Vol.12 Issue 6 Indian Institute of Journalism & New Media, Bangalore 26 September 2012

Bangalore police short on

work force - Page 2

Residents at risk from high -

tension wires - Page 4Left in limbo: Students await

final exams - Page 4

Petrol sold in plastic bottles

endangers lives - Page 3

Bangalore’s first solar-

powered bicycle? - Page 2

A fungal infection wiping out am-

phibian populations across the

globe may have been found for the

first time in the Western Ghats last

year.

A leading expert who docu-

mented the disease last year,

lieved to be Chytridiomycosis,

says he believes that a full-blown

outbreak could lead to mass ex-

tinctions of amphibian populations

across India.

K V Gururaja, a research scientist

at the Indian Institute of Science,

Bangalore, and one of the premier

authorities on amphibian life in the

Western Ghats, says that in order

to tackle an outbreak of the infec-

tion, a systematic study of the dis-

ease in amphibian populations

needs to be undertaken urgently.

“There are two groups, one from

IISER Pune and another from the

Zoo Outreach Organisation which

are currently studying the effects of

Chytrid fungus on amphibians. But

it will take a minimum of 5-6 years

to completely understand the dis-

ease,” he said.

Chytridiomycosis, caused by the

Chytrid fungus, is a disease which

affects the immune system of am-

phibians, leading to the death of

the infected animal in most cases.

The fungus has been blamed for

steep declines in the population of

amphibians in numerous conti-

nents, including the Americas and

Australia.

“We believe that the fungus we

found last year is that of the

Chytrid strain. We have not been

able to confirm it as the samples

we had taken had become con-

taminated. But there is reason to

believe that the fungus is Chytrid,”

said Gururaja.

Speaking about the vital role

frogs play in maintaining the

balance of an ecosystem, Gururaja

said that frogs are a “link in the nat-

ural food chain”, and that a reduc-

tion in their numbers could have

severe repercussions for the ani-

mals which prey upon them.

Gururaja also said that as there

was a lack of research on the dis-

ease, the causes which precipitate

the amphibians contracting it could

not be ascertained.

“As of now, it could be anything,”

he said. “It could be (climate

change), or pesticides in the soil.

But until further research is done,

we cannot be sure,” he added.

Sushil K Dutta, a visiting profes-

sor at the Center for Ecological

Studies, IISc, said that the West-

ern Ghats were an extremely sen-

sitive ecological area and that

there were a number of variables

which affect the animal popula-

tions which inhabit them.

“Though there are reports of

Chytrid fungus in the Western

Ghats, we cannot pinpoint that as

the single factor for falling number

of amphibians in the region,” he

said. Dutta believes that habitat

loss and “habitat modification” is

severely affecting the region, and

believes that human activity is the

region’s biggest threat.

Rape and abuse cases spike in city

By Rohan D Premkumar

Fungal disease may spell doom for India’s amphibians

By Amrita Ray

The number of rape cases in

Bangalore has increased by 24

percent since 2010 according to

Banglore police.

In 2010, there were 38 cases of

rape registered across the city,

while the figures went up to 50 in

2011 and as of July this year, an-

other 38 women were reported to

have been raped.

According to statistics in the Na-

tional Crime Records Bureau

(NCRB), Bangalore was ranked

third most unsafe city for women in

India till 2010, but now it ranks

second on the list.

The number of cases of dowry

harassment have also shot up

from 557 in 2010 to 605 in 2011,

showing an increase of 9.14 per-

cent. The figure had already

reached 357 reported cases by

July of this year.

The number of deaths related to

harassment for dowry remained al-

most constant in the two preceding

years with 49 and 52 deaths of

women reported. By the middle of

this year, 40 other women are re-

ported to have either been killed or

have committed suicide because

of dowry harassment.

There has also been an increase

in the number of cases of

molestation.

“I was molested by one of my col-

leagues. Though I registered a

complaint against him, I had to quit

that job due to family pressure. I

do not want to recall it ever again

as it fills me with disgust.” said one

of the victims.

Assistant Commissioner of Po-

lice, Anand Sharma said: “Every

day we get around two to three

complaints of women getting sex-

ually harassed on the streets via

our helpline and these are just

one-fourth of the number of

women who get molested.”

Also the numbers of female sui-

cides has increased from 76 in

2010 to 101 in 2011. This year has

witnessed 61 women taking their

own live.“Some of these women

are victims of assault or molesta-

tion”, added ACP Anand Sharma.

Dr. Chandrasekhar, a psychia-

trist, said: “the most common prob-

lem with such women is the fear of

society. Many victims are not able

to address their issues openly.

Their helplessness keeps piling

up, resulting in acute depression.

The most common outcome of this

is suicide.”

The numbers of domestic vio-

lence cases have also shown a

marked increase, going up from

308 in 2010 to 1054 in 2011 and

stands at 832 as of July this year.

“Everyday at least three cases of

female assault victims come to the

hospital and some of the victims

brought here are in terrible condi-

tions” said Dr.Veena of KC hospi-

tal.Shakun Mohini, a member of

Vimochana, a women’s rights

group said that Bangalore immedi-

ately needs a helpline to quickly

help women who are abused and

harassed on the roads.

Though there are various

helplines for women, they mostly

deal with cases of marital discord.

“More women being attacked in Bangalore,” say Police

Malabar Tree Toad K V Gururaja

2 The Weekly Observer 26 September 2012 City

Light bulb moment leads

to solar-powered bike

Police vacancies increase, crime rates still decrease

Anger directed at sustainable power policy

Bangalore Electricity Board re-

ceived 800 complaints against

the implementation of sustainable

power policy .

The Bangalore Electricity Board

is about to implement a large num-

ber of power projects which ex-

ceeds 800 MW — four times more

than the capacity.

It will affect the densely popu-

lated region and the resources and

it will pose a serious threat to the

overall welfare of communities, be-

cause electricity is generated from

water and Bangalore city is having

a scarcity of water it can only pro-

duce 400 MW of electricity.

MR Manivanan the Managing Di-

rector of Banglore Electric Supply

Company Limited told that: “We,

the board members are trying to

generate it because Bangalore is

the IT capital of India and in spite

of that there is load shedding every

day.”

“Every day we are receiving more

than 800 complaints from the

common people and the industry.

In order to solve their problems we

took this decision,” he added.

Karnataka State Power Corpora-

tion is planning to install more than

80 transformers for enhanched

electricity production. The crisis

will be over soon, say officials.

MR Ramakrishna Technical Di-

rector of BESCOM said:”Although

if the consumption exceeds more

than 400 MW it will affect the natu-

ral resources and it will have huge

impact on the environment.

“We know that we cannot exceed

more than 400 MW but we are tak-

ing precautions to stop this, there

will be no trouble,” assure officials

of the state electricity board.

There is paradigm shift to the

way in which people demand the

supply of better electricity for better

production of industries and to en-

sure social harmony in our society.

by Nijhum Rudra

ABangalorean invented city’s

first first solar powered bike.

A.S. Krishnan, a resident of

Ashraya layout, invented a solar

motor bike that functions like any

other bike, it has accelerator, gears

and clutches but it runs on sun-

shine

In the current scenario

when the prices of the

petrol and diesel are sky

rocketing Krishnan is

happy saving a few

bucks on petrol.

The proud owner of the

solar bike said, “This is

one of my best inven-

tions. I am really proud

of this. I bought this bicy-

cle and turned it into a

solar motor bike three

months ago.”

Krishnan goes eco

friendly not only on road

but also at his home.

He has been using

solar energy instead of

electricity for over three

years.

His motto is to use solar energy

to the maximum and reduce con-

sumption of electrical power in the

house.

"The whole setup helps in not

only reducing huge electricity bills,

but also teaches one to effectively

trap sunlight for household pur-

poses,” he said.

Solar, a renewable source of en-

ergy is something that is found in

abundance and as of now, free of

cost too. Proper usage of it can

help not only for substituting elec-

tricity but much other stuff as well.

Lekshmi, his wife, said: “I use

solar energy to run my oven and

television as well. At the beginning

the voltage fluctuates but later it

stabilizes. ”

He really hopes that the trend

catches up and is confident that

such use of renewable potentials

will solve a number of problems,

for which people are fighting.

He added: “Solar power is a

good alternative for the normal

power supply in our houses. A non-

exhaustible source of power, we

should start incorporating it in our

need for power supply. Though a

lot has to be done in this field, a

starting step is always welcomed.”

“I have tried implementing solar

energy as much as I can. In fact I

am also thinking of opening a store

that sells items which all run on

solar energy.. I am still waiting for

the license,” said Krishnan.

First solar bike of Bangalore. -krishnaprasad

By Deepu Varghese

Deputy Commissioner of Police

claims crime in the city has

gone down to 5.2 percent despite

a lack of police officers.

Figures show that 45,990 crime

cases were registered in 2009,

while 44,591 were registered in

2010 and 42,160 were registered

in 2011.

As of 31st August this year, only

29192 cases were registered in

Bangalore City.

The total number of police enforc-

ing law and order in Bangalore is

only 11,701. While vacancies are

open for 2447 policemen, accord-

ing to a report given by the deputy

commissioner.

The majority of posts for Police

Commissioners are vacant in

every division across the city. The

second most vacant positions are

for Police Sub Inspectors in the

Special Unit Department.

A census 2011 report released by

the Government of India showed

that the total population of Banga-

lore is 95,88,910 citizens.

Based on these statistics, there

is on average, one policeman for

every 81, 000 citizens in the city.

The most notable diferences over

the past years have oc-

curred in the Indian

Penal Court (IPC)

cases which include ri-

oting, injuries and kid-

napping. The number

of these cases regis-

tered was 16,032 in

2010 which fell to

14,001 in 2011.

Every month, an aver-

age of 79-80 policemen

retire, according to

H D Ananda

Kumar.

“Policemen

are over-

worked most

of the time.

So they get

fatigued and

retire early,”

he said.

He added

that he was

extremly dis-

a p p o i n t e d

these days as

there is nobody who

wanted to serve the

country.

He blamed the heap of

well paying jobs available

in the market for today’s genera-

tion for people not wanting to take

up government service, “The ded-

ication towards serving our Nation

is not among the youth like it was

in earlier days.” he said.

Another problem is while the

numbers of cases annually have

been decreasing, the numbers of

arrests have still not increased by

much.

This difference is seen especially

in the thefts cases where the thief

usually manages to hide from the

police. Number of house thefts

cases registered last year was

2149 out of which only 598 were

arrested.

This year,

1609 cases of

petty theft

were regis-

tered until the

end of August

and of them,

only 360 have

been arrested

“Just recruit-

ing more po-

licemen will

not help.

Knowledge-

able people in

depar tment

are more nec-

e s s a r y , ”

A n a n d a

added.

Upon asking

how they still manage to curb

crime and keep it to minimmum, he

said that they place more police in

areas that are more vunerable to

crime.

by Kriti Khandelwal

bangalore police short on work force - Anupika

Pollution level of impurity keeps

increasing in lakes as people

immerse Ganesha idols during

Ganesha Chaturthi.

The Ganesha Festival began on

the 19th September and people

began immersing idols from 24th

September as a part of the ritual of

‘Visarjan.’ According to the ritual,

people are supposed to immerse

idols in the water after worshipping

the Lord Ganesha.

The idols are supposed to be im-

mersed in the holy river of Ganga

or its tributaries, but due to the ab-

sence of any river in Bangalore ,

the people immerse the idols in the

various lakes which dot the city.

The lakes which are getting af -

fected are Ulsoor lake, Hebbal lake

and Sankeytank lake. From 20th

September to 24th September,

there has been a huge increase in

the level of impurities from the-

harmful lead-based paints.

The fish and aquatic life in these

water bodies are affected by the

release of effluents from the idols.

by Sumit

“

“

The dedica-

tion towards

serving our

Nation is not

among the

youth like it

was in earlier

days.

-HD Ananda Kumar,

DCP of City Crime

Records Bureau

Festivities over, lakes feel the hangover

3 The Weekly Observer 26 September 2012 City

Petrol pump owners are risking

lives by selling petrol in plastic

bottles in Bangalore.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation

Ltd. has forwarded a circulation

stating five rules which should be

followed by the petrol pump au-

thorities in Karnataka. These rules

clearly set a directive for the petrol

pumps to abstain from fuelling

petrol in plastic bottles.

However, the petrol pump own-

ers are openly flouting the rules

mentioned in the circular. People,

too, are unaware of these guide-

lines since the petrol pump officials

don’t feel it necessary to commu-

nicate the rules.

The rules set up by the petrol

ministry for fuelling of petrol at

petrol pumps. These rules set a

guideline for the type of containers

in which petrol can be fuelled. The

containers should be made up of

tin, galvanized or extremely rust

proofed sheet iron or steel. The

containers should be of types as

approved by the Chief Controller.

They should also have well-made

fitting apertures fitted with air-tight

screw plugs or screw caps.

Though circulars ask the owners

to avoid selling loose petrol in plas-

tic containers, only a couple of

petrol pumps in the BTM area ad-

here to the rules. “We strictly stick

to the rules in the circular sent by

BPCL. We have been avoiding the

sale of petrol in plastic bottles

since our petrol pump opened”,

said Mr. Eknath, Supervisor at the

HP petrol pump in BTM area.

On being asked about the poli-

cies of other petrol pumps regard-

ing fuelling of petrol, Mr Eknath

said: “We just adhere to the rules

laid down by the Ministry of Petro-

leum. What other petrol pumps do,

we don’t know.” On asking the offi-

cial at another petrol pump in the

same area, he said: “People

whose cars or motorcycles run out

of petrol prefer taking petrol in bot-

tles instead of pulling their vehicles

up to the pump.”

In most of the cases, people are

unaware of the rules set for the

type of container. “I just requested

the workers at the petrol pump and

he filled my bottle” was the re-

sponse of a person walking out the

pump with petrol in a plastic bottle.

Mr. C.R Abdul Rasheed, a crimi-

nal law practitioner, gave a clearer

picture of this whole issue. “The

major problem in fuelling petrol in

plastic bottles is that the material

of the bottle is corrodible. In this

case it can pose a threat to the

person carrying the inflammable

fuel” he said.

For this reason, the petroleum

ministry has given clear instruc-

tions about the containers in which

petrol can be sold. These contain-

ers should be approved by the

Chief Controller.

Selling petrol in plastic bottles is

not only about flouting rules but

also about putting the lives of peo-

ple at risk. These bottles are made

up of material which can easily

melt at high temperatutes. Petrol,

being a highly inflammable fuel,

poses a great threat in these situ-

ations.

The containers that have been

mentioned in the circular are either

made out of iron or steel. The inner

surface of these containers are

tinned, galvanised and rust free.

They can neither melt at slightly

high temperatures nor can be cor-

roded easily.

The petrol pumps should also

make people aware as citizens

generally don’t know about these

guidelines.

Safety ignored: Petrol still being sold

in plastic bottles at city petrol pumps

By Sumit

Illegal slum dwellers living under high-tension wires

Over 50 families live in a dan-

gerous slum directly below

high voltage power cables.

The slum is mainly occupied by

people from poor family and minor

ity communities.

A local resident Mr. Jagadish K

said: “The former MLA Mr. Naren-

dra gave the land to these people

for winning the election. But once

the election was over they never

came to visit this place.”

Mr. Jagadish K also added: ‘the

dalits are called the children of

God, so, they get extra facilities

wherever they go. No minister ever

visits this place.’

The area is under high tension

cables which put the lives of the

slum people at stake. The only

thing which attracts these poor

people is that they don’t have to

pay rent for these houses.

This land comes under the juris-

diction of Bangalore Development

Authority (BDA). According to Mr.

B. Uma Shankar, a slum dweller:

“more than 50 families lives in this

slum for last 5years. “

He added that the government

has promised to provide them with

electricity. Their main complaint is

that the MLA Priyakrishna never

visits the place to learn about their

conditions.

However, Basaweshwaranagar’s

minister, Priyakrishna sometimes

visits this slum. The State Govern-

ment has provided them with

proper sanitation .

All of them have their voter iden-

tity cards and they get corporation

water. When asked if they are fac-

ing any kind of difficulties without

electricity in their area, he an-

swered: “No, it’s fine as we do not

have money to pay our electricity

bills and we are used to it.”

They are happy with the fact that

the MLA has allotted a land for

them where they can live in. The

number of slum dwellers in a

decade has risen by 23%. It is

nearly 30 to 40% of the City’s cur-

rent population. According to

BBMP, the city hosts 569 slums —

of these, 228 are authorised and

341 unauthorized. Nearly 1.7 lakhs

people live in these slums. Banga-

lore East, has the largest number.

"As per the National Sample Sur-

vey conducted in 2007-08, the net

migration in Karnataka is 10%,

when it's 7% in other states, and in

Kerala it is 44%." said S Mad-

heswaran, professor at Centre for

Economic studies, Institute for So-

cial and Economic Change (ISEC).

This means that in Karnataka for

every10 who move out, 20 move

into the state.

"Migration is more among labour

class in Bangalore and this directly

influences the urban poverty level

and, in turn, increases the slum

population as a whole," he added.

Mrs Krishna Murthy, a resident

from the locality, said: “The slum

dwellers have been given the

place five years back by the former

counselor for the sake of winning

election.”

“But such a decision are not only

risking the lives of the people from

the slum but also residents like

us,” she added.

By Urmi & Shreya

Picture Of The Week

Petrol in plastic bottles- a threat for people - Sumit

By Shruti Tiwari

A cobweb of electric wires hanging from a lamppost -Urmi

With Gandhi Jayanthi just

around the corner, this retailer

has decided to cash in on the

image of the Mahatma.

4 The Weekly Observer 26 September 2012

University leaves students in the lurch

Thousands of students have

been left in limbo after Banga-

lore University failed to hold the

final year exams.

The University has delayed the

announcing the date of the exams

for the past four months.

The exams were supposed to

have taken place in the months of

May or June as it used to be every

year, but the tests have never

been held.

“Yet every time we approach the

University to have some clarity

with regard to the exams, the only

answer we receive is to wait. If

they could at least let us know the

time approximately we could plan

out accordingly,” said Prof. Roy

Dominic, In charge of university

matters at Suvidya College.

The students were all well pre-

pared since April to appear for the

exams and had been waiting

earnestly for the announcement of

the exam schedule. Thinking that

it would take place soon, they have

not been able to make any other

alternative plans.

“Unprecedented delay in the an-

nouncement of exam schedule

has left us a bit bewildered and un-

decided as to get into some jobs or

wait for the exams to be finished

first,” said Walambor K, a student

who has enrolled himself at Navya

College.

Most of the students who register

for this course have an aim to pur-

sue a degree and simultaneously

work. It add up to their credentials

to do a job and pursue studies si-

multaneously.

Ajit Daimary, a student from the

North East said: “We have been

waiting for the exams to be held for

a long time. We have already

booked, rebooked and cancelled

our train tickets several times.”

Since there was no confirmation

on the exam, students from other

states had to hold themselves

back not able to visit their homes.

The university does not give suffi-

cient gap between the declaration

of the schedule and beginning of

the exams usually.

Postponement of exams and de-

laying convocations with regard to

correspondence courses has be-

come a routine affair with Banga-

lore University.

Mr. Chandrasekar, the Deputy

Registrar, when contacted to clar-

ify the delay said: “The delay oc-

cured due to a court case filed by

some of the exam centers. Now

every such case is cleared and

exams will take place soon.”

“There weren’t any such cases

as far as I know. We were only

waiting for the declaration from the

University to hold exams,” said Mr.

Naveen, the principal of Navya

College, one of the centers for the

exams.

The students are forced to stay in

lodges and hotels because they

are deprived out of the college as

the course and exams are sus-

pended for an indefinite period.

“It is the responsibilty of the insti-

tute to provide lodging as the

exams have been cancelled. I

have spent more than Rs 5000 for

my lodging. I find it very expensive

for staying back in this city,” said

Ajit Daimary. More than 200 stu-

dents are facing the same issue.

By Vintu Augustine

Left in limbo, students await final exams -Vintu

Depression and suicide plague the city

Over 12000 people committed

suicide in Karnataka in 2011.

According to a report by the Na-

tional Crime Records Bureau

(NCRB), Karnataka ranked sev-

enth in the country because of the

state’s high rate of suicides.

The number of people who com-

mitted suicide in Bangalore in 2011

was 1717 and ranked ninth among

Indian cities.

Two major reasons behind high

rate of suicide cases are house-

hold conflict and depression.

Around 30 percent of the people

commit suicide due to conflict at

home, 20 percent due to conflict

between spouses and 10 percent

due to parents’ scolding, said Dr.

Chandrashekhar, Head of the De-

partment of Psychiatry, Victoria

hospital.

According to the statistics pro-

vided by NCRB, 25 males and 24

females committed suicide in Kar-

nataka in 2011 as a result of mari-

tal problems.

Out of every 100 patients suffer-

ing from depression, 15 attempt

suicide. Seventy percent of the pa-

tients consume insecticide. The

rest of them either burn them-

selves, hang, drown or take heavy

dose of sleeping pills.

Eighty percent of those who com-

mit suicide are from nuclear fami-

lies and the rest belong to joint

families.

“Patients diagnosed with depres-

sion have pessimistic views about

life, feeling of hopelessness and

worthlessness and death wishes,”

said Dr. Chandrashekar.

Patients not only need treatment

but also attention, love and support

but usually families misunderstand

them as being lazy due to fatigue

symptoms. A married woman com-

mitted suicide as her husband and

family did not cooperate with her.

He said: “In 90 percent of the

cases, the victims give direct and

indirect clues before committing

suicide.” He added that the fami-

lies need to understand the prob-

lems faced by the patients. He

shared two case studies in one of

which a girl gifted her pet to her

classmate and in the other case an

old women gave all her belongings

to her relative.

In 2011, 200 males and 86 fe-

males committed suicide in Kar-

nataka. Out of this 36 males and

29 females were from Bangalore.

According to NCRB, failed rela-

tions is another major reason why

individuals are committing sui-

cides. Proper pre-marriage coun-

selling would fix much of the

problems according to experts.

By Pyusha Chatterjee

Statistics showing the reasons for committing suicide

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News Editor: Sidharth Shekhar

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The Observer

Team

Rhetoric Sidharth & Sumit