Two attendees and two members of support staff tested positive for the virus.
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BDA to hold virtual public consultation meet on Peripheral Ring Road as planned
Meanwhile, activists have demanded that the BDA share the DPR of the project so that it can be scrutinized.
The contentious virtual conference for Benaglureans to comment and suggest changes to the draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report of the Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) Project will go on as planned. The project is facing stiff opposition from the public as it is going to uproot 33,800 trees and affect multiple water bodies. The PRR project involves laying 65.5 kilometres of an eight-lane road network between Tumakuru Road on the west and Hosur Road on the east via Ballari Road and Old Madras Road. It may be recalled that a physical meeting on August 18 for the same purpose saw very few people attend due to major confusion. While Forest Minister Anand Singh had asked the meeting to be cancelled the previous evening, the Bengaluru Deputy Commissioner and officials of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board and the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) went ahead with the meeting. A section of activists had demanded that the public consultation process be postponed given the sharp increase of daily COVID-19 cases in Bengaluru. BDA Chairman Mahadev R on Friday told TNM that residents can join the meeting on Zoom on September 3 (Meeting ID: 850 1729 9310, Passcode-bpe2020). He said the meeting will be held at 12 pm and those who cannot attend the meeting can send their comments in writing to: eeddaprr@gmail.co before September 15. The Chairman’s statement comes on the day many residents under the aegis of Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB) wrote to him to release the detailed project report (DPR). Tara Krishnaswamy, co-founder of CfB asked, “We find it irreconcilable that a public consultation can be scheduled without the public availability of the DPR! How are the public expected to feed back when no plan has been shared?” She added, “Given the largeness of the project, cost and huge ecological impact, at least two weeks’ time must be provided to examine the DPR prior to public consultation.” When TNM asked Mahadev when the DPR will be made public, he said they are yet to finalise and cannot give a date at this moment. He said, “We are yet to finalise how to integrate PRR with NICE Road and other close by road networks, then only we can publish the DPR.” Vijay Nishanth, Bengaluru-based conservationist and a member of Biodiversity Management Committee of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) questioned the intention of the government agencies. “This truly shows how they do not care about the public opinion. Who will take responsibility for all the confusion that was created for the August 18 meet? Also, what is the hurry of going ahead with the project during the pandemic when it is delayed for so long already. How can only 150 people decide in a virtual meeting what’s good for the city?” he told TNM.
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Mass tourism has choked Kodagu: How the hill station can regain its former glory
Proliferation of hotels and unregulated tourism has threatened not just the fragile ecology of Kodagu but the very fabric of the indigenous communities.
Coffee estate in Coorg
There was a time when Kodagu was hailed as Karnataka’s best kept secret. The concept of tourism was unheard of in this hush-hush paradise. It was only in the early 90s when the Ramapuram brothers opened Orange County Resorts in their 300-acre property that this idyllic district came to be known to the outside world. The owners had to hard sell Kodagu first as a destination and then their themed working plantation resort to the discerning upmarket traveller. “Our signature holidays that preserve the purity of nature and culture on the land catapulted Kodagu to the national and international tourist map. Our tagline, ‘Spirit of the Land in luxury’ was calibrated to deliver coffee, spice and plantation life experiences to reflect the true spirit of Kodagu,” says Jose Ramapuram, Director, Evolve Back (formerly Orange County Resorts). With its green-topped hills, downs and mist-cloaked valleys, Kodagu was once akin to scenic Europe. The nostalgic British christened it ‘Scotland of India.’ One could savour a new refreshing experience while cruising past the vast coffee plantations, swathes of lush rice paddy fields and dense jungles. In Kodagu you can walk through a waterfall, count coffee beans, and interact with planters. It is indeed the illustrious land of coffee, cardamom, colonels, charming women, Cariappas and Cauvery. With the proliferation of resorts, hotels and homestays this once quiet district evolved into a highly sought-after destination. But the current tourism scenario in Kodagu is appalling. As one enters Kodagu, instead of display boards heralding tourists a welcome, one can see boards exhorting tourists to ‘Visit Kodagu less often as mass tourism destroys Kodagu’ and posters of the ‘Save Kodagu and Cauvery’ campaign. Pic courtesy: Coorg Wildlife Society Mass tourism or overtourism was the raging problem in Kodagu during the pre-lockdown days. “One of the main reasons for local opposition to tourists is overtourism. The recent landslides and floods in Kodagu can be attributed to a large extent to deforestation and indiscriminate felling of trees to make way for unplanned development, some of them for tourism. There has to be a fine balance between tourism and sustainability,” says Ayappa Somaiah, CEO, Tattva Trails. “More than the NGOs, it is the local population along with the Panchayats that are monitoring the garbage disposal by resorts and tourists. There have been many instances where tourists were made to clear the garbage that they had disposed on the roadside. Though plastic has been officially banned in the district much before it was implemented in other places, the problem of garbage, sewage and effluents flowing to natural water bodies and the use of plastic by tourists still continues. Now with safety and hygiene being given the highest importance, it is imperative that steps are taken towards proper disposal of garbage and sewage,” adds Somaiah. Omkareshwara Temple Proliferation of hotels, and rampant and unregulated tourism has threatened not just the fragile and precious ecology of Kodagu but the very societal fabric of the indigenous communities. “Towns like Madikeri are already reeling under water shortage and lack of proper waste management systems, amid rampant littering of non-degradable material and waste. Pollution and improper location of hotels is another aspect. Kodagu has lost hundreds of acres of tree cover to the construction of resorts and hotels. In several cases, the construction is done on steep slopes that have been gouged to build the foundation,” bemoans Colonel Muthanna, President, Coorg Wildlife Society, an NGO that has been in the forefront of ecological and environmental issues facing the district. Talacauvery Kodagu is choked with the spurt in tourist arrivals, automobile pollution and the interminable traffic jams clogging roads that were not built to accommodate such vehicle inflow. The explosion of homestays and the thousands of unregistered and illegal accommodations have also contributed to overtourism. “Degradation of Iruppu Falls in South Kodagu due to uncontrolled entry of tourists, blatant disrespect of the sacred areas at Bhagamandala due to mass outdoor cooking by tourists and direct pollution to the Cauvery at its source, overcrowding at prominent tourist spots such as Iruppu, Abbey Falls, Chelavara and Dubare during weekends are other problems plaguing Kodagu. The burgeoning tourist vehicular movement causing severe disturbance to elephants and escalating the human-animal conflict in Nagerhole is also a major concern,” laments Col Muthanna. While Kodagu’s population is 6 lakh, the number of tourists was a whopping 18 lakh in 2019. Mass tourism only aggravates the problem as it exceeds the carrying capacity of the destination. Bhagandeswara Temple To curtail the unbridled growth of tourism, the focus should be on reducing the footfall. “We should emulate the example of Kumarakom, which has become a niche destination with high-end hotels, resorts and homestays. With lesser footfall sans any garbage, Kumarakom is a ‘zero waste destination’. It’s high time the government earmarked certain areas of Coorg under a similar scheme,” suggests Somaiah. What is also needed is a sustainable tourism strategy. “Some of the steps formulated by stakeholders are – local employment, usage of local produce and eco-friendly products in their properties. Connecting tourists with nature by way of plantation walks and treks to nearby areas, and sensitising them to protect nature as well as proper disposal of garbage, treatment and recycling of waste water, proper flow of sewage to avoid contaminating natural water bodies, and usage of solar power to supplement the electricity requirements should be implemented,” explains Somaiah. Issuing a fixed number of visitor passes per day to some of the tourist spots like Bhagamandala and Talacauvery could also be considered. Strict implementation of traffic rules must be undertaken by the police. Heavy vehicles like buses must be banned from entering the important towns in the district. Being a hilly region, roads are narrow and movement of heavy vehicles leads to traffic jams and congestion. Tourists who arrive in buses must be stopped from cooking on the roadside and sleeping in the buses. This does not contribute anything to the local economy but adds to the pollution and garbage. The local populace should be sensitised to the benefits of tourism to local economy and employment. To popularise personalised holidays, homestays should offer meaningful local experiences so that tourists can immerse themselves in the destination. If these problems facing the local populace and the travel fraternity in Kodagu are tackled on a war footing by the government, this idyllic paradise will soon regain its former glory. It’s time to rethink, re-imagine and reboot in a more sustainable way to help save the natural beauty and peace of Kodagu. The need of the hour is responsible, planned and controlled tourism in Kodagu. All pictures by Susheela Nair Susheela Nair is an independent food, travel and lifestyle writer, and photographer based in Bangalore. She has contributed content, articles and images on food, travel, lifestyle, photography, environment and ecotourism to several reputed national publications. Her writings constitute a wide spectrum, including guide books, brochures and coffee table books.
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Bengaluru's techies and entrepreneurs invest in real estate as property rates fall
TNM spoke to home buyers developers and consultants in the real estate sector to understand the current situation.
Tejaswi, a 30-year-old scientific analyst, who works for a biotech company in Bengaluru is all set to buy a 2-bedroom apartment inside a gated community in Kengeri for Rs 42 lakh. He is even obtaining a loan of Rs 10 lakh at an interest rate of 7.5%. “I have been looking to buy a house since the last one year and this is an opportunity as the prices have reduced and there are incentives to obtain loans at lesser rates of interest,” he said. Before the lockdown, the developer had quoted a price of Rs 48 lakh for the same flat, he said, while adding that several apartments that he had viewed as options, are also offering various incentives. Due to the pandemic, property rates in Bengaluru have dipped, although real estate developers shy away from admitting the same. Micheal, a 37-year-old entrepreneur in the city, bought a 2-bedroom house in Cox Town for Rs 1.2 crore. Micheal, who has also been considering various options, said that in February this year, the same house was priced at 1.9 crore. “I looked at the suburbs also, including areas like Kengeri. There the price for a 2 BHK flat in a gated community was priced at Rs 52 lakh. Now, the price is the same but earlier, there were floor charges. The higher the floor, the more money it cost. Now, that is gone. I took a loan to buy the house and the interest rate was also lower,” Micheal said. Tejaswi, who had also viewed flats constructed by the same group corroborated said that the flats were being sold at Rs 52 lakh. Arun Puri, Chairman of Anarock Property Consultants says that for housing, enquiries have reached over 60% of what developers saw before the COVID-19 pandemic, with Bengaluru leading in the number of people enquiring to buy a house. “The city is doing remarkably well with enquiries reaching 85% of the peak pre-COVID-19 levels, Mumbai with 55-65% and Gurugram at nearly 65%. Homebuyers are gradually coming out and we hope the festive season will see significant increase in demand,” said Arun Puri, Chairman of Anarock Property Consultants. Suresh Hari, Chairman of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India’s Bangalore chapter, said that many developers, who are currently in the process of constructing houses or apartments and were halfway through before the lockdown, are now altering their plans to accommodate the growing demand. In addition, he said that many developers are offering incentives like providing better quality fixtures and keeping the rate of the house the same as it was before the lockdown, removing floor charges for high rise apartments and even giving more room for buyers to negotiate. IT/BT crowd and entrepreneurs among those buying houses Suresh said that although in April, May and June there was a dip in the rates at which properties were bought in Bengaluru, the demand is growing now. “Most people prefer to buy larger luxury houses. The IT and BT crowd are gravitating towards buying luxury apartments in the suburban areas,” Suresh said, while adding that the pandemic has also resulted in a new segment of buyers for utility housing. “We have seen a 25% increase in demand for utility housing. Mostly, we used to witness this demand from the IT employees but now there has been a shift. Self employed persons and entrepreneurs are looking for utility housing,” Suresh added. Anarock’s data suggests that there is a 30-40% increase in property seekers in the city scouting for 3BHK houses with an average size of 1800 sq ft. This is primarily due to the work from home concept, where couples with children are looking for individual spaces to work comfortably. Arun Puri maintains that there is growing excitement among Bengalureans to buy empty plots of land, post the lockdown. He said that although the demand is more for fully constructed apartments in gated communities, the interest for purchasing land is also growing. “Although apartments are selling more, there is a growing interest by the IT professionals to buy plots on which they can later construct a villa/house. Moreover, with extended work from home option until the end of the year and possibly till next year, many professionals consider it a viable option to buy plots and construct their new abode and live in open spaces with ample flora and fauna around. Some of the prominent areas with increasing interest include Sarjapur Road, at Whitefield-Sarjapur Road that further extends up to Electronic City and Hosur Road,” Arun Puri added. Millenials looking to become homeowners Anarock’s survey conducted during the lockdown indicated that millennials form a huge market for buying properties. “If we look at the current trends, the basics of life – Roti, Kapda and Makaan – have become more relevant than ever, even for the younger lot who lived life on-the-go. The security associated with owning a physical asset during a coronavirus-like crisis coupled with rising aversion to high-risk investments is giving home buying a new impetus. In another positive, ‘home ownership’ among millennials is also gaining preference. Their (millennials) preferences are now dictated by the prevailing uncertainties, stock market volatility and recent-past financial sector incidents. Many of them now prefer buying over renting homes,” he added. Suresh Hari said that even young adults and mostly millenials are also looking at investing in buying properties. “We all wonder whether more people are actually interested in buying properties since many people are losing jobs and getting laid off. But millennials are also buying. They see it as an essential thing. An investment and an opportunity to have a home of their own,” he said. What property developers want CREDAI and other real estate associations have written to the Karnataka government demanding that stamp duty on property registrations be reduced. The stamp duty charges were reduced in Maharashtra, which has led to lucrative offers for property buyers. This has also helped the real estate sector in the state. “Of the total 33,500 ready homes in Pune and Mumbai presently, nearly 44% are in the affordable category priced less than Rs 40 lakh, followed by 26% in the mid-segment priced between Rs 40 lakh to Rs 80 lakh, 19% in Rs 80 lakh to Rs 1.5 Cr price bracket, and the remaining 11% in the luxury segment priced above Rs 1.5 Cr,” Arun Puri said. Suresh maintains that if Karnataka follows in the footsteps of Maharashtra, it could provide an impetus for the real estate sector. “Developers have been incentivising and adapting to changing times. We really need the government to step up and acknowledge the importance of the real estate sector. Neary 150 sectors depend on the real estate industry to thrive. If stamp duty is reduced, more people can be incentivised to buy properties and the industry can be revived. In Bengaluru especially, it can soar as it is one of the major areas where property development is the most profitable,” he added. TNM tried to contact the Secretary of the Revenue Department (Stamps and Registrations), but was unable to obtain a reaction.
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Bengaluru Airport calls for proposals for artwork to be displayed at Terminal 2
The proposals, invited for specific locations across T2, must be original and not replicas of previous work.
Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL) has placed a call inviting people to send in their artwork. It has invited artists and art groups to submit proposals for art to be featured at Terminal 2 of Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru. The T2 terminal is set to reflect two themes: Karnataka’s rich heritage and culture and, naurasa – the nine emotions highlighted in Bharata's Natyashastra. The proposals, invited for specific locations across T2, must be original and not replicas of previous work. An independent advisory panel and BIAL stakeholders are set to evaluate the proposals. They are set to display artwork ranging across mediums from sculptures to digital art. A BIAL spokesperson said that the Bengaluru Airport is a “gateway to new India” and that they aim to give travellers a true experience of the state and the country. He added that art has an amazing ability to create delight and provide wonder and that these installations might do just that to an otherwise mundane act of boarding a flight. BIAL’s Art Programme is set to include permanent displays and rotating exhibitions. It is an attempt at creating a space for sharing stories about Bangaluru Airport, Bengaluru’s culture and the people who make it unique. The Art Programme hopes to create lighter moments at the terminal and evoke a feeling of pride among the people of Karnataka, a media release said. Gardens will be a primary focus in the terminal and the atmosphere might have high humidity. Artists were requested to keep this in mind while proposing their ideas. The artist’s age and educational background is not a criterion for selection, BIAL has said. However, other supporting documents like Curriculum Vitae outlining exhibition history of the artist, fellowships and awards are essential. They are also required to submit images of their previous artwork. Once submitted, the proposal is subject to multiple evaluations. These evaluations will be done by Art Advisory Panel that was appointed by BIAL and BIAL stakeholders across various levels. The Art Advisory Panel is an independent advisory panel that will evaluate the proposals. Artists are requested to submit their proposals before October 15, 2020, to artprogramme@bialairport.com. The Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru is spread across 4,000 acres and is located about 30 kilometres north of the city, near the suburb of Devanahalli. The airport opened in May 2008 as an alternative to the increased congestion at HAL Airport. Also Read: No govt guidelines, TN hostels may impose strict measures before re-opening
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Murder of homeless woman and necrophilia caught on CCTV camera in Karnataka
The Hassan police have formed two teams to nab the unidentified man.
Screen grab from CCTV footage
A horrifying act of murder and necrophilia has occurred in Karnataka’s Hassan district and the entire incident has been caught on CCTV camera. At 12.03 am on August 26, a man wearing a white shirt and blue jeans can be seen creeping up to the side of a pavement, where two homeless people are sleeping. He suddenly lifts his hands and it is then that one can see him holding a huge cement block in his hands. He drops the block onto the homeless person sleeping on the right corner of the pavement and he runs away. Between 12.03 and 12.40 am, the homeless woman can be seen struggling with her head injury. The woman tries to move and leans against the wall located onto her right. At around 12.42 pm, the same man returns, only to find that only the woman in the pink saree, whom he attempted to kill, has a bleeding wound on her head and is struggling. By tthen the man, who was sleeping next to the homeless woman would have left the spot. The man with the white shirt and blue jeans tries to grab her and is seen forcing her to stand up. The woman, however, pushes him away and he leaves. At 12.58 am, the same man, once again walks towards the pavement. The woman is now seen lying down. He picks up the same cement brick and once again throws it on her head and runs away. He returns just three minutes later, only to find that she is dead. The man goes on to rape her dead body. The incident occurred near Bengaluru-Mangaluru Road in Hassan near the Kannika Parameshwari Temple. The CCTV camera was installed by a co-operative bank, located adjacent to the pavement, where the woman was murdered. Hassan district Superintendent of Police Srinivas Gowda told TNM that the man is yet to be identified and that two teams have been formed to trace him. In addition, a technical team has also been formed to look for clues based on forensic evidence gathered at the scene. Hassan police said that they have questioned the other homeless man, who was sleeping on the pavement next to the woman as well. Currently, the police have registered a case under section 302 (murder). “The man first killed the woman and then he had intercourse with the dead body. We are waiting for the forensic report to come in first before we can add more sections to the FIR since this is a sensitive case,” Srinivas Gowda added.
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Karnataka HC appoints retired judge to assess damage caused by Bengaluru riots
The same retired judge had probed the alleged illegal Arkavathy Layout denotification case against ex-CM Siddaramaiah.
The Karnataka High Court, on Friday, appointed Justice (retired) HS Kempanna, a retired judge of the same HC, as the Claims Commissioner to assess damage to public and private properties as a result of the August 11 Bengaluru riots. Justice (retd) Kempanna had worked 17 years as a District and Sessions Judge for 17 years before being appointed as an additional judge in the HC in 2010. He had earlier led a one-man commission which probed the Arkavathy Layout denotification case against former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in 2014. The commission had submitted its report to the government in 2017. During that time the BJP had criticised the commission’s functioning calling it a sham as it never called either Siddaramaiah, the then CM or the then Leader of Opposition Jagadish Shettar. As widely reported, Bengaluru witnessed an incident of mob violence in DJ Halli and KG Halli Police Station limits on August 11 over a provocative and communally-charged social media post. As a result of the arson, the house of one city MLA Akhanda Srinivas Murthy and the DJ Halli police station was partially gutted. Many vehicles were burnt among other damages to property. Incidentally, it was the MLA’s nephew Naveen who made the provocative post. He is also among the arrested. Already the state government has directed a magisterial probe by Bengaluru Urban Deputy Commissioner G N Shivamurthy. On the other hand the Central Crime Branch is leading the probe and have made the arrests. More than 300 people have been arrested in connection with the case and a total of 52 FIRs (first information report) was registered. Among the bigwigs who have been nabbed by police are from the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and Muzammil Pasha and Kaleem Pasha, the husband of a Congress corporator Irshad Begum. Three persons died of bullet injuries as police resorted to open fire to contain the escalating violence. A fourth person who was arrested by police in connection with the riots had also died due to complications of a preexisting health condition. The retired judge will investigate liability of the arsonists and award compensation to victims, the HC on Friday said. This comes after the state government on August 17 approached the HC bench headed by Chief Justice Abhay Oka for the same purpose. The government had been vocal about recovering the costs of the damages from the rioters. Among other charges of arson, the Central Crime Branch of police had invoked provisions of stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
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