CM Yediyurappa cracks whip on B’luru’s garbage: But is dumping it at landfills the right way out?

Civic Issues

45% of the waste generated in Bengaluru is mixed and NGT norms state that mixed waste must not be dumped in landfills.

TNM Staff

Smelly roads laden with piles of garbage on the perimeter — this not a new sight in Bengaluru and newly sworn-in Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa seems to have woken up to the reality. On Sunday, Chief Minister Yediyurappa rapped the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner for allowing garbage to pile up on the sides of the roads. Speaking to TNM, BBMP Mayor Gangambike said that CM Yediyurappa has given the BBMP three days to clean up the garbage. “The Chief Minister met with Commissioner Manjunath Prasad and asked him to take necessary action to remove the garbage on the streets. He informed the Chief Minister that tenders are being sorted out to dump the garbage from roads into two different landfills. There is a plot of land next to the Bellahalli landfill and the owner of the land has allowed BBMP to dump the garbage there until further arrangements can be made,” Mayor Gangambike said. BBMP figures say that 45% of the waste generated in Bengaluru is mixed and not segregated at the source, Mayor Gangambike says, while adding that the mixed waste either ends up in Bellahalli landfill or strewn along the sides of the roads. “About 400 tonnes of wet waste per day is going to the compost units. As per NGT orders, the garbage collectors end up dumping unsegregated waste that residents give them into auto tippers, which dump them on roadsides or at the landfills. In order to clean up the garbage being piled up on the roads, we are going to transport them to the plot near Bellahalli until it can be shifted to Mitaganahalli and Marenahalli landfills,” the Mayor said. However, NGT norms state that mixed waste must not be dumped in landfills and BBMP’s tenders. Disregarding the NGT order, the BBMP has called for tenders to dump mixed waste into the Mitaganahalli and Marenahalli landfills at the cost of Rs 64 crore and Rs 120 crore respectively. “The tender documents are currently being vetted by the health committee. The Joint Commissioner of health has okayed the plot for dumping the waste temporarily until the two other landfills can be opened. We are currently facing opposition from residents of Mitaganahalli, who do not want the landfill to be open. The Health Committee is looking into those complaints,” she added.     

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Movies, folk art and more: The tenth edition of Bangalore Queer Film Festival is here

Film

The film screenings kick off on Thursday, August 1 and will continue till Sunday, August 4 at Alliance Française and Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan.

TNM Staff

Roshan Shakeel

Now in its 10th year, the Bangalore Queer Film Festival is back this week, with an international line-up of feature films, shorts and documentaries as well as panel discussions and performances. The film screenings kick off on Thursday, August 1 and will continue till Sunday, August 4 at Alliance Française and Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan. Before the film screenings begin, the festival’s curtain raiser is set for Wednesday, July 31 at the Bangalore International Centre, where Karnataka Rajyotsava awardee B Manjamma Jogathi and her traditional folk art troupe will perform. This year’s event will feature of host of international screenings on deck, including A Woman is a Woman, directed by Maisy Goosy Suen in her first feature film, Si Chedeng at si Apple (Chedeng and Apple), a Filipino film from Rae Red and Fatrick Tabada, Chinese film Meili from director Zhou Zhou and award-winning Vietnamese film Song Lang from Leon Le in his debut feature. Films from Indian filmmakers include Neelu Bhuman’s Transfinite, which comprises seven short stories, and Udalaazham, a Malayalam film by Unnikrishnan Avala.  There will also be a range of documentaries from around the world, including Papua New Guinea, Colombia, India, France and Argentina. In partnership with New Delhi-based non-profit Public Service Broadcasting Trust, a series called ‘Engaging with Sexualities’ will highlight debut and early-career filmmakers through their short documentaries, which will tackle subjects of sexuality, love, identity, desire, relationships, among others. In one of the most anticipated events of the festival, celebrated poet Hoshang Merchant will release his latest book, The Gay Icons of India, on Sunday, August 4. The event will also include a panel discussion between Hoshang, writer and poet Vikramaditya Sahai, and writers and BQFF co-directors Namita Aavriti and Joshua Muyiwa.  The festival screenings will take place at Alliance Française on August 1 and 2 and at Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan on August 3 and 4.  For the full schedule of films, check out the schedule here.

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1,169 people booked for drunken driving in three hour-drive by Bengaluru police

Crime

The drive was conducted at around 196 checkpoints across the city between 11 pm on Saturday and 2 am on Sunday.

TNM Staff

Representative image

In a big crackdown against drunk driving in Bengaluru, the traffic police have filed cases against 1,169 people in a special drive conducted on Saturday from 11 pm to 2 am on Sunday. The drive, conducted under the P Harishekaran, Additional Commissioner of Police, (Traffic), was conducted against riders and drivers driving under the influence of alcohol. The police also checked auto-rickshaws in the city and seized 63 auto-rickshaws that did not have display cards.  According to a TOI report, while usually around 80-100 checkpoints are checked on daily drives, Saturday’s checks were conducted at around 196 checkpoints across the city. Bengaluru Deputy Commissioner of Police, Traffic North Division, Sarah Fathima tweeted that 92 cases were registered from various places on Bellary Road alone. The maximum number of cases were booked in the west zone (519), followed by east (400), the report added.  The TOI report added that around 3,000 traffic police personnel, including four inspectors, seven ACPs and DCPs from every division, were deployed across important junctions and on the outskirts.  According to statistics, this is the highest number of cases booked in a single night. In 2017, Bengaluru saw a whopping 73,741 registered cases of drunk driving, with over 10,000 arrests in December 2017 itself. In 2018, in total, the Bengaluru traffic police had registered 53,092 cases of drunken driving. Till May 30, 2019, over 20,671 cases of drunken driving have been registered. In Bengaluru, if a driver is caught driving a vehicle with alcohol in his/her blood exceeding 30 mg per 100 ml, or he/she is under the influence of a drug to such an extent that he/she is incapable of exercising proper control over the vehicle, he/she faces imprisonment up to 6 months or fine up to Rs 2,000. If the offence is repeated, the accused faces imprisonment up to 2 years or fine up to Rs 3,000, or both.

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KR Ramesh Kumar steps down as Karnataka Speaker as state gets new govt

Politics

Ramesh Kumar had found himself at the epicenter of the political crisis in the state when rebel MLAs from the Congress and JD(S) submitted their resignations to him.

Soumya Chatterjee

PTI

Karnataka Assembly Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar resigned from his post on Monday, less than an hour after Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa passed the trust vote in the House. Ramesh Kumar handed in his resignation to Deputy Speaker Krishna Reddy, who then adjourned the House until 5pm. Deputy Speaker Krishna Reddy of the JD(S) is also expected. The resignation was on expected lines as the Speaker is usually from the ruling side as per convention and the BJP had hinted it would move on a no-confidence motion against him. “I request the members of the Assembly to look into the issue of the Tenth Schedule seriously. We all know that it needs to become stronger in order to avoid a situation that we faced recently,” said Ramesh Kumar. His resignation also comes a day after he had disqualified 14 legislators from the Congress and the JD(S). On Friday, Speaker Ramesh Kumar had disqualified three other rebel MLAs until the expiry of the current term of the Assembly. As it stands, his order means none of the rebel legislators will be allowed to be inducted into Yediyurappa’s cabinet.    Ramesh Kumar is likely to be replaced by BJP's KG Bopaiah, who has served as the Speaker of the Karnataka Assembly from 2009 to 2013, sources further said. Speaker Ramesh Kumar found himself at the epicentre of the political crisis in the state, when 13 rebel MLAs from the Congress and JD(S) submitted their resignations to his office on July 6. However, the Speaker was not present when the MLAs came to his office, and later insisted that the MLAs come and meet him personally in order for him to assess whether their resignations are genuine. Last week, he disqualified all 16 Congress and JD(S) rebels, and also Independent MLA Shankar, from contesting elections until 2023. Ramesh Kumar first became a Speaker in the Assembly in 1994 when Deve Gowda was Chief Minister. A product of the socialist movement, Ramesh Kumar was a protege of Devaraj Urs. Ramesh Kumar was part of the Janata Party for over a decade, and later with the Janata Dal. He moved back to the Congress at the turn of the millennium. He is believed to be close to former CM Siddaramaiah. During the political crisis and Kumaraswamy's trust vote proceedings in the Assembly, Ramesh Kumar kept the mood lively with his usual wit. However, as the trust vote dragged on, he was upset and even kept a resignation letter in his pocket on the day of the trust vote -- to put in his papers if the vote was not held that day. An actor, a law student who didn't complete his course, and a science graduate, Ramesh Kumar has worn several hats in his career. In February, Ramesh Kumar callously compared himself to a rape survivor, in context an audio tape that was released. In a part of the tape, the person alleged to be Yeddyurappa had claimed that the BJP had ‘booked’ the Speaker for Rs 50 crore. “The rape has happened only once. If the rape victim had been quiet, it would have gone away,” he said.  

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BS Yediyurappa wins floor test in Karnataka Assembly

Politics

With the magic number reduced to 105, BJP won the floor test comfortably by a voice vote.

Soumya Chatterjee

Karnataka BJP president BS Yediyurappa, who took oath as Chief Minister of Karnataka for the fourth time on Friday, won the floor test on Monday without any hitch. With only 208 MLAs present in the House. Yediyurappa won comfortably by a voice vote, with all 105 BJP MLAs voting for him. Though the Governor directed Yediyurappa to prove his majority within a week’s time, he decided to do it by Monday so that he could get the Finance Bill passed before it lapses on July 31. Speaking in the Assembly, Yediyurappa said, "As I take charge as Chief Minister once again, I promise that i will not practice any form of hate politics. When Siddaramaiah was the CM and when HDK was the CM, they never indulged in politics of revenge. In the next few months I expect to work towards development. We all know how the state of affairs is right now and I want to rectify it. I do not want to indulge in politics of revenge. I believe in forgive and forget. I have the backing of my party high command and JP Nadda. We have to pass the finance and appropriation bill. Hence we had to act with efficiency. The state is reeling from drought and we must be prepared to work for it. For that reason I took oath as CM before the state went into a limbo." Monday’s development also cements the position of the new government in the state after days of political uncertainty since July 6, with 16 rebel MLAs of the Congress-JD(S) holed up in a Mumbai resort which resulted in the collapse of the government. Former CM HD Kumaraswamy had tendered his resignation on July 23 after losing the floor test. All the rebel MLAs now stand disqualified as Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar announced his decision on the 14 dissidents on Sunday after already having disqualified three MLAs on Thursday. This reduced the strength of the House to 208, with the magic number at 105. The BJP on its own has 105 MLAs. The disqualified MLAs are ST Somashekhar (Yeshwanthpura), BC Patil (Hirekerur), Shivaram Hebbar (Yellapur), Prathapgouda Patil (Maski), K Gopalaiah (Mahalakshmi Layout), AH Vishwanath (Hunasuru), Narayana Gowda (Krishanarajapete), Munirathna Naidu (RR Nagar), Roshan Baig (Shivajinagar), Byrathi Basavaraj (KR Puram), MTB Nagaraj (Hoskote), K Sudhakar (Chikkaballapura), Shrimant Patil (Kagwad) and Anand Singh (Vijayanagara). The MLAs who were disqualified on Thursday were Ramesh Jarkiholi (Gokak), Mahesh Kumathall (Athani) and R Shankar (Ranebennur). While Speaker Ramesh Kumar observed that they cannot re-contest elections until the expiry of the current Assembly term due to the disqualification, the rebel MLAs are set to contest the Speaker’s order in the High Court or the Supreme Court. If the Speaker’s verdict is upheld by the court, the rebels’ prospects of becoming ministers in the BS Yediyurappa government is out of contention. However, in the recent case of 18 AIADMK MLAs, who were disqualified in September 2017, they were allowed by the apex court and the Election Commission to contest the bye-elections held six months later. With bye-elections due in the 17 seats, according to political observers uncertainty might resurface in state politics again if the BJP fails to match the magic number of 113 MLAs in the full House. And if the rebels make their way back to the Assembly on BJP tickets, Yediyurappa will find it hard to accommodate them in ministries. Noted political analyst Mahadeva Prakash said, “It would be very difficult for the BJP to manage the affairs following this. There will effectively have close to 20 MLAs of the outgoing government including two independents. All these MLAs have to be accommodated, and there are already factions within the BJP. So it will be a very ticklish situation for Yediyurappa to run the government safely.”

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Protest against Bengaluru metro authority over move to build on All Saints Church land

Protest

Activists want BMRCL to make minor changes to safeguard the environment and heritage of the All Saints Church.

TNM Staff

File image

Members of All Saints Church Congregation Welfare Association and other city residents held a protest on Sunday to persuade the Bangalore Metropolitan Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) to stick to their original plan.   According to the original plan, the station was to be built on Hosur Road. Instead, now BMRCL wants to build the station on the church land, after demolishing a school for children with learning and cognitive disabilities as well as an old age home. Many also fear that the construction activity will impact the heritage church structure itself. “As per the DPR (detailed project report), the track and station box were planned under Hosur Road. The BMRCL has violated it. The BMRCL will leave behind a land with only three feet deep soil of no use. No rainwater can percolate, resulting in flooding of the church premises,” Ronald Fernandez, one of the protestors, told Deccan Herald. The land which is inside the church premises according to the current plan will be primarily used by BMRCL to keep machinery and other equipment required which will be used for construction of Namma Metro’s Phase II project.  The All Saints Church Congregation Welfare Association and other residents want the BMRCL to use a vacant army land in the vicinity instead of cutting hundreds of trees inside the 150-year-old compound. Even the city’s Tree Committee, in its correspondence to the BMRCL, has asked the body to use the vacant military land for the purpose. The protesters also demand that the planned station be moved 75 meters to the left and move the track under the road as originally planned in the detailed project report. These changes, activists argue, will help save the natural environment, human health, heritage and the city’s future. They have threatened to go to court if BMRCL does not pay heed to their demands, threatening to slowing down the entire construction process of Gottigere-Nagavara Line as part of the Reach 6 of Phase-II.

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Karnataka BJP issues whip for trust vote on Monday

Politics

About 100 of the saffron party's 105 legislators have been staying at a private resort in the city's northern outskirts since July 12.

IANS

Karnataka's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday night issued a whip to all its 105 legislators to attend the Assembly on Monday from 11 a.m. when the trust vote will be moved by Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa for proving majority, a party official said. "The whip was issued at our legislature party meeting in the presence of Yediyurappa and all the MLAs at a hotel in the city. All the legislators have been told to be present in the Assembly by 11 a.m.," BJP spokesman G Madhusudan told IANS.. About 100 of the saffron party's 105 legislators have been staying at a private resort in the city's northern outskirts since July 12 when the 10-day monsoon session of the Assembly commenced and the month-long political crisis led to the fall of the 14-month-old JD-S-Congress coalition government on July 23 after its Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy lost the trust vote. "Though the Governor (Vajubhai Vala) directed the new Chief Minister to prove majority by July 31, Yediyurappa had announced on Friday that he would face the floor test on July 29, as the Finance Bill had to be moved later in the day and passed by July 31." With the Assembly strength reduced to 208 from 225, including a nominated member after Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar disqualified 17 Congress-Janata Dal-Secular rebel legislators, 105 is the new halfway mark for simple majority, which the BJP has. "With the support of Independent H. Nagesh, our party's strength is 106, one more than the halfway mark to win the trust vote," Madhusudan said. If Congress legislator B. Nagendra, who is in a private hospital here for treatment, and Bahujan Samaj Party member N. Mahesh abstain from the Assembly as they did on July 23, the effective strength for the floor test will be 206, with 104 as the magic figure for proving majority. Post-disqualification, the strength of the Congress has reduced to 64 from 78, excluding the Speaker and that of JD-S to 34 from 37. On July 23, with 20 legislators - 15 rebels, two sick Congress MLAs, two Independents and the BSP member - absent, the Assembly strength was 205, with 103 the mark for majority. The JD-S-Congress coalition lost the motion as their combined strength was 99 against 105 of the BJP.

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