Vol. 12 Issue 7 Indian Institute of Journalism & New Media, Bangalore 27 September, 2012

14-year-old girl is city prostitute

Mothers forced to clean hospital toilets

Generic drug stores are on the

rise in the city.

>Page 2

The relationship between pa-

tients and doctors goes online

via video chat.

>Page 2

Sale of junk food in school

canteens is risking the health

of students.

>Page 3

MOTHERS of children battling

cancer are forced to clean

filthy ward toilets.

Mums frantic with worry

about the health of their children

have even been forced onto a

rota system as there are no

cleaners available.

There are fifty five children

currently admitted in the pedi-

atric cancer department of Kid-

wai Hospital.The mothers are

permitted to stay with their chil-

dren in the ward.

They praised the treatment

of the hospital but said doctors

would inspect the toilets and

shout at them if they had not

been cleaned.

“Apart from taking care of my

two year old daughter I have to

clean the toilets and floors

everyday”, said Mrs. Rita

Manna, mother of Chaity Manna

“Every night one senior doc-

tor comes and checks the toilets.

They even shout at us if the toi-

lets are found dirty,” she added.

The toilets are dirty and often

too unhygienic to be used by the

children. The mothers clean the

toilets everyday on a rotation

basis.

“It is sometimes so dirty that

it becomes difficult for us to

clean them,” said Shahida

Sacadaq, mother of ten years

old Ali.

Ali Sacadaq said: “I feel bad

when I see my mother cleaning

the toilets of the hospital be-

cause of me. She doesn’t like

cleaning it herself but she has

to.”

He added: “My mother has to

look after me and clean the toi-

lets as well. She gets tired.”

Shahida said: “If cleaning

staffs are appointed then we will

definitely

breathe a

sigh of re-

lief.”

When a doctor of the hospital

was asked why the department

does not appoint staff for the

cleaning jobs, the doctor said:

“This is their home and it is their

responsibility to keep the home

clean”.

By Debanti Roy

“It (toilet) is some-

times so dirty that it

becomes difficult for

us to clean them.”

One of the toilets in the children’s ward of Kidwai Hospital.

A fourteen year old girl is

working as a prostitute in

Bangalore.

The girl, Nandini, has been

on the streets of Bangalore from

the age of 11.

She was arrested by Deputy

Commissioner of Police, Sid-

daramppa, on August 26 for ex-

torting Rs. 1000 from a student

of KNMM Boys’ School, Banga-

lore.

The girls are working in

broad daylight in the Majestic

area of the city.

“She is the youngest prosti-

tute I have arrested and she has

no other criminal record,” said

DCP Siddaramppa.

Passersby, especially school

kids and pedestrians, are tar-

geted by prostitutes who snatch

money from them.

Police say they are upping

patrols and raids but girls on the

streets said that would only stop

them temporarily.

Prostitutes harrass pedestri-

ans and demand cash, accord-

ing to police.

If they don’t have enough

cash, the girls take their ATM

cards or threaten to file a rape

case against them, according to

E. Narayana Rao Kate, a con-

stable working the Majestic beat.

He said: “The business has

been going on for over 25 years.

Prostitution during the day is

only recent, earlier the activities

would only start after 9 pm.”

Bangalore does not have any

designated red-light areas like

Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi,

where sex workers cater to the

needs of their customers. Majes-

tic is fast becoming one.

They start their work at 1:30

pm and work till the early hours

of the morning.

Nita, a prostitute said: “I was

born and brought up in Hyder-

abad.”

“I had no parents and I used

to stay with my uncle. He later

sold me to a prostitute dealer

called Karim. He is now in jail.”

“We take money from pedes-

trians if we are in need of

money,” she said.

There are some 30 girls in-

volved in this trade at Majestic,

forcing men and children to shell

out money, forcibly.

A special meeting was held

at the commissioner’s office at

Infantry Road last month aimed

at tackling the problem.

DCP Siddaramppa was put

in charge of the problem of pros-

titution around Majestic.

He said: “Joint Commis-

sioner of Police, Pronab Ma-

hanty, advised me to take

charge. I conduct raids twice a

week.”

Inspite of these raids, the

menace continues in and around

Majestic Bus Terminal and

pedestrians are scared to pass

through the area.

Prostitutes wait for their clients around Majestic.

Ph

oto

: A

mri

ta R

ay

A slum exists within a govern-

ment school campus in Shivaji

Nagar.

>Page 3

Drug abuse cases in the city

are on the rise.

>Page 4

By Nijhum Rudra

By D

eb

an

ti R

oy

NEARLY thirty thousand An-

ganwadi centres in Bangalore

have no drinking water facility.

Karnataka and central gov-

ernment provide an annual fund

of Rs 3,000 crore to Integrated

Child Development Services for

the development of these An-

ganwadi centers.

Despite this level of funding

children as young as seven have

to walk miles to fetch drinking

water for themselves.

Aditya Mathur, PRO of

Pankhuru, a child development

committee, said: “Water is a fun-

damental requirement of life and

when the government is giving

enough funding for the develop-

ment of these Anganwadis, the

committee should take some im-

mediate steps.”

He added: “Due to water

problems in these Anganwadis,

the number of health related is-

sues are on a rise.”

“Not all Anganwadis are af-

fected, but yes there are a few.

The Central government ac-

counts for 90% of the funds for

them, while the Karnataka state

government provides the rest,”

said Department of Women and

Child Development official.

Anganwadis still await re-

sponse from the government.

Anganwadi centers

in the city run dry

By Debanti Roy

City The Weekly Obserer 27 September, 2012 | 02

Doctors on call at the click of a mouse

INDIAN doctors are gearing

up to treat their patients

through social media.

Social network technology-

has attracted doctors keen to

reach patients in remote areas.

Doctors are already using

the new-tech and more are plan-

ning to, ensuring patients are

treated through video chats.

Dr. Deviprasad Shetty, a

heart-surgeon, said: “The doc-

tor-patient relationship is offi-

cially moving online.

“Whether they have that op-

tion will depend heavily on a

doctor’s ability to get paid for

their service.”

Of late, the healthcare indus-

try is trying to tap into the power

of the internet to its benefit.

Patients are requested to

add their doctors to their friends

list on Twitter, Facebook or

Skype.

Padmavathy, 67, said: “Even

though technology has ad-

vanced immensely in the 21st

century, it will never be safe to

check on a patient through a

web cam, a Skype chat.

“Even though it is really fast

and time saving it may, at times,

get out of hand and lead to dan-

gerous results as the doctor is

not actually with the patient.”

Recently, a number of med-

ical websites have leased their

space to get physicians to write

about medical ailments and give

advice on already written con-

tent.

Online physician consulta-

tions, also called e-visits are al-

ready being used to treat

patients for non-emergency con-

ditions and to answer questions

about minor ailments, symptoms

or medications.

According to a study by

Health Information Firm of Man-

hattan Research, about 42% of

U.S. physicians say they have

discussed clinical symptoms on-

line with patients, and more than

9 million consumers report hav-

ing had e-mail communication

with their physician.

This just simplifies the job for

clinic doctors and other physi-

cians to maintain an online rela-

tionship with their patient. It

gives them wider scope of pa-

tient lists.

Dr. Pinaki Biswas, Medical

Director, Aditi Maternity & Gen-

eral Nursing Home, said:

“Though we cannot charge as

much as we do for personal vis-

its, it is still as good as face-to-

face meetings.

“Recently, a number of med-

ical websites have leased their

space to get physicians to write

about medical ailments and give

advice on already written con-

tent.”

He added that the online

trend, though is setting in and is

being applied as much as possi-

ble, it is always safe that they

meet regularly on a face to face

basis.

This is to ensure that the sit-

uation does not hang in air which

might, at a later stage, lead to

varied problems if mishandled.

The ‘Online Health: Assess-

ing the Risk and Opportunity of

Social and One-to-one Media’, a

report, states that the use of

health-focused online social

media will grow.

This will be due to increased

health consumerism, the in-

creasing number and quality of

health-focused Web sites.

THE rise of generic drug

stores is benefitting the poor

by making medicines afford-

able.

There has been an increase

in generic drug stores by 14%.

This has benefitted the lower

class by making expensive

drugs affordable.

Drugs like Osteofos which

cost Rs.345 for a packet of four

tablets is being sold at a price of

Rs.100. many such expensive

drugs like Voveran, Livogen

have become more affordable to

the poor.

A dealer in a Generic Drug

Store, Janata Bazaar said, “We

sell these medicines at subsided

rates as we get subsidies from

the government and we also get

a feeling of satisfaction of serv-

ing the poor.”

A patient of arthritis, Raghav,

a hawker in K. R. Market said “It

was very difficult for me to afford

these medicines before the intro-

duction of these stores. Now it is

easier and I am very happy that

the government has come up

with such a noble idea.”

Another patient’s relative,

Laxamma, a daily wage laborer

added,” I am very happy with the

government for coming up with

such a scheme. My husband’s

and my wages were not enough

to treat my husband. Thanks to

these stores, we can now afford

for his efficient treatment.”

The Karnataka State Co-Op

Consumer Federation has intro-

duced these kinds of stores in

the city.

Ingulambika V.S, ARCS

(Consumer & Marketing), Kar-

nataka State Co-Op Consumer

Federation attributed the rise of

these medical stores to the easy

registration process.

He said “There is no difficulty

in getting oneself registered to

start a generic drug store.I am

very happy with the success of

this scheme and I hope that

more number of patients are

benefitted from it.”

He was also of the opinion

that if the other states in the

country resort to this scheme the

medical landscape of the coun-

try would be largely benefitted.

By Hansa VBy Pushkar Banakar

Ph

oto

: U

dit

a C

ha

turv

ed

i

Cellular towers- a grave threat to children’s health

ILLEGAL cellular towers con-

tinue to be constructed in res-

idential areas posing a threat

to pediatric and geriatric

health.

Apart from being illegal,

these structures pose dangers to

residents, especially children.

Bhaskar Kumar, a resident of

Indira Nagar, said: “The High

Court has banned the setting up

of cellphone towers but these

companies pay no heed to the

order.”

The National Cancer Reg-

istry Program claims, in cities

like Bangalore, Chennai and

Kolkata around 9.5 - 10 percent

of incidents of cancer are re-

ported between the age group of

four to fifteen years.

Dr. C P Raghuram of HCG

Bangalore Institute of Oncology,

mentioned there are various the-

ories revolving around the rise in

pediatric cancer such as mater-

nal care during pregnancy, expo-

sure to chemicals, mobile

networks and others, but there

has been no specific conclusion.

Dr. Raghuram said: “There

has to be a minimum distance of

35 meters between a residential

establishment and a cellular

tower but I see a lot of cellular

companies breaking this norm.”

Scientific studies have

shown that the radiation emitted

from the cell phone towers harm

cardio vascular systems and

respiratory systems of people

who are exposed to the radia-

tion.

Dr. Vaishali Patil Dhande, a

radiologist said: “The radiation

emitted from the towers are po-

tentially carcinogenic.”

She added: “This radiation

affects mostly the children. They

may cause heart problems and

cancers on prolonged expo-

sure.”

According to Indian Journal

of Pediatrics, Acute Lymphoblas-

tic Leukamia (AAL) accounted

for 25-30% of all childhood ma-

lignancies.

Pediatric Oncologist, Ms. PP

Babsy said: “AAL is the most

common form of cancer de-

tected in children these days.”

Dr. Jayaprakash, trainee at

Kidwai Institute of Oncology,

mentioned environmental factors

can be a reason when there is

an epidemic growth of cancer in

a particular region but Kidwai

Hospital has children from vari-

ous regions of Karnataka report-

ing cancer.

He said: “More than 80 cases

of Pediatric Leukemia have been

reported in Kidwai alone, this

year.”

Dr. Dhande said: “This is a

very serious issue and can lead

to many major problems in the

future if it is not tackled.”

”She added: “Children should

not be allowed to handle instru-

ments which emit harmful radia-

tion especially cell phones to

avoid health risks.”

despite speculation regard-

ing harmful effects, no efforts are

being made by the government

to minimise risks.

By Nupur Gour

& Sneha Banerjee

Ph

oto

: C

heri

sh

ma S

hah

Cellular tower in residential area

Ph

oto

:Care

y G

old

berg

Now doctors are treating through video chats.

One of the many generic drug stores in the city

Generic drug stores boon to the needy

SMS lingo frowned upon in your bankUSE of text speak in bank

cheques has created prob-

lems for customers.

Young people today are used

to using SMS language no mat-

ter where they are writing.

The same applies for bank

cheques. People are facing

problems because of the inap-

propriate use of words, which

when misspelled lead to prob-

lems at their local bank branch..

Sharath Muralidharan, an

employee of TVS Hosur, said: “I

received my salary cheque from

Nagpur. It is my misfortune that

the amount was written in the

wrong way.

“Instead of ‘twenty thousand

rupees’ it was worded as ‘twenty

grand’ which the bank rejected

outright and I could not do any-

thing about it but wait.When the

cheque was resent, my name

was spelt wrong and the cheque

bounced back.

Just because of these

cheques, my salary was not

credited for two months and cre-

ated a lot of issues for me.”

Bank leaves are not avail-

able free of cost and every mis-

take in the leaf counts as a big

blunder, creating problem both

for the customers as well as the

bankers.

Vimala, an employee of Bank

of India, said: “It is not a matter

of concern, if the names or the

amount are written in different

languages as long as they are

legible to the officers.

“It becomes a nuisance when

people misspell the names or

write wrong account numbers or

incorrect numbering.

“Number of such cases

varies from place to place. We

usually have around ten such

cases in a week.

Manjari, Assistant Manager,

ICICI Bank, said: “The problem

persists mainly while spelling

payee names.

Many a time, I have had to

reject cheques simply because

the names in the cheques and

the names of the respective ac-

count numbers do not match.”

By Hansa V

City The Weekly Observer 27 September, 2012 | 03

DOCTORS are worried about

the rise in obesity among

school children in the city.

“The surveys conducted by

the government and other aid

agencies state that 30 million In-

dians are estimated to be over-

weight. Obesity among children

has increased from 9.8% - 12%

in the last three years.”

He added: “This is a scary

scenario for our country. We

cannot afford to risk the lives of

the children of our country,” said

Rahul Verma, co-founder of a

Delhi-based NGO, Uday Foun-

dation.

In 2010, a PIL was filed by

Uday Foundation in the Delhi

High Court. They demanded

complete ban on the sale of junk

food and carbonated drinks in

and around 500 yards of any

school campus.

Rahul Verma said: “In recent

times, obesity has increased

tremendously, especially among

children. Consumption of junk

food is a major cause among

other reasons including change

in lifestyle of urban children.”

He added “In India, large

numbers of schools have tied up

with fast food chains in order to

sell junk food and colas in their

swanky canteens. At least one-

third of today’s children con-

sume junk food more than thrice

a week.”

“Often the first meal of the

day that a child has is either a

packet of chips or samosa sold

in their school canteens. This is

very unhealthy,” said Tulika

Verma.

He added: “Often school ad-

ministration is not aware of what

junk food is. They think only

chips and cold drink is junk food

and not samosas or momos.”

Mrs. Rekha Shankar, Front

Office, Bishop Cotton Boys

School, when asked if junk food

was available in their school

canteen, she said no but they a

particular brand’s chips in their

canteen.

The High Court had directed

Food Safety Standards Authority

of India (FSSAI) earlier this year

to frame an effective policy with

guidelines to ban the sale of junk

food and provide nutritious food

in school canteens to make

available quality safe foods in

schools across the country.

Specialist in nutrition, Dr.

Ujjwala Godbole, said: “Indian

school canteens sell junk food

like sodas, potato chips, choco-

lates, pizza, burgers, samosas,

which are high calorie food with

low nutritive values and low

fibre.

“Junk food served in school

canteens for profits is cooked in

contaminated cheap oil and pro-

hibited materials like inedible

carcinogenic colors. This affects

the digestive system and other

systems of their bodies.”

She added: “Obesity is one

of the main problems in Indian

children.

Junk food slows their growth,

causes teeth decay and pro-

motes obesity. They end up with

incurable diseases like diabetes

leading to early ageing. Life ex-

pectancy due to obesity has re-

duced by 12 to 15 years.”

Durga C., a student of St.

Teresa’s Girls School said her

school canteen serves chips and

samosas on their menu.

“Children should be encour-

aged to develop healthy eating

habits and their food must be

balanced with right amounts of

carbohydrates, proteins along

with vitamins and minerals. “Eat

healthy live Healthy” is one of

the essential goal for long life,”

said Dr. Godbole.

There are some schools in

the city that have already

banned the consumption or sale

of junk foods.The NGO says that

soon enough, once FSSAI lays

down the guidelines, all schools

across the country will have to

follow suit.

Junk food in schools risking children’s healthBy Udita Chaturvedi

School kids indulging in junk food

Ph

oto

: A

iman

S K

han

APPALLING roads and

chopped down trees have hit

Karnataka hard in terms of

tourism.

In 2011, Karnataka ranked

second from bottom in attracting

foreigners, last being Himachal

Pradesh. In 2010, it ranked fifth

from bottom.

The Indian Tourism Industry

invested 9 crore rupees in 2011

as compared to an investment of

14 crore rupees in 2010.

According to the Karnataka

State Tourism Development Cor-

poration, this has been the worst

downfall of the tourism depart-

ment in the state till date. Paltry

profits have compelled the gov-

ernment to cut down on its in-

vestments gradually.

A.Salaivasavan, Marketing

Manager of India Tourism Devel-

opment Corporation said: “Con-

nectivity and road infrastructure

is a real problem for the state.”

He added: “The government

is doing its business but there

are many loopholes in the sys-

tem. Trees have been chopped

off for metro work minimizing

the greenery in the city. Thus

tourists prefer Kerala’s scenic

beauty over Karnataka.”

Hampi and Mysore are doing

comparatively better but that

does not enhance the profit fig-

ures.

Tourist Information Officer

,P.K Kunhan, agreed that the

state has been facing severe

loss in the tourism sector.

Vital reason behind low out

bond factor being not able to at-

tend foreign tourists.

He also added that lack of

good hotels and variety in food

preferences have contributed

immensly for this damage.

On the contrary, private on-

line tourism companies are

doing marginally better by adopt-

ing different marketing strategies

and interactive technology.

By Reshma Tarwani

So

urc

e:T

ou

rism

Min

istr

y

Doubts raised over numerous

cases withdrawnSlum occupies school ground

A slum within a school cam-

pus is creating problems for

both the school and the slum.

Hafiza school, near Shivaji-

nagar bus stop, is facing prob-

lems as a slum was shifted into

their campus grounds on the

order of a local MLA and coun-

cillor.

As there is only one entrance

for both the school and the slum,

it is creating a lot of disturbance

for the school.

Venkatarathnamma, Head-

mistress of Hafiza School, said:

“These dwellers have been re-

siding here for over two years

now.

“It is a real hindrance for us

as there is only one entrance,

and that too is right in front of our

school. This makes it uneasy for

us as they keep coming and

going and making noises.

“This happens during school

hours and the children get dis-

tracted.”

Residents of the slum are not

complaining any less.

Kumar, a resident here, said:

“It is not that we want to stay

here either. It is our misfortune

that our houses collapsed and

we had to shift here.”

He added: “Bad enough that

we don’t have proper area to

stay- living in aluminum houses

is not easy. And to make matters

worse, the school people keep

complaining for no fault of ours.”

Zubeda, another dweller

said: “What can we do if the en-

trance is common for both of us?

Obviously we can’t stay inside

our houses always. If the other

entrance was not covered under

garbage, then we would have

happily used it.

“Not only that, they also keep

throwing trash inside our area,

making it dirty and uneasy.”

Their houses at Nehrupuram is

expected to be renovated by the

end of this year.

Kumar added: “I really wish

our houses at Nehrupuram are

given to us as soon as possible.”

He added: “We are really

tired of staying in a sty and also

bearing the brunt of faults that

are not performed by us.”

Houses at Nehrupuram are

being built by Roshan builders.

They are taking care of all the

necessary amneties required for

sheltering these people.

The school, on the other

hand is eagerly waiting for the

slum to shift back.

The slum was asked to shift

temporarily from Nehrupuram to

this area as their house col-

lapsed two years back. They

now live in houses made of alu-

minum sheets.

A slum inside the compound of Hafiza School

THE government has with-

drawn 369 criminal cases

since it came to power in Kar-

nataka.

Cases of communal violence

and religious reprisal against

128 Bharatiya Janata Party

(BJP) activists alone were with-

drawn.Though the cases against

Kannada activists who fought for

Karnataka have not been with-

drawn, according to sources.

The Haveri riot, Land En-

croachment cases filed against

members of Raitha Sangha- K S

Puttaniah, Kuruburu Shanthaku-

mar, H R Basavarajappa, Te-

jaswi Patel and Tumkur M.L.A B

Suresh Gowda have been with-

drawn.

97 cases that were filed

against the farmers were also

withdrawn.

“The BJP government in Kar-

nataka has become more fa-

mous for scams than the social

work it has carried out”, said a

spokesperson from a regional

party.

According to the sources, 40

cases have been withdrawn in

2012 till July, of which two cases,

were of communal clash. Excise

minister, Renukacharya who

was involved in a case was also

freed.

Among the people given a

clean chit by the government by

withdrawing the cases is Janard-

hana Reddy. He is already under

the custody of CBI in the illegal

mining scam and the cash for

bail scam, as well as a murder

case of a councilor. There are six

more cases against him and Sri-

ramulu in 2007.

A recent development was

the withdrawal of 12 cases

against the opposition leader of

the Congress, Siddaramiah who

was involved in a clash in Jaya-

pura of Mysore district.

The Karnataka state BJP

which was recently in a big crisis

over the throne of Chief-minis-

tership, finally saw Jagadish

Shettar as the third CM of Kar-

nataka in the five year tenure of

the party.

Ph

oto

:Han

sa V

By Hansa VBy Krishnaprasad S

“It is our

misfor-

tune that our

house collapsed

and we had to

shift here.”

Roads chaos hampers state tourism industry

04 The Weekly Observer 27 September 2012| City

Sky high bribes keep

hawkers on the move

“Parents of children with special needs

do not know their child’s condition”

PARENTS should be careful

while nurturing children with

special needs.

Children with special needs

such as Attention Deficit Hyper-

activity Disorder, Autism and

Cerebral Palsy get a raw deal in

Bangalore. There are 15-20

schools in Bangalore to cater to

children with special needs.

According to the Sarva Shik-

sha Abhiyan, statistics show that

there are 1.35 lakh children with

special needs in Karnataka.

Asha School Centre for De-

velopmental Disability caters to

children who suffer from Down’s

syndromeand Attention Deficit

Hyperactivity Disorder, among

others. Unfortunately most par-

ents do not understand the con-

cept of their children having

special needs.

Dr. Deepak Tibrewal, a Ho-

meopathy doctor said, “I receive

around three cases per week and

10-12 cases in a month. There

are not enough schools and facil-

ities for children suffering from

autism and ADHD. “

“The cases I see prove that

the parents of children with spe-

cial needs either do not know of

their child’s condition or are in a

state of denial. They also refuse

to acknowledge the gravity of the

situation.”

“It is pointless to expect any-

thing from the government. There

is a need for more awareness

among schools and teachers.

Normal schools need to be more

compassionate towards parents

of such children. They need to

charge a little less for shadow

teachers.”

“In spite of acknowledgment

from schools about a child’s diffi-

culty in comprehension, parents

do not seem to understand nu-

ances of development disorder.

Shadow teachers are supervi-

sors who are recruited by main-

stream schools to take care of

children with special needs.

According to Meera

Ravichandran of Asha School

Centre, their organization is pri-

marily run by Army Wives Wel-

fare Association. It is mostly for

children from Army, Navy and Air

Force backgrounds. However,

they do include 30% of civilian

children. But they will soon be re-

ducing the intake to 20%. She

said: “Government should do

more for children such as provide

them more monetary and emo-

tional support.”

However Esther Thomas of

Divya Down Syndrome Develop-

ment Trust said: “Parents are

more aware of children requiring

special needs. When they realize

their child has difficulties they

start developmental therapy by

the time their child is six months

old.”

“As every one child in 800 suf-

fers from autism in Bangalore, it

is easy for parents to diagnose

their ward’s condition, early on.”

Once the awareness sets in

on the home front, only then can

there be a difference in the

state’s attitude towards children

with special needs.

By Aheli Raychaudhuri

The Observer

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Ph.No: +919035799393

Email: editor@iijnm.org

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For private circulation only

Editor

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Aheli Raychaudhuri

Citizens and Pollution Control Boardin stalemate over polythene waste

RECYCLING the plastic circu-

lated by retail outlets would

help to reduce the garbage

menace in the city.

According to Karnataka State

Pollution Control Board

(KSPCB), companies are given

an End User Certificate on the

basis of certain environmental

guidelines.

Under the Extended Producer

Responsibility (EPR), retail out-

lets are supposed to recycle a

certain amount of plastic that are

circulated by them.

The EPR says that the retail

outlets are responsible for multi

layered plastic bags, sheets and

containers circulated by must be

removed by them “until the end of

its life.”

Officer in-charge of Recycle

of Hazardous Wastes, Mr.Ku-

maraswamy said, “Every major

brand in the city charges rupees

5 or less for a carry bag out of

which they are supposed to in-

vest fifty percent of that amount

in re-cycling the waste.”

KSPCB asked the corporation

to seriously supervise over retail

outlets that use plastic products

in a judicious and conscious

manner.

He also mentioned that the

corporation needs to keep a

check on major grocery shops,

fashion outlets and other big

brands.

In Karnataka, there are 195

plastic manufacturing units and

67 re-cycling units.

According to Eco-watch; retail

outlets are helpless in this case.

It is not economically feasible for

them to re-cycle their waste.

He also added that the corpo-

ration should make sure that

plastic is segregated by people at

home.

In the current scenario, if retail

outlets invested a certain amount

in cleaning plastic from the soci-

ety it would help the city recover

a little from the garbage menace.

By Sneha Banerjee

PAVEMENT hawkers on Av-

enue Road are fleeced by po-

lice and BBMP officials

multiple times every day.

Harish, a tea-shop owner,

said: “There is a nexus between

the police and corporation offi-

cials. They collect money from

the pavement hawkers many

times every day.”

He added: “If they do not pay,

they are not allowed to sell their

wares."

One of the pavement hawkers

who sells clothes, said: "We have

no other option other than paying.

I have been conducting business

here for the last twenty years and

I am the sole bread earner in the

family."

When a councilor in Town Hall

was asked about this menace, he

refused to comment.

Another shopkeeper, Badri-

nath, said: “The police do not col-

lect the money themselves, but

do so through a few collectors.

They collect the entire money

and hand over to the officials."

The pavement hawkers have

been conducting business on Av-

enue Road for the last 50-60

years, and they comply with the

unfair practice in fear of losing

their means of earning their liveli-

hoods.

Hawkers in other parts of the

city also face similar woes.

Those selling their wares on

KR Market also complain against

rampant corruption in the city po-

lice force.

As we had a word with Imtiaz

Patel, sub-inspector of City Mar-

ket Police Station, and gathered

some information about how they

deal with the hawkers in the area,

He added: “We generally

clear them in the morning and if

they are found blocking the road

we fine them Rs 100 as per Kar-

nataka Police Act.”

But some interesting facts

came out as a local hawker,

Akram Khan said, “The police

fine us Rs 200 on charges of

petty/doubt case and give us a

receipt of Rs 100 and pocket Rs

100.”

Abdul, a fruit seller in KR Mar-

ket, said: “We have to clear the

market place by 9:00AM or else

the police takes our scale and to

get it back we have to give them

Rs100.”

Hawkers vacating the market fearing bribes.

By Kakoli Mukherjee

& Debanti Roy

SPININING A CONTRADICTORY WEB: The National Hand-

loom Department has allotted 800 crore rupees for the de-

velopment of handloom in the state as it considers its

weavers to be in dire straits.

Contradictory versions arise from the Karnataka Hand-

loom Development Corporation which claims a turnover of

150 crore rupees and are expecting greater profits in the fu-

ture.

Silk Fab Bangalore during 2011-2012, received a grant of

ten lakh rupees from the government and claims not to

have spent a single penny as investment. This justifies the

sorry state of the handloom industry in the state.

Ph

oto

: R

ob

in S

inh

a

BANGALORE Police want

members of the public to in-

form on their fellow citizens.

The under-strength force has

devised a plan whereby mem-

bers of the public pass on photos

and videos of motorists flouting

traffic laws.

Pedestrians will also be

asked to take part in the new

scheme, labelled "Citizen's Eye."

The controversial pilot

scheme, to launch next month in

the city, is being run by traffic po-

lice and has sparked debate

across social media platforms as

to the legitimacy of such police

drives.

Suriya P, a Bangalorean said:

“It is disconcerting to think that

members of the public are now

being used to enforce law and

order on the city streets.”

Another resident, Vincent,

said that he believed the cam-

paign further reinforces the pub-

lic’s perception that the

Bangalore Police are incapable

of enforcing traffic laws.

The Bangalore City Police

website also has a section titled

“You are being watched”, dedi-

cated to informing the public of its

80 strategically placed cameras

across the city.

A content analyst from a pri-

vate company in Bangalore, who

declined to be named, said:

“Though the initiative of nabbing

traffic violations using technology

is commendable.”

He added: “I don’t think it

helps the police in any way if the

public perceive them to be a con-

trolling force.”

He also termed the wording

on the website a “gross over-

sight” by the police.

M A Saleem, Additional Com-

missioner of Police, responded to

the concerns raised saying: “The

police cannot be omnipresent. It

is the duty of the public in main-

taining law and order on the

streets."

With a population of

95,88,910, the city does not have

the adequate numbers of police

personnel.

The department lacks enough

policemen as there are only

11,701 officers, with 2447 posi-

tions still to be occupied in vari-

ous departments of the Police

force.

Controversial police

scheme sparks de-

bate over legitimacyBy Rohan Prem