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Country Club accused of Rs. 9 crore scam Police silent on cases of missing children; NGOs forced to pick up slack Endangered animals held in cramped cages; sold as pets
Citation preview
Vol.12 Issue 4 Indian Institute of Journalism & New Media, Bangalore 18 September 2012
by Nikita Malusare
A national leisure chain has been
accused of “organized cheating “by
clients who claim they are owed al-
most Rupees nine crore.
Country Club has faced over a
thousand claims from angry clients in
the last three years.
In Bangalore alone 12 cases are
currently going through court. Clients
claim they were misled by promo-
tional advertisements and exaggerated
promises.
The former members complained
about the aggressive marketing strate-
gies, such as the allotment of free land.
“This is organized cheating”, stated
Advocate Pratap Kumar who has
fought 25 cases against the club in the
last five years.
He added: “The club knows peo-
ple will be interested in investing in
plots and benefits, and many young-
sters fall prey to such offers.
The government should blacklist
such fraudulent enterprises and book
them under the unfair trade practices
act, so that people will stop investing
in such schemes.”
1045 cases have been registered at
Bangalore Consumer Disputes Re-
dressal Forum, Urban.
Most of the cases revolve around
free allotment of free land at Tumkur
Road which is underdeveloped and is
located far away from the city.
Jagdish Poojari , one of the many
complainants, was promised a plot of
land and a holiday package along with
free flight tickets on purchasing a “Mr.
Cool” membership card .
The card, costing Rs. 85,000
promised the buyer a free plot of land
at the Country Club Coconut Grove in
Tumkur Road, as well as holiday
packages to Goa.
When the members were not allot-
ted land for over a year, they grew sus-
picious and called the country club to
enquire about the delay.
These enquiries were largely ig-
nored by the club’s management and
staff.
A new site was later allotted to the
Mr. Cool card holders at Vedic Coun-
try Spa project 11. Complainants state
that this site is over 40 kms away from
the Bangalore city and is underdevel-
oped. Hasmukh G Lodhia, 64, had re-
ceived a congratulatory call form the
club for being the winner of a raffle
and was asked to collect his gift from
their office.
At the office he was offered a
membership for Rs. 1, 05,000 and an
offer to travel free of cost anywhere in
India, along with free accommodation
in the ‘A’ grade hotels. Accepting the
membership, Hasmukh and his family
planned a trip to Mumbai, with the use
of his club membership.
However, after reaching the hotel
at Mumbai where the Country Club
had acquired lodging for him, the
hotel insisted that he pay for his stay,
and not use the offers which his club
membership entailed.
Hasmukh was asked to pay book-
ing deposit and transportation charges
by the hotel management, saying that
they did not trust the club as it had de-
faulted its payments many times in the
past.
He then filed a written complaint
to the club, asking them to reimburse
the expenses incurred by him. The
club agreed for a part-settlement and
promised to deposit the rest into his
account, which remains pending.
Based on a verdict passed by the
Bangalore Consumer Forum, the
country club was asked to refund
Rs. 85,000 to its Hasmukh along with
the interest, within four weeks from
the date of the verdict.
However, even after the lapse of
an entire year, the club has failed to
abide by the directive. A lawyer for
one of the complainants, Anees
Ahmed, said, “The refund money
takes over 6 to 7 months to process.
There is no strict action being taken in
light of the delay. The club continues
to fool other members and makes
money out of memberships.”
The club maintains that it has no
provision to cancel any of the mem-
berships it has issued to its clients.
They also claim that members file
cases in a bid to avoid annual mainte-
nance payment. Hasmukh himself
owes Rs. 7991 to the club.
The officials of the country club,
when contacted by The Observer, re-
fused to comment on the story.
Country Clubs network all over India
Country Club accused of Rs. 9 crore scam
Police silent on cases of missing children; NGOs forced to pick up slackby Kriti Khandelwal
Vital details of missing children are
not being passed on by police.
As soon as a missing person’s re-
port is filed, the officers in charge are
required to circulate the missin g per-
son’s details and photographs to police
stations across the city on the same
day.
But when asked, D K Varde-
gowda, Assistant Sub-Inspector at
Wilson Garden Police Station, said
that it takes more than one day to in-
form other police stations about the
FIR registered against a missing per-
son. “Through the wireless device, we
tell the police stations within three
days.” he said.
As of the end of May this year
only 61.6 percent of missing children
have been traced so far. The where-
abouts of the rest are still unknown,
according to figures provided by the
Missing Children Bureau (MCB) in
Karnataka
The MCB, which has an ambit
across 20 districts of Karnataka, has
begun using non-governmental or-
ganizations to help them track missing
children.
When parents or police file an FIR
or missing person’s report involving a
child, the MCB provides them with in-
formation which can be easily ac-
cessed on their website. They then
inform the parents that their child is in
a specific NGO.
The NGOs help the police track
missing children by providing them
with a human touch, as opposed to the
police authorities.
Many NGOs also provide basic
counseling to children as well as to
their parents and try to sort out the dif-
ferences.
Mrs. Pushpa Natta, the Assistant
Coordinator of MCB District Banga-
lore Urban, said that it’s not only chil-
dren from BPL families who go
missing. “When you talk to children,
you come to know that problems are
faced by children from good families
as well.” Children who are found also
take time to open up and talk, she said.BOSCO, an NGO, reveals increase in number of missing children.
Statistics of the runaway children from KSRTC bus stand
Students at Kengeri Bus
Station face trouble in get-
ting bus passes.
Page 2
Exotic animals sold in
cramped cages at Russell
market.
Page 3
Cauvery water supply a
persistent issue with the
residents of Ramamurthi
Nagar.
Page 2
News Digest
2 The Weekly Observer 18 September 2012
Residents of Rammurthi Nagar still
not getting water although BWSSB
promised to supply Cauvery water
in 2006.
Despite complaining for over eight
years, urging the authorities to take the
initiative in supplying water to their
households, the BWSSB has failed to
listen to the residents’ grievances.
The Cauvery water supply scheme
was commissioned by the state gov-
ernment in 2004. The BWSSB (Ban-
galore Water Supply and Sewerage
Board) completed the installation
processes for most residents who de-
manded new water connections, by
2006.
The new connections were secured
by the residents after paying the bene-
ficiary contribution of Rs. 2500 to the
authorities.
The deadline set by the BWSSB
for receiving applications was Sep-
tember 2005. Those who applied for
connections after the deadline were
asked to pay a penalty of Rs. 3000.
“I really don’t know why I should
pay a fine of Rs. 3000 extra for a new
water connection when we are not
even given water for drinking,” said
Mr. John, a resident.
There are four bore wells for over
two thousand households in the local-
ity, of which the water from only two
bore wells is accessible.
The working bore wells are sub-
merged in drainage and waste dumps.
Currently these two water sources
have almost dried up due to drought
and residents hardly access water from
them.
Residents claim that the pump op-
erator appointed by BWSSB to help
residents access water from the bore
wells, shows up once every two days.
“It will take two weeks to repair
the pump if it is damaged and we are
forced to buy tanker water from pri-
vate suppliers that will cost Rs. 1000
per tanker,” said Mr. N S Ajanappa,
Secretary of Ramaurthi Nagar Welfare
Association. He further added, “the
cost sometimes goes beyond
Rs.1500.”
When asked about the water short-
age at Ramamurthi Nagar, the
BWSSB refused to issue any comment
but said that connections to the various
households will be completed shortly.
Residents believe that the water
connections issued under the Cauvery
Water Supply Scheme will be polluted
by water from the drainage canals, as
the sunk bore wells come in close
proximity to the sewer lines.
In spite of filing complaints to the
ward councillor and the local MLA for
the past six years, there has been no
progress in the construction of the sup-
ply lines.
“The Councillor and MLA are
nowhere to be seen in the locality. We
have almost completely given up all
hope that our voics will be heard,”
said Mr. Karthik, a resident and shop-
keeper of Rammurthi Nagar.
The problem of falling aquifer lev-
els was also one of the problems dis-
cussed by the residents. Aravind, a
resident, said, “We used to strike
aquifers at around 100-200 feet below
the ground, but nowadays, we don’t
get water even if we bore down 500 or
even 600 feet.”
The residents say that the govern-
ment is apathetic to their plight and
show no signs of addressing their con-
cerns.
“Water is an essential commodity.
It is part of the right to lead a life of
dignity, ” says Bettenekera Gowda,
another local who has lived in the area
for the last 7 years. “The government
has been indifferent to the complaints
lodged by us” said he.
The issue has not been addressed
for a long time although residents have
been registering their protests in the
form of written complaints.
Water a scarce commodity for people living in Rammurthi Nagar
By Deepu Aby
Sex workers in Bangalore are strug-
gling to get proper healthcare due to
problems in obtaining identity
cards.
“Most of the sex workers do not
stay at a fixed location and neither do
they have families. They are either
trafficked or flee from their homes due
to gender inequity or violence and are
reluctant to revealtheir identities,
“says Mr. Augustine C Kaunds, the
coordinator of SPAD (Society for Peo-
ple’s Action for Development)
The Lack of identity cards as well
as ration cards restricts them from ac-
cessing many facilities. They do not
have access to basic facilities, health
being important. Most of the HIV pos-
itive workers have to struggle even to
get free treatment in government hos-
pitals.
Mr. Augustine
added that many of
these women have chil-
dren and want to enroll
them in schools, but ad-
mission is denied to
them because they do
not possess identity
cards. He also said
they were being dis-
criminated as they were
not able to mention the
name of their fathers.
The Karnataka sex
workers union had rec-
ommended health cards
for free medical treat-
ment of sex workers
with STD’s in all dis-
tricts and taluks. Pen-
sions, treatment for
sex-workers’ partners
and supply of condoms in rural and
urban areas were the other additional
demands by the union, which they be-
lieve, should be part of the 12th five
year plan of the government of India.
Though, the plan states that atten-
tion will be given to more vulnerable
groups like female sex workers.
Bangalore’s Invisible Sex Workers
By Amrita
Students forced to shell out more for bus passes
No ID card, No health care -Amrita
By Vintu
Paying extra bucks for the bus passes -Vintu
Veteran journalist Kuldip Nayar ad-
dressed a seminar on the ailing Indian
democracy in Bangalore on Friday.
In the seminar conducted at the
Bangalore International Centre, Mr.
Nayar said that fundamentalism and
communalism are a threat to
democracy in India. He also held
poverty, religious fundamentalism
and casteism as hurdles which can
derail democratic form of govern-
ment.
Referring to Anna Hazarey’s anti-
corruption movement Mr. Nayar be-
came nostalgic remembering the
Jaypraksh movement of the 1980s.
“However,eventually, the govern-
ment got the better of him. If Anna’s
movement begins again under his
leadership, it will aid in rejuvenating
the democratic setup” said Mr.
Nayar.
Discussing about the freedom of
expression and Fundamental Rights
for Indian citizens Mr. Nayar cited the
example of emergency during the
1970s when Indira Gandhi was the
Prime Minister. He said that all the
basic rights were suspended during
that period including the right to free-
dom of speech..
Mr. Nayar also spoke about ‘tal-
ibanisation of cities in India’.Talking
about the religious fundamentalism
making its roots in India, he said that
in the current scenario there is a
prevalent mistrust between Hindus
and Muslims. He insisted that this
feeling of hatred towards each other
should be contained.
A question on whether the illiter-
ate strata of the society should be
included in the democratic system
was answered by Mr. Nayar in the
form of an Urdu couplet. He meant
to say that “in a democratic system,
people are counted, not weighed”.
He stressed that in a democratic
form of government success can only
be guaranteed when the educated
masses play their role effectively.
Mr Nayar asked the media to play a
more augmented role in its duties to-
wards the public and the nation. He
also showcased the positive side of
democracy by telling that only in a
democratic nation can people gather
together and discuss about the failure
of democracy. “The faith of people in
the electoral reforms of India is very
strong. Democracy is going to stay”
said MrNayar.
An Urdu couplet asking the politi-
cians not to play with the emotions
of citizens was recited by Mr Nayar
towards the end of the seminar.
He concluded the seminar by ex-
tending an invitation for his book
launch on Saturday evening at the
Taj West End in Bangalore.
Nayar: “Fundamentalism and Communalism
are a threat to democracy in India.”
Kuldip Nayar -Deepu
By Sumit
A water meter which was installed in 2006 is still not working
Students have to pay extra cash to
get bus passes issued from Kengeri
Bus station. .
Officials at the Kengeri Satellite
bus station demand extra money
alongwith documents and identity
proof for easy issuance of bus passes.
This incident is common with col-
lege students especially when the
queue at the counter is not very long.
in the absence of general public, offi-
cials freeel free to demand money.
“They made me pay additional
money by notifying no-mistakes as
wrongs with the submission. They de-
manded 200 rupees extra from me if I
needed the pass,” said Sumit, a student
The easy prey of BMTC person-
nel’s target are students from outside
the state. As they do not know the
local language and lack proper knowl-
edge of the system, they can be de-
ceived easily.
“We have no other way but pay
whatever they demand as we are in
dire need of acquiring the pass,” said
another student, who had to pay 100
rupees more than the required fees.
The amount fixed by BMTC for
students of professional and technical
courses is 1750 rupees for 12 months.
As per the instructions given on the
form and the website of BMTC, stu-
dents need to produce only their iden-
tity card and fee receipt of the college
along with two passport size photos in
order to attain pass.
But students say that they have
been asked to produce a bona fide cer-
tificate without which the officials do
not issue a pass.
“I was asked to pay Rs. 200 extra
under the claim that I had no bona fide
certificate, which is not a requirement
for issuing the pass,” said Mohini, a
student of Mechanical Engineering.
A BMTC officer, contacted for
clarification with regard to the issue,
said, “An identity card, two passport
size photos and fee receipt from the
college along with 1750 rupees are the
only requirement for engineering and
other professional students to procure
a pass.”
But the personnel at the counter
demand some other documents which
the students may not be possessing so
as to extract some extra money.
“Having all the requirements at
hand, I requested them a lot to have
the pass issued yesterday. But they de-
nied me the pass saying that I have to
produce a bona fide certificate,” said
a student in the queue.
As BMTC try to ease the lives of
several students by subsidizing fees
and increasing the distance that they
can travel with their passes in the bus.
3 The Weekly Observer 18 September 2012
Endangered animals held in cramped cages; sold as petsVarious species of endangered
wildlife are being sold at Russell
Market and at other pet shops in the
city.
More than 50 species of animals
and birds, like the Golden Conure,
which is on the International Union for
the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
list of endangered species are sold in
the market and also at Pet shops
around the city.
Dogs, cats and hamsters are also
sold at these places, where they are
kept in cramped, dirty cages, lacking
space to move around, and even to
breathe freely.
Beside pet animals like dogs and
cats, exotic wildlife like the Conure,
Pygmy marmosets, Green-winged
Macaws, Pheasants, Lorikeets, Red-
eared sliders, Cockatoos and various
other bird species are chained to
cramped cages, and sold as pets.
The Golden Conure, or the Golden
Parakeet as it is otherwise known, is
listed as an endangered species in the
IUCN list of threatened animal
species. Abdul Wahab, the owner of a
pet shop, said that exotic birds like the
Golden Conure cost around Rs. 2 lakh.
“Sometimes, it takes up to a year or
two to sell each animal. Especially the
expensive ones,” he added
Though the shopkeepers are not in
breach of Indian law in selling these
animals, as only native Indian species
are protected by the government, the
animals being sold at these shops face
increasing amounts of mental and
physical trauma.
“These animals may be protected
species in their own countries, but in
India, they do not come under the
purview of the wildlife authorities,”
said S. Pallavi, a project officer of the
World Wildlife Fund.
Some of the birds, after years of
confinement to small cages, have
started losing their minds, and flit aim-
lessly from one end of the cage to the
other. “The birds are subject to
tremendous psychological stress. They
are sometimes adopted alone and are
not fed properly,” says Sumanth Mad-
hav, a wildlife activist.
Sumanth added that the mar-
mosets and the turtles, such as the red-
eared slider become increasingly
aggressive once they reach sexual ma-
turity. “There are instances where peo-
ple’s fingers have been bitten off,” he
said.
The aggressive species of animals,
like the red-eared slider, are then aban-
doned by their owners, often at lakes
and rivers. This leads to the animals
decimating local bird populations by
preying on them. The non-native
species of birds also spread diseases to
the local wildlife.
Sumanth said that though there are
no laws for dealing with the trade in
non-native species of wildlife, the
confinement of these animals is “ethi-
cally wrong”, and the rising demand
from people who wish to own them as
exotic pets is the most important factor
contributing to this burgeoning
industry.
Students risking lives to dodge fares Social media seminar held in the city
The role of the media and social net-
working sites in the exodus of the
north-eastern people during the
month of August was scrutinized in
a seminar conducted in Bangalore.
The whole event was moderated
by Vincent Subramaniam, the co-
founder and editor of ‘India Together’
and ‘Citizen Matters’ in St. Joseph-
College. The audience actively partic-
ipated in the talk show helping it turn
into a success.
The show consisted of some emi-
nent panelists like — Subir Ghosh, a
specialist in media matters, Dinesh
Kumar, a senior journalist and-
Lawrence Lian, a lawyer. Three
North- Eastern students represented
their community. They also shared
their real-life experiences at the time
of their exodus.
Kim, a post graduate student of
political science said she received a
message on her phone. It read, “Four
north easterners have died, be cau-
tious.” She also said “after receiving
the message I was really scared, and
my parents were worried about me, so
I didn’t had any option other than
leaving the city”
P.D. Joseph, a student who was in
charge of the those who stayed in the
college during the exodus period said
“there were 45 students, who took
shelter in our college during the time
of exodus, out of which one student
was from another college. We spent
our days in fear.”He also added that
the college did their best in providing
security.The police were also lauded
for their efforts in protecting the stu-
dents and helping restore calm in the
city.
Mr. Subir Ghosh, speaking on the
topic of communalism said, “This
whole matter of communalism is very
complex.” He also asked journalists to
be more people centric. According to
Mr. Lawrence said: “Most of the news
related to the exodus was completely
based on some perception. They were
not sure about the news.”
There were many questions raised
during the entire show, but audience
left the event with better information
about the power of social media.
A caged Palm Cockatoo -Rohan
by Rohan
Students prefer clinging to the
footrest to buying tickets while trav-
elling in BMTC buses plying
Kanakpura road.
There are three engineering col-
leges on the Kanakpura road, whose
students use the BMTC bus services
on a daily basis. There are many who
avail the college bus facility or use
motorcycles as means of transporta-
tion.
Those who don’t have either of the
two options have to depend on the
BMTC services.
The conductors of the BMTC
buses plying this road take advantage
of this situation. Young students hang-
ing from the footrest of the bus with
minimal support is a common sight on
this route. The entire stretch of the
Kanakpura road has no traffic cop to
monitor the various traffic violations.
There are no designated bus stops
on this entire stretch. Drivers stop the
buses wherever they find a good num-
ber of passengers waiting for the bus.
This aggravates the already persistent
traffic problem on the road.
Metro construction work going on
the Kanakpura road has left the road
in a dilapidated condition and traffic
jams add to the woes of people.
Another important concern is the
issuance of tickets. Bus conductors
prefer taking less than the fixed ticket
rate, without issuing the tickets.
This is beneficial for the conduc-
tors as well as the students. “Why
should I pay the full charges when I
have to keep hanging on the footrest”,
says Mansoor, an engineering student.
The bus conductors have a differ-
ent say on this whole issue. They find
it difficult to drive the bus on the nar-
row road with waiting passengers
coming in their way. “We have to stop
as there is no other choice. People
keep coming in front of the bus”, said
the driver of a BMTC bus.
The students, who hang from the
footboard of the bus, pose a threat not
only to their own lives, but also to the
lives of the other motorists using the
roads.
“The Police are also partly re-
sponsible for this problem as they
don’t take proper measures to prevent
these incidents from occuring,” said
the local residents.
by Sumit
Money over safety -Sumit
-Pyusha
The “Superhero” Ganesha
by Urmi
4 The Weekly Observer 18 September 2012
Bangalore reels under water crisis
Villagers demand the return
of their land from the BDA
by Shreya & Siddharth
Waiting for water -Shreya
Kengeri farmers demanding the
return of their land staged a
protest at BDA head office.
People rallied in front of the BDA
premises on Tuesday and their protest
lasted for more than two hours.
After a delay of many years, the
BDA finally agreed to pay the com-
pensation to the farmers who were af-
fected by the acquisition of their land.
But, the grieved farmers have now de-
manded that they get their land back,
stating that the compensation was in-
adequate.
When the BDA officials of the
land acquisition department were con-
tacted, an official, Mr. Pandu, said,
“The land is usually acquired through
a particular procedure, which follows
the the tender notification, to advertise
to people who are interested in selling
their land.”
When asked about the farmer’s ag-
itation, he said: “Often farmers dissat-
isfied with the deal of BDA, protest by
moving petitions at the high court.”
But he refused to comment about the
Kengeri people’s agitation.
BDA has long been dogged by
controversy for delaying the compen-
sation to the farmers whose lands have
been acquired many years back. But,
after numerous protests and com-
plaints, the BDA finally declared that
it was releasing compensation to the
protesting farmers.
Mr. Pandu added that the compen-
sation is given to the farmers in such
a way that they get the majority of it
by monetary payment and the rest as
land.
There have been agitations piling
up against BDA, pertaining to land ac-
quisition. Land owners from various
villages are not happy with the com-
pensation that has been offered. Thus,
they have decided to get their land
back, instead of the proposed amount
of money.
An RTI activist, Shivkumar, criti-
cized the BDA for its role in usurping
land from the farmers. According to
him, the BDA cheated farmers for sev-
eral years without giving them ade-
quate compensation, which has now
induced the farmers to turn against the
government.
by Priyanka Roy
Ganesha’s Arrival
The painters give the idols a beautiful finishing touch. The artists work
tire elessly to produce these idols. They are worshipped by people everywhere.
Hundreds of families have been
without water for the past three
weeks in the city.
The residents of Murgeshpallya
get water supplied only once every
week through water tankers. Also the
water supply from these tankers is
limted. People pay Rs.400 every
month as water bill yet they have no
water supply. BWSSB has not taken
any action till date for this problem.
A resident of Omega housing
complex, Mrs. Soma Paul said: “We
never get water supply on a regular
basis, we have to buy our drinking
water everyday. There is no tap or bore
well in our area.”
When asked about the ongoing
water crisis in that area, a BWSSB of-
ficial said, “We are trying to solve the
problem but we cannot promise any-
thing right now.”
The case of Ganganagar is more
serious where the people residing in
10th cross are not getting water supply
for the past six months in spite of pay-
ing their water bills.
K Lakshmana Rao, a resident said,
“We face this issue especially in sum-
mers as the bore wells go dry. Then,
we are left with no other option except
to pay for private water supply. We
pay up to Rs. 500 pertank. Our prob-
lems don’t end here; we also have to
pay for the drinking water which is
supplied in cans.”
Bangaloreans are forced to depend
entirely on private water supplieEx-
ploiting the situation, these suppliers
are laughing all the way to the bank,
with their charges per load of a 7,000-
litre tanker ranging from anywhere be-
tween Rs. 500 to Rs. 750, depending
on the area and customers' pockets. It
is the water mafia which is exploiting
the situation by squeezing the resi-
dents to pay through their nose; that
too without guarantee on the quality
and quantity of water.
BWSSB officials said that they are
helpless as they are not empowered to
monitor private suppliers.
When contacted, the BWSSB of-
ficials were not available for com-
ment, neither were they present in
their office.
Years of exploitation of natural re-
sources around the city has caused the
lakes and water bodies to dry up and
the water table to recede.
With the festive season just around
the corner, residents are going to pay
the price at the cost of shelling out
extra money for purchasing potable
water.
Rhetoric -Sumit & Romana
by Pyusha Chatterjee
Protests sweep
Bangalore city
for seventh day
Protests against the diesel hike
continued for the seventh day at
K.G.Road,Bangalore
The Social Democratic Party of
India called a state level protest
against the hike in diesel prices. The-
government cancelled subsidies on
diesel and ordered a hike of Rs. 5 per
litre on diesel.
Waseem Ahmed , District General
Secretary of SDPI said, “The hikewill
affect the man on the street. Already
prices of basic commodities are not af-
fordable. If diesel price is hiked it will
eventually affect all other commodi-
ties. ”
Red and green flags were held
aloft demanding a rollback in prices.
They said that this hike was a way to
loot the common man.An angry pro-
testor said “They looted us through 2G
and Coalgate scams and now they are
looting us by removing the fuel sub-
sidy.”
The protestors also held aloft ban-
ners criticizing the government for
failed fiscal policies which led to the
common man being targetted, in the
way of cuts to fuel and food subsidies.
Najeem, a protestor, said that the
price of vegetables and essential com-
modities are bound to increase as a re-
sult of the fuel price hike.
Residents across Bangalore also
expressed their displeasure at the fuel
price hike. Many of them said that
they might have to switch to public
transport, as commuting to work on
motorcycles or cars will become unvi-
able because of the skyrocketing
petrol prices.
by Nikita Malusare
Publisher : Indian Institute of Journalism andNew Media
Address : Opp. BGS International ResidentialSchool,
Kumbalgudu, Kengeri, Bangalore, KarnatakaNews Editor: Sumit
Chief Sub Editor : Vintu AugustinePhoto Editor: Pyusha Chaerjee and Kriti
KhandelwalLayout Editor: Deepu Aby Varghese
Sub Editors: Shreya Mukherjee, Priyanka Roy,Urmi Sengupta
Proof Readers: Rohan D. Premkumar, NikitaMalusare, Sidharth Shekhar.
Printer: Lotus Printers, 32/25, 2nd MainRoad, Sir M. V. Industrial Town, West of Chord
Road, Bangalore Mail us at: mail@iijnm.org
The Observer Team
Lord Ganesha statuettes being readied for the festivities
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