Bengaluru's Ulsoor Lake partially covered in weeds and waste, BBMP says it will fix it

Civic

Apart from being an eyesore, regular visitors to the lake are concerned that its ecosystem might be disrupted, if not taken care of.

TNM Staff

Bengaluru’s Ulsoor Lake, one of the largest in the city, has been seeing solid waste and weeds floating near one side of its banks for more than a week. This is an aberration, as the lake has been well-maintained by the authorities in recent times, unlike most of the other freshwater bodies in the erstwhile ‘city of lakes’. People who walk along the pavemented boundaries of the lake report that the water, mostly near the RBANM’s College on Annaswamy Mudaliar Road, is infested with weeds. In addition to this, there is also solid waste that is found floating on the surface of the lake in the same area. Other than being an eyesore, walkers point out that the weeds and waste in the water may further affect the balance of the lake ecosystem. According to the security staff of the lake, the issue has risen as the contractual staff engaged for regular de-weeding of the lake is yet to return from their Deepavali holidays. A security personnel said, “Before the Deepavali weekend, this area was getting cleaned twice in a week by the BBMP staff posted in the lake, who would remove the weeds and garbage that would float in the lake. But now they have gone to their hometowns for Deepavali holidays, otherwise there has been no weed in this part of the lake in a long time. Mohan Krishna, Chief Engineer Lakes, BBMP said, “We will remove the weeds very soon. The situation will be back to normal.” However, he did not confirm if the holiday weekend was the only reason why the lake was not de-weeded. Other than the BBMP, the Madras Engineering Group of the Indian Army, whose facilities are located in the surroundings of Ulsoor Lake, also regularly takes part in the lake cleaning activities all year round. 

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Video shows newborn being kidnapped from Bengaluru hospital, cops rescue her

Crime

The police have arrested a woman and another couple in connection with the case.

TNM Staff

The Bengaluru police on Thursday arrested a 65-year-old woman for stealing a newborn baby from Vanivilas Hospital and selling it to another couple in the city. The police rescued the baby girl early on Friday morning and reunited her with her parents.  The incident occurred at the Vani Vilas Hospital and after extensive surveillance, the VV Puram police arrested the woman, identified as Ayesha, on Friday. Authorities suspect that she was involved in a larger ring of kidnapping and selling babies in Bengaluru.  The CCTV footage showed a woman wearing a white churidar, a white kurta and a black hijab can be seen carrying a baby wrapped in a white blanket outside the Vanivilas hospital. On the evening of November 9, 29-year-old Arshiya was admitted to the Vanivilas hospital after she went into labour. She delivered a baby girl at 12.30 am on November 10. The doctors at the hospital had put the baby under observation in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) as water had accumulated in its stomach.  Watch: Woman kidnaps newborn baby girl from Vanivilas hospital On November 11, the hospital made an announcement on its speakers that the baby girl was out of danger and called for her caregivers to take her back from the ICU. Two minutes after the announcement was made, at around 1.30 pm, Ayesha walked into the ICU and claimed that she was her grandmother. Ayesha even knew the names of the child’s mother and father. The nurse at the ICU handed the baby over to Ayesha and she walked away with the baby.  Meanwhile, Arshiya, who waited for her husband Abdul Rashid to return to the ward, informed him about the announcement. At around 4.25 pm, when Abdul Rashid went to pick up his baby, he was informed that the baby had already been taken.  “We were so shocked to hear how negligent the doctors were. How could they just give our baby away to anyone? I immediately went to the police station and filed a complaint,” Abdul rashid told TNM.  The VV Puram police procured the CCTV footage of the incident from the hospital. By using image enhancing techniques, the police were able to procure a photograph of the woman and circulate it to all government hospitals in Bengaluru. The investigators had also given the pictures to the staff at the ICU in Vanivilas Hospital.  On Thursday evening, Ayesha once again walked into the hospital and claimed to be the grandmother of another baby, which was in the ICU at Vanivilas Hospital. The staff, who already had her picture, called the VV Puram police and stalled Ayesha by asking her questions, which they claimed was new protocol. “She began fumbling to answer all these questions and it was clear that she was lying. Our police officers reached the hospital and arrested her,” the VV Puram Police said.  Upon interrogation, they learned that Ayesha had sold the baby for Rs 80,000 to a couple residing in Umar Nagh near Kumaraswamy Layout. Early on Friday morning, the police raided the house of the couple and rescued the baby. The couple has been arrested.  Baby returned to parents after rescue “We suspect that Ayesha and even the couple who bought the baby are involved in a larger conspiracy. We are trying to identify all the people in this network. We will be making more arrests soon,” the VV Puram police said.  Ayesha and the arrested couple have been booked for kidnapping and criminal conspiracy. They were produced before a magistrate and remanded to police custody. 

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Bengaluru sees over 1000 new COVID-19 infections in one day, active cases at 17,856

Coronavirus

Across Karnataka too, another trend reversed, with new COVID-19 cases at 1,849, exceeding the 1,800 recoveries during the same period.

TNM Staff

Bengaluru registered 1,048 new COVID-19 cases in a 24-hour period, taking its tally to 3.6 lakh, out of which 17,856 are active cases. While recoveries in the city rose to 3.38 lakh, with 881 discharged in 24 hours, the coronavirus claimed 14 lives, increasing Bengaluru's death toll to 4,042. This comes after the city registered less than 1,000 new cases for four days this week. Across Karnataka too, another trend reversed, with new COVID-19 cases at 1,849, exceeding the 1,800 recoveries in the same period across the state. "With 1,849 fresh cases on Wednesday, the state's COVID-19 tally increased to 8.67 lakh including 25,169 active cases, while recoveries rose to 8.30 lakh with 1,800 discharges in the last 24 hours," a state health bulletin issued on Thursday said. With 26 patients succumbing to the infection, the state's death toll rose to 11,604 till date, since the pandemic broke out on March 8. Fourteen out of the total 26 deaths were reported from Bengaluru urban, followed by Ballari, Dakshina Kannada, Dharwad and Tumakuru at two each, and Chikkaballapura, Kodagu, Mysuru and Vijayapura at one each. Most of the dead either had a history of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) or Influenza-like illness (ILI), the state bulletin said. Of the 598 patients in intensive care units (ICUs) across the state, 297 are in Bengaluru hospitals, followed by 31 in Mysuru and 28 in Tumakuru. The number of active containment zones in Bengaluru remained unchanged at two in the Mahadevapura zone, as per the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike's (BBMP) daily bulletin. A total of over 98.59 lakh samples have been tested so far, out of which 1.18 lakh were tested on Thursday alone, and 25,101 among them were rapid antigen tests while 93.373 were done through the RT-PCR method. "The positivity rate was 1.56% and the case fatality rate 1.42% for the day," added the bulletin. With IANS and PTI inputs

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Karnataka HC wants survey of kids selling flowers, knick-knacks at junctions

Court

The High Court issued the direction while hearing a PIL filed by Letzkit Foundation.

TNM Staff

The Karnataka High Court on Thursday directed Bengaluru civic body, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to conduct a survey of children selling flowers and knick-knacks at traffic signals in the city. The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Letzkit Foundation, which stated that children were being forced to sell toys, flowers and other items at traffic junctions. The PIL called for ending this practice and said that children were being forced into working.  The High Court said that it would pass its orders under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act after going through BBMP’s report, Deccan Herald reported. A division bench headed by Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka was hearing the petition and observed that the PIL raised crucial issues, which must be considered under the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act, as these children fall under the category of “children in need” under the legislation, Times of India reported. The court said that the implementation of the Karnataka Prohibition of Beggary Act will also have to be looked into. “It is a serious issue as children forced to undertake such activities are deprived of their fundamental rights under Article 21A of the Constitution. Moreover, if circumstances are forcing them to do so, it may be a violation of Article 21 as well,” Chief Justice Abhay Oka noted. In this regard, the High Court directed the BBMP to conduct a survey to identify such children in Bengaluru. The court said that once the survey is completed and the report is submitted to the court, it will issue appropriate directions on implementing the Juvenile Justice Act. The court also said that BBMP can enlist the help of NGOs to conduct the survey. 

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9 Apple manufacturing units in China shifted to India: Union Min Ravi Shankar Prasad

Tech

Ravi Shankar Prasad made the statement at the inaugural session of the Bengaluru Tech Summit on Thursday.

TNM Staff

Union Minister for IT and Communications Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday revealed that nine of the 11 manufacturing units that make iPhones for Apple have shifted from China to India. Speaking at the inaugural session of the 23rd edition of the Bengaluru Tech Summit held virtually, he said that even during the pandemic period, "nine of their operating units along with component makers were shifted from China to India”. The Union Minister, while addressing the summit, told Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa that Apple has chosen Bengaluru for manufacturing iPhones. "I am pleased to inform BS Yediyurappa that Apple has chosen your city Bengaluru to manufacture their quality phones for India and abroad," Ravi Shankar Prasad added.   ‘I am pleased to inform @BSYBJP that Apple has chosen your city Bengaluru to manufacture their quality phones for India and abroad.’ - @rsprasad #BTS2020 #NextIsNow pic.twitter.com/sZe47SQXIg — Dr. Ashwathnarayan C. N. (@drashwathcn) November 19, 2020 Apple's supplier Wistron already has a manufacturing facility in Kolar near Bengaluru where it has been producing Apple devices. Wistron is reportedly expanding its operations at the Bengaluru plant under the Union Government's production-linked incentive scheme (PLI) and will soon begin assembling iPhone 12.  “In view of the enormous success in accelerating mobile manufacturing, we came with the big idea of production-linked incentive (PLI). This scheme was announced by me during the pandemic. Global firms have come to India. Including India’s national champions, they have committed to investing close to Rs 11 lakh crore in the coming five years," Ravi Shankar Prasad said.  Watch: Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad at Bengaluru Tech Summit He said that during the pandemic too, the IT and communications sector over 7% growth and several major investments from international players have come to India during this period as many are looking to shift base from China.  Karnataka had earlier this year revised its Industrial Policy in order to attract investment into the manufacturing sector. "The state has realised the value of a strong global value chain when the pandemic hit us. We worked tirelessly with businesses to make sure the disruptions to businesses are as minimal as possible, and after the lockdown was lifted, made sure operations are back on track across sectors," Jagadish Shettar, Karnataka Minister for Large Scale Industries said.   Karnataka also brought in the Industrial Facilitation Amendment Ordinance this year, which provides initial exemption from obtaining the preoperative clearance for industries, for a period of three years or until the date on which commercial operations begin.

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Karnataka CMO sees two high-profile exits: M Prakash quits, MB Maramkal dropped

Politics

Sources say a family member of Yediyurappa, who is increasingly getting close to the CMO, is behind political advisor MB Maramkal’s removal.

TNM Staff

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa's media advisor Mahadeva Prakash has resigned, making it the second such high-profile exit from his close quarters within a month. A few days ago, the Chief Minister’s close aide and political advisor, MB Maramkal, a known loyalist of Yediyurappa, was also removed from his post. Mahadeva Prakash, in his letter addressed to Yediyurappa and dated November 18, cited "personal reasons" for his resignation. Prakash is a senior journalist who was appointed in August 2019 as the Chief Minister’s media advisor shortly after the BJP government came to power. In his letter, Prakash thanked Yediyurappa for giving him an opportunity to serve as the Chief Minister's media advisor. A few days ago, MB Maramkal was removed as the Karnataka Chief Minister’s political advisor. Sources in the know state that a family member of BS Yediyurappa, who has in the recent past become close to the CMO, is behind media advisor Maramkal’s removal. The sources added that the family member was not happy with the kind of influence Maramkal had on the CM.  In 2018, former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy had leaked an audio tape alleging horse-trading between the BJP and members of the then Congress-JD(S)-led government. The purported audiotape, which was in Kannada, was said to be a conversation recorded on February 7, 2018 between Yediyurappa and Gurumitkal JD-S legislator Naganagouda Kandakur's son Sharanagouda at a guest house at Devadurga in the Raichur district, about 480km northeast of the state capital. It is alleged that MB Maramkal was the one who brokered that meeting. At the time, Maramkal had filed a criminal complaint with the state secretariat police station against Kumaraswamy and his associates, accusing them of committing offences under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 65 of the Information Technology Act. Maramkal was also instrumental in many political decisions taken by the Chief Minister, as he had considerable influence on the latter. Sources say that it was Maramkal who suggested to the Chief Minister Yediyurappa to stake claim of forming the state government in 2018 even when he did not have the numbers, a move which later backfired. Maramkal was last year promoted to the post of media advisor, which is a cabinet minister rank. 

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Abandoned two-wheeler helps Bengaluru cops nab robber who stole Rs 38 lakh

Crime

The police tracked down Aslam Pasha using the licence plate number of the scooter he had left behind.

TNM Staff

An abandoned two-wheeler left behind by armed robbers has helped the Bengaluru police nab the accused, who had made away with Rs 38 lakh cash from a businessman in the city, 10 days after the incident occurred. On the night of November 9, two armed robbers including the arrested accused, a serial offender named Aslam Pasha (39), arrived on a scooter at Mamulpet outside the office of a textile businessman Ankitkumar Jain.  On November 9, Ankitkumar, a resident of VV Puram had returned from a business meeting to his office in Mamulpet and had collected Rs 38 lakh in cash from his partner Nazir Ali Khan, when he saw two men arrive in a scooter. While Ankitkumar was putting away the money bags inside his scooter, Aslam Pasha and the second unidentified accused allegedly threatened him with knives. The two men snatched the bags of cash, abandoned the two-wheeler they came in and decamped with the cash on Ankitkumar's scooter instead, the Times of India reported.  Although Ankitkumar did not report the theft of the cash, the police learned about the theft from his partner Nazir Ali Khan. The City market Police then asked Ankitkumar to file a complaint. As the armed robbers made away with the vehicle, they also left behind the two-wheeler they had used to get to Mamulpet. The City Market Police tracked down Aslam Pasha using the licence plate number of the scooter he had left behind.   Police arrested Aslam Pasha on Wednesday night and on Thursday recovered the Rs 30 lakh cash from him. The West division police said that Aslam Pasha was making it difficult for the investigators to identify the second accused. Aslam Pasha reportedly complained of a heart-related ailment, when repeatedly asked questions about the money. After a night of questioning, he is said to have given the police the location of the cash he had stashed away. The cash was recovered from Aslam's relative's residence in JJ Nagar.  During the interrogation, the police also learned that Aslam Pasha had taken help of Ankitkumar's employee Wahid in carrying out the crime. Wahid allegedly tipped off Aslam and the second accused about the date and time when Ankitkumar would be carrying cash. Wahid is absconding and police said that Aslam is yet to reveal the name of the second armed robber.   

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