There is no time like now to ensure that your Voter ID is alive and working. The last date for online verification of voter ID across India is October 15.
Sandhya Bhatt, one of the volunteers of citizen group Whitefield Rising has prepared a nifty presentation to make it easier for you to understand.
Just visit the National Voters’ Services Portal and register as a new user by creating a user ID and password. Click on the elector verification program and follow the instructions. The video above is self explanatory. Please watch, share and show that you care. The last date is not far away. So hurry!
The Canara Bank branch located on 17th Cross, Sector 7, HSR Layout, recently became a victim of fraud. According to bank employee Vasanthi N (52), the accused happens to be Syed Fairoze Pasha, an autorickshaw driver who is absconding.
Vasanthi is the chief manager at Canara Bank in HSR Layout’s Sector 7 branch. Syed Fairoze Pasha happens to hold an account with her branch. On August 27, 2019 at around 3.15pm, he allegedly deposits a cheque of Rs 4.8 lakh to be transferred into his account.
The cheque happened to be from a company called Systems Control Technology Solutions Pvt Ltd. The same day, the money gets digitally transferred into his account. Pasha allegedly withdraws Rs 4.5 lakh in cash from the same branch. Later, he withdraws Rs 10,000 from an ATM and Rs 15000 through netbanking.
Two days later, the HSR branch receives an enquiry from their Electronic City branch. Apparently, the cheque was meant for another company called SMPS CMC Applications, but Pasha had withdrawn the money and defrauded the System Controls firm.
On August 31, an employee of Citi Union Bank’s Krishnagiri branch in Tamil Nadu informs the HSR branch that the System Controls firm had deposited the cheque with them on August 22, 2019, and it was meant for SMPS CMC Applications However, the cheque vanished from the bank later. Therefore, HSR Layout’s Canara Bank has alleged that the accused tampered the cheque and made away with the money.
The alleged crime occurred between August 26 and September 4, 2019. The FIR was filed against the accused on September 4 at 9.30am. The HSR cops have registered a case of cheating and are investigating the whereabouts of the accused and the veracity of the complaint filed by the nationalised bank.
A tiring day spent rushing through the dull monotony of everyday life. You return home in anticipation of your comfy blankets and warm food. Within the safe comforts of a healing home, you prepare to doze off for a few blissful minutes.
BUZZZ.
And there goes your peace. One stray mosquito that keeps buzzing all over the place. One that prepares to zoom in and bite when you are right about to sleep off. You try swatting it but it is always cleverer and much faster than you. Soon, they multiply and continue their onslaught in huge swarming numbers.
Frustrating hours meant for peace and quiet. Successfully failing swats. The intense fear of using chemical repellents. The desire to protect your body and mind.
Herbal Strategi brings you an exclusive range of Mosquito repellent products that aims to keep away the pesky little pests while also keeping you safe from harmful side-effects.
This room spray is unlike any other as it comes with multiple benefits. Use the spray under your beds, in narrow crevices and other hotspots of mosquito breeding. Apart from keeping the mosquitoes away, they also spread the room with an airy fragrance just like a typical room spray. They do more than just freshening the room with an exotic aroma. The most annoying little tyrant, the mosquito is also kept away.
Herbal Strategi Mosquito Repellent Body Spray (Mospray)
Mosquitoes are a form of trouble that extends far beyond the confines of your home. It might be during the long-drawn minutes of a boring bus ride or an animated dinner night with your family – mosquitoes can come from anywhere at any time. It is not possible to use a coil or a swatter when you are out for an occasion. So Herbal Strategi has introduced a specially-designed mosquito repellent body spray which can be used anytime you travel outside. Not only does it keep the mosquitoes away, but also acts as a safe alternative to all the harmful chemical products available in the market.
Incense sticks are quite a popular feature in all our homes. Used as a means of freshening the air on a hopeful morning, we find them during prayers and chants to signify new beginnings. But what if they could keep away the nuisance of mosquitoes too? We introduce our Herbal Mosquito Repellent Incense Sticks which performs the dual role of eradicating mosquitoes from your place while also infringing an aromatic peace within your homes, gardens and patios.
Herbal Strategi Mosquito Vaporizer (Mosrelief)
Plug-in electronic vaporizers have been the rage among all the methods invented to eliminate mosquitoes. A college student’s funky room or the calming interiors of a formal office, the huge comforters and freshly made beds while you sleep – Vaporizers find a place everywhere. Little do we know of the detrimental effects caused by those chemical vaporizers on human health. Juvenile asthma and premature respiratory illnesses occur due to the prolonged exposure to these chemicals. To make people aware of this danger and help them switch to healthier options, we introduce our own Vaporizer that consists of natural ingredients only.
Herbal Strategi Mosquito Repellent Oil
The tactics to keep away the ever-present mosquitoes have become easier and much more innovative with time. Herbal Strategi’s mosquito repellent oil requires you to add 8-9 drops of the oil into a small vessel with 30ml water. This small task when repeated everyday produces natural fumes that is toxic to the mosquitoes only. Free of side-effects and chemicals, they can be used in the heaviest breeding places in and around your home.
Now citizens have a way to put BBMP in the dock at the Karnataka High Court. Following its recent public notification about two apps (BBMP Sahaaya and Fix My Street) for reporting faults in the civic infrastructure, it is expected that they might work better than before. However, civic experts don’t want to take this for granted. Koramangala resident Vijayan Menon who had filed a writ petition about the state of roads in Bangalore is asking every Bangalorean to try out these apps and point out any faults they notice through screenshots and mail him.
The reason why he’s doing this? “The nature of closing the complaints and quality of work will continue to be suspect,” he says.
So here is what he needs from you to support the court case:
1. Use these apps to register complaints (there is a photo uploading facility in the ‘Fix My Street’ app). 2. Keep track of the process and closing. 3. See if responsibility is fixed on to the specific BBMP official. 4. Check on the quality of work. If the quality is crappy, repost on the app, saying that the quality is slipshod. 5. Keep screenshots at various times for submitting to court. 6. Circulate this info/directions to the Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) in your area to widen the base. 7. Give your experience of using these apps and suggestions on improving them.
“If we get around 10 instances /cases, we can present them in court,” he says. “If the process works, it’s well and good. If it does not, then we will have to ask for fresh orders. We will also have to move towards work quality, contractor accountability, ward committee responsibility, and turn around times.”
It’s official now. The IT Act had already made the documents stored in DigiLocker and mParivahan app legitimate, but now is the time to make the most of these mobile apps. Pray why? Because the fines have doubled, tripled and quadrupled starting from September 1, 2019. If you are caught speeding or not wearing a seat belt, it’s Rs 1000. If you are a disqualified driver, the fine goes up to Rs 10,000. And if you are driving without a licence, it’s Rs 5000.
If the traffic cops stop you and ask you for documents you don’t possess like the vehicle registration certificate, pollution certificate or even your insurance policy, you don’t have to worry.
According to the road transport ministry officials, just showing the digital documents stored in DigiLocker or mParivahan app should do the trick. Showing a scanned or photographed digital copy in your photo gallery will not do. Only the digital documents stored in these apps are considered authentic as they are digitally verified.
Tomorrow, September 8, happens to be E-Waste Day. To commemorate the occasion, Saahas, an NGO, is organising a doorstep collection of e-waste in Sector 5. If you have bulkier items, you can call their hotline number (73497-37586).
The three collection spots are as follows. Please pay attention to the timings at each point:
* 12th Main, 7th Cross (10-am-11am) * End of 6th Cross (11am-12pm) * 12th Main, 4th Cross (12pm-1pm)
Be an e-responsible citizen. Discard, the eco-friendly way!
Chain snatchers are striking it rich at the many exhibitions happening on BBMP Grounds in Sector 2 abutting 19th Main and 17th Cross. Two women learnt this the hard way when they found their gold necklaces missing the moment they had stepped out of the open space. Two similar incidents were registered on August 25 and 26.
FIRST INCIDENT MJ Sharada, a 72-year-old women and a resident of Sector 2 was the first victim on August 25. She lost her plain gold chain and mangalsutra. On August 24 at 7pm, she had been to Srinivasa Kalyanotsava celebrations on BBMP Grounds. When she came out of the venue at 10pm, she found the 20 gram gold necklace on her neck missing.
In addition, her friend Shankari G Bhat also found her 24 gram mangalsutra missing as well. Alleging that someone had stolen their necklaces during the programme and taking advantage of the teeming crowd, the two victims have urged the cops to trace the culprits and recover their goods. The police have registered two theft cases and are investigating.
SECOND INCIDENT The next day, on August 26 at 9pm, 67-year-old Gowramma fell victim at the same venue. The Sector 3 resident lost a 50 gram gold chain at the same Srinivasa Kalyanotsava celebrations on BBMP Grounds. The cops have registered a case of theft and are investigating the role of one gang being part of both the incidents.
A Sector 1 resident has alleged harassment for dowry between May 28, 2015 and February 15, 2019 at her inlaws place in Anekal. However, the complaint was lodged only on August 24, 2019.
Housewife Silpi (name changed), a 24-year-old married to Shivakumar (32), has alleged harassment for dowry from her husband and his family. The accused are Nagaratnamma and Motappa (residents of Anekal), Shivashankar and Manjula (residents of Kudlu).
According to Silpi’s complaint, she was married on August 28, 2015 where her parents spent Rs 12 lakh on the wedding and gave Rs 4 lakh as dowry. She lived happily only for three months after her marriage. Both her mother-in-law Nagaratna and father-in-law Motappa began harassing her for dowry, both mentally and physically – they used to even hit with their hands.
Silpi put up with all of this for four years in the hope that her husband would come around. However, in February this year, she and her daughter were thrown out of her husband’s house in Anekal. She was told by her husband and in-laws to only re-enter the house with Rs 5 lakh dowry.
Silpi is staying with her mother in HSR Layout ever since. One day, her husband’s co-brother and his wife visited her home. On the pretext of talking to her kid, they allegedly kidnapped her daughter on his two-wheeler and handed her over to Silpi’s husband on February 15, 2019. When Silpi confronted her husband to give back her child, he mouthed expletives and allegedly threatened her with life.
The cops have registered a case of dowry, harassment, criminal intimidation and intentional insult.
Software engineer Ananth (42) is relieved to find that his father who went missing on the evening of August 27 was found the next night. He is indeed fortunate as several missing persons vanish for days before being found or never found at all.
His father Selvadurai left his home in Sector 2 to go for a walk and never returned last Tuesday. A missing complaint was lodged the next day. The same day, an auto driver found him lying on the footpath near Forum mall in Koramangala. He later admitted him to St John’s hospital where he is being treated.
However, Selvadurai has no recollection of the incident and how he came to be at Forum. “The CCTV footage showed five people surrounding my father on the footpath. The auto driver said that the people asked him to take my father to the hospital. We have to go by his word as my father is unable to remember anything about it,” Ananth told Residents Watch.
Six persons in their 20s were allegedly caught redhanded by the cops for selling narcotics near NIFT College in Sector 1, off 27th Main.
The cops unearthed the racket under the leadership of inspector Raghavendra SR. Three mobile phones, Rs 1000 cash, and ganja (cannabis) weighing 10 kilos worth Rs 45000 were seized during the raid. The accused include Lakshman Cherudu (22) and Sai Charan (24) both from Andhra Pradesh, and Sujeeth (26) and Dominic (22) both from Kerala.
The incident occurred at 12.30pm on August 23, 2019. The cops received a tip off that two persons were selling drugs to the general public. Taking permission from the higher-ups, the local cops took eye witnesses and got Lakshman and Charan body searched by a gazetted officer to recover two mobile phones, 2kg ganja and Rs 1000 cash. Based on the information given by these two people, two more youngsters were arrested to recover the rest of the haul.
The cops have arrested the accused under the Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. If convicted, they could spend their time in jail for six months to ten years and also pay a hefty fine.
A firm housed in NR Tower on 17th Cross, 19th Main in Sector 4 shut shop within months of its operations. The company has allegedly cheated over 60 people who were given work-from-home jobs but never got paid.
Dipreeth was one such victim. This 23-year-old resident of BTM Layout posted his resume on online sites like Naukri, Indeed and LinkedIn. Later, one firm named Mac Infotech Company based in HSR Layout reached out to him.
When he reported to work, the officials allegedly asked him to work from home and the work will be assigned to them online. Dipreeth worked on the assignments given by the firm for three months. When the payments never came, he went to enquire with the firm only to realise that the establishment had evacuated the co-working space they were operating from.
When Dipreeth looked around the coworking space, he also realised that he was not the only one allegedly cheated by the firm. There was Shamsuddin (23) and around 60 other employees who had a similar complaint.
The cops have registered a case of cheating and are investigating.
A recent Karnataka High Court on 107 pubs and bars in Indiranagar for violating various rules has given the much-needed respite to all other neighbourhoods reeling under commercialisation, including HSR Layout. With this order, no pub or bar can play live or recorded music without police permission. And the cops can only permit if the establishment has all the requisite approvals to run a pub or restaurant from various authorities. In January this year, the Supreme Court upheld a 13-year-old law that banned live music, which led to the crackdown on pubs and bars. This latest judgement will hopefully bring down the noise levels in neighbourhoods.
I Change Indiranagar, a collective of several resident welfare associations, won this case by arguing that the neighbourhood pubs and bars were violating several norms relating to noise, building bylaws, fire safety, parking, excise, and public nuisance, among others.
The licensing procedure is fairly elaborate and many establishments were seen functioning without licences, which led to their shutdown by the cops. For the police permission to play music, the joints need to submit the following documents to the authorities: BBMP’s building plan sanction, lease or title deed, partnership deed, occupancy certificate and no-objection certificates from the Department of Fire and Emergency Services and an electrical contractor.
If you find any pub or bar playing live music in violation of Licensing and Controlling of Places of Public Entertainment (Bangalore City) Order, 2005, take a video recording of it and complain to the cops. The establishment owners will be booked under Section 294 (sings, recites or utters any obscene song, ballad or words, in or near any public place to the annoyance of others) of the Indian Penal Code.
