the change and stay afloat, Ankur has started a dog training programme and a dog day care centre for pet parents who go to office to work. “Before the pandemic, 70% of the people who came here did not have pets. Now it is the opposite. About 70% of people who visit us now are pet parents, as many restaurants are not allowing pets due to the stigma associated with dogs ever since the pandemic started. But we’re trying to stay afloat. We also advise people who reach out to us about getting a dog, we explain the responsibility that comes with it. We see many people adopting dogs only to abandon them later, and we’re trying to make sure this doesn’t happen. If people find it hard to maintain pets throughout the day, there should be alternatives like day care, where the pets are taken care of,” Ankur adds.

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Britain’s new health boss sparks cries of cronyism

Appointed to run the UK’s new public health body, Dido Harding comes with baggage.

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