BBMP rolls back decision to cut trees for drain after residents protest

Civic issues

The BBMP had initially proposed building a concrete drain along a road in Whitefield, which the citizens’ group Namma Whitefield had opposed.

Sanjana Deshpande

Facebook/ Namma Whitefield

Two weeks ago, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) announced that they would fell trees at the entrance of Athashri Road from Swami Vivekananda Road in the city’s Whitefield area. The decision was taken to build a drainage system alongside the newly tarred roads. However, members of the citizens’ group Namma Whitefield severely opposed this. When their protests were heard by officials, the BBMP went back on their decision to cut down the trees and heeded the people’s demands. The concrete drains that were initially proposed were to allow seepage of water, to avoid flooding. “The concreting of the road was completed two weeks back and the BBMP engineer had announced that they will build the concrete drains along the road. We were trying to get in touch with the officials but in vain. We finally posted our ordeal on the social media which garnered the official’s attention and met with him today (Saturday),” said Sandeep Anirudhan, the founder of Namma Whitefield. After seeing their campaign, BBMP Major Roads Engineer Shri Ramakrishna Reddy did not only hold a meeting with the residents, they also inspected the area together and discussed their views on trees and the drain plan. Upon hearing their request to save the greenery, Reddy agreed to not touch the trees and saplings planted in the area. Sandeep said, “Instead of a concrete drain, the road’s edge will be terminated with a concrete shoulder and the water will be allowed to seep into the soil bed, that will provide the trees required water. We were asked to submit a formal written representation to other BBMP officials including the Commissioner.” He further added that the existing drain on the opposite side will be repaired and concrete walls will be added around it. “The adjoining trees and saplings would not be harmed either,” he added. Additionally, the citizens requested for speed breakers on the road to avoid accidents due to speeding. They were assured that the Traffic Cell will look into at the earliest, after receiving written notification from the citizens. The official also assured citizens that the saplings and trees on the adjoining road, the GR Tech Park road, will be protected too, with arrangements for more saplings to be planted in the works. Citizens took to Facebook to thank BBMP and express their joy. TNM tried to contact the Shri Ramakrishna Reddy, but he remained unavailable for comment.   

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First chocolate park to come up in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka

Tourism

The one-of-its-kind chocolate park will be built for the public and tourists on the Madikeri-Mangaluru route, near Puttur.

Sanjana Deshpande

Image for Representaton/ Picxy

Karnataka will soon get its first chocolate park near the famous tourist spots on the Madikeri-Mangaluru Road. People will be able to walk into the park and witness the making of chocolate fist-hand and also taste it. The park will be situated in Kavu, near Puttur in Dakshina Kannada district. The Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative Limited (CAMPCO) is setting up the park within their premises. CAMPCO currently has a factory in Puttur that produces nearly 23 varieties of chocolates. President of CAMPCO, Kishore Kumar Kodgi, said, “A lot of people go to places like Mahabaleshwar, Ooty and other places to experience the making of chocolate. We wanted to create something like that here in Karnataka. There’s a small hilltop nearby which is a popular tourist spot called Hanuman betta. On their way there, people can stop and take a look at the making of the chocolate, experiencing the taste of freshly made chocolate. Because of regulations placed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), we cannot entertain guests. Our main intention behind the creation of the park is to not only show people how chocolates are made but to give them a memorable journey.” The President added that they are planning to make the park on the small land within the CAMPCO’s premises. “We are building a huge warehouse to store cacao, areca nut and pepper that cost us nearly Rs 30 crore and is spread across 2.5 acres of land. We are hoping that the chocolate park is made within the budget of Rs 3 to 4 crore. The engineer has recently surveyed the area and will chalk out the structure of the park. However, the primitive plan has been approved and the firm will begin to look for consultants to execute it after the final plan is approved,” said Kodgi. According to Kodgi, the work for the model chocolate factory will conclude by March-April this year. Creation of a small children’s play area, artificial waterfalls and the chocolate store will begin thereafter. He said that they are expecting to open the park to the public by the end of 2021. The president revealed that they will also hire a contractor to run a restaurant that they are planning to build within the upcoming chocolate park. “We are not only building a recreational area, but also a place where people travelling can come to grab refreshments, and tidy up before they continue with their journey. We are hoping that this will also encourage people to visit the chocolate park,” he said. CAMPCO is the largest company in India that produces 75-80% dark chocolate and supplies them to brands like Cadbury and Amul for making finished goods. They have been exporting their cocoa to African countries as well. 

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Karnataka HC issues notice to state, Centre over cutting 8,000 trees

Environment

This comes after a year of protests from activists who failed to get information from KRDCL regarding road widening projects in and around Bengaluru.

Soumya Chatterjee

Image for Representation/Arun Prasad

Activists in Bengaluru have approached the Karnataka High Court urging that a group of “illegal” road projects in and around Bengaluru proposed by the Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL), which require felling of 8,651 trees, be junked. Based on their petition, the High Court on Wednesday issued notices to KRDCL (a state govt body), state of Karnataka, Karnataka Forest Department and Union Ministry of Forests, Environment and Climate Change asking them to respond by February 24 when the matter is listed to be heard again.  These projects include widening of 15-km stretch from Nelamangala to Madhure; 23-km stretch from Madhure to Devanahalli; 33-km stretch from Bidadi to Jigani; Bannerghatta to Anekal; and the 39-km stretch from Anekal to Hoskote. Several protests have been held against these projects. In some of these stretches, trees have already been felled. The primary contention of the petition by Voice of Sarjapur (a local resident group), Jhatkaa.org (a campaigning platform) and one Rajani Santosh is that these projects are illegal on environmental grounds and should be scrapped.  This is because the KRDCL had proposed felling these high number of trees without prior environment clearance under the EIA (Environment Impact Assessment) Notification, 2006, in absence of Forest Clearance under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 and in absence of prior recommendation of the Standing Committee of National Board for Wildlife (SC-NBWL) under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. As a result, the entire project is illegal and “there is no remedy available under the law to make it legal ex post facto”.  The petition also cited a March 2020 Supreme Court judgement (Bengaluru Development Authority v. Mr Sudhakar Hegde & Ors, Civil Appeal 2566 of 2019), which upheld the significance of the EIA process under the EIA Notification 2006.  This litigation comes after the activists failed to get adequate responses in the form of an EIA, detailed project report and cost-benefit analysis from KRDCL for a year starting from January 2020 regarding the projects, even after filing RTI applications.   While a stay has not been granted on the project(s), KRDCL has given an undertaking to the HC to not go ahead with tree felling in Bengaluru city in connection with a different litigation to tree cutting.  In their petition, the petitioners have sought stalling of these projects as they will impact the environment in more than one way. They said the felling of these many trees will impact carbon sequestration and create urban heat zones. Not only that, they have stated that 14 freshwater lakes of Bengaluru and its surroundings will also be affected due to these projects and in the process compromise the existing water resource available. Other than that, they stated that part of the project also passes through the Bannerghatta National Park, as well as the Eco Sensitive Zone around the Bannerghatta National Park. “This will have an adverse impact on the natural habitats of several schedule 1 species of fauna such as Elephants, Tigers, Leopards and Slender Loris all listed under the Wildlife (Protected) Act 1972,” the petition stated. In addition to environmental grounds, the petitioners said that the project does not satisfy the definition of “Sustainable Development” and was also not in line with India’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2031. Further non-disclosure of project related information amounts to infringement of Fundamental Right to Information, the petition stated. 

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Karnataka cabinet expansion: Disgruntled MLAs likely to meet Amit Shah

Politics

Home Minister Amit Shah is on a two-day visit to the state.

IANS

PTI

Disgruntled leaders who were not part of the Karnataka Cabinet’s expansion are likely to meet with Home Minister Amit Shah, who is in the state for a two-day visit on Saturday and Sunday.  The leaders may put forth their grievances on Sunday in Belagavi where Amit Shah will be addressing a political rally. Chief Minister Yediyurappa on January 13 expanded his 17-month-old government by inducting seven new ministers. He also dropped Excise Minister H Nagesh. Aspirants of ministerial berths who could not make it publicly aired their displeasure after the expansion. Legislators including party chief whip Sunil Kumar, Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, MP Renukacharya, Sathish Reddy, GH Thippa Reddy, Abhay Kumar Patil, Siddu Svadi, SA Ramadass and AH Vishwanath, who could not make it, have been airing their displeasure openly but so far none of them have confirmed that they will be meeting Shah. On one hand, the BJP MLA for Bommanahalli, Satish Reddy criticised Yediyurappa. In a tweet, he questioned the criteria for selecting candidates eligible for ministerial berths.  In addition to that, Bijapur City MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal said that the decision to keep party loyalists out of the cabinet marked “the end” to Yediyurappa’s political career and alleged that the CM had given people the ministerial positions because they were blackmailing him. Many leaders have also accused Yediyurappa’s son Vijayendra of interfering in the decision. The party leaders will likely flag the issue of his alleged interference with Shah. CM Yediyurappa on Thursday asked disgruntled members to take it up with the high command in Delhi. He also appealed to them not to “damage” the reputation of the party. Meanwhile, leaders like Munirathna sided with the CM. On Friday, he hinted at a change in cabinet or a likely reshuffle within the selected candidates. The distribution of portfolios will happen once Home Minister Amit Shah reviews the list after his arrival in the city, he had told the media. 

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Rajnath Singh unveils India’s first indigenous driverless metro car in Bengaluru

Transport

The Minister, while visiting the BEML facility in Bengaluru, said that the team of engineers and technicians have done commendable work.

TNM Staff

Facebook/Rajnath Singh

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday unveiled the country's first indigenously designed and developed Driverless Metro Car at the Bharat Earth Movers Limited's (BEML) manufacturing facility in Bengaluru. The Minister, while visiting the BEML facility in Bengaluru, said that the team of engineers and technicians have done commendable work. He dubbed them as “real warriors of Atmanirbhar Bharat”. According to BEML, the driverless metro cars being manufactured at their company’s Bengaluru Complex are made of stainless-steel bodies and have a capacity of carrying as many as 2,280 passengers in six-cars metro train set. Unlike the driverless metro cars unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, these ones [developed by BEML] have been entirely designed and developed by the engineers at BEML. The official told the press that the engineers have been working towards the development of an indigenous metro car for a while now.   Secretary (Defence Production) Raj Kumar and BEML Limited Chairman and Managing Director, Deepak Kumar Hota were also in attendance. Hota further added that BEML’s foray into metro manufacturing has been a defining moment in the urban transport scenario in India. The Defence Minister then virtually launched the Aerospace Assembly Hangar which is located within BEML’s Bengaluru complex and unveiled the first indigenously manufactured Tatra Cabin by the firm. At the complex, he also inspected an array of their equipment—from its Defence & Aerospace, Mining & Construction and Rail & Metro Divisions—on display, rail hangars and newly launched Industrial Design Centre.  The BEML has also managed to bag a total order of 576 cars for Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA)’s MRS1 project. The cars will be shipped to Mumbai up to January 2024. They recently also opened their depot office at Charkop Metro Depot, Mumbai for commissioning, testing and round-the-clock services for the driverless metro cars.

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As Karnataka kicks off vaccine drive, here's the list of things you need to know

Coronavirus

The state has received 8,14,500 doses of the vaccine and the first phase of delivery can be completed within a week, said the state Health Minister.

TNM Staff

Representative Image/PTI

The much-anticipated vaccination drive began across India on Saturday. Karnataka Health and Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar addressed reporters on Friday after meeting with the authorities, and announced that as many as 237 centres across the state will receive Covishield while Ballary, Shivamogga, Hassan, Chikmagalur, Chamarajanagar and Davanagere centres will receive Covaxin. Across Bengaluru, 10 hospitals — including private ones like St John’s Medical College — will administer the vaccine. The COVID-19 warriors — healthcare professionals and police personnel — will be vaccinated in the first phase, along with Revenue Department officials with comorbidities. The state government has 8,14,500 doses of the vaccine and the first phase of delivery can be completed within a week, said Dr Sudhakar. On the occasion of the vaccine drive kicking off, here are some details to know: Two vaccine doses will be administered Vaccine beneficiaries will receive it in two doses of 0.5 ml each. The second dose is given 28 days after receiving the first dose. Each vial contains 10 doses of vaccines. The vaccine is expected to generate the antibodies to increase resistance in the body. No interchangeability According to a notification from the Union Health Ministry, interchangeability of COVID-19 vaccines is not permitted. The second dose should also be of the same vaccine that was administered in the first dose. Lactating and pregnant women to be exempted Pregnant and lactating women have not been a part of any COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial; therefore, women who are pregnant or not sure of their pregnancy and lactating women will not be administered the COVID-19 vaccine. Vaccination for people with active symptoms deferred In case of individuals having active symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection and coronavirus-infected patients who have been given anti-SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibodies or convalescent plasma, the COVID-19 vaccination will be deferred by four-eight weeks for them. Apart from them, any person acutely unwell and hospitalised due to any illness will also be vaccinated after four-eight weeks. Wary of coagulation disorders The vaccine has to be administered with caution to persons with a history of any bleeding or coagulation disorder like clotting, deficiency, coagulopathy or platelet disorder. After effects of the vaccination If administered the Covaxin vaccine, the individual may experience injection site-pain, headache, fatigue, fever, body ache, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, dizziness-giddiness, tremor, sweating, cold, cough and injection site-swelling. Paracetamol can be used to provide symptomatic relief from post-vaccination adverse reactions, as notified by the Health Ministry. 

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Karnataka BJP leader to release tell-all book on 'Operation Lotus' soon

POLITICS

In the book, AH Vishwanath will reveal the details behind the toppling of the Congress-JD(S) coalition government.

PTI

Twitter

Karnataka BJP leader AH Vishwanath on Friday announced that he will soon release his book, titled Bombay Days. This tell-all book will shed light on how BJP carried out ‘Operation Lotus’ to come to power in 2019 elections, he said to the press.  The leader is one among the dozen others who have implicitly expressed their discontentment over the state cabinet expansion that took place on January 13. ‘Operation Kamal’ or ‘Operation Lotus’ refers to the strategy allegedly chalked out by the BJP to come into power, in states where it did not have enough seats to form a government on its own. Vishwanath told the press that the book would carry a detailed account of how Yediyurappa executed Operation Lotus with 17 legislators, all of whom defected from their respective parties. The strategy was allegedly first tested in Karnataka after the 2008 State Assembly election. The BJP formed its government by seeking help from independent MLAs and increased their number to 115, three short of the majority. In the name of ensuring 'stability', the party actively influenced and made at least 18 MLAs from opposition parties to defect. They then went for by-polls and eventually made the defected leaders ministers. In 2019 too, the BJP adopted a similar strategy and sought 17 MLAs from Congress and JD(S) parties to defect and form the government. Vishwanath is one of the 17 defectors who flew to Mumbai and stayed in a luxury hotel for nearly two weeks, where ‘Operation Lotus’ was designed and executed. He claims to have an inside view of what went into the plan to topple the Congress-JD(S) government in Karnataka. Vishwanath had announced the release Bombay Days in 2020. He told reporters, “I am in the process of finalising the last two chapters and will release it after it is done. The book is centred around the fall and rise of two different regimes.” He coined the name ‘Bombay Team’-- referring to all 17 MLAs who had flown to Mumbai to orchestrate the fall of the coalition government.

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