When one 12-year-old kid from Teacher’s Colony found an injured pigeon who could not fly, he thought of adopting it. But his parents objected. So he gave it to another kid who met with the same resistance from his parents. Eventually, it went to a 13-year-old boy who decided to go to resident BR Subhash who lived in the same colony.
“The parents were the spoilsports who did not want to adopt the pigeon because it would be a hassle to keep it,” Subhash told Residents Watch. “I uploaded a picture of the pigeon with the details in the Namma Teacher’s Colony WhatsApp group. Soon enough, one household volunteered to take care of it. Now the pigeon is doing well.”
Mobile phone snatching and bike thefts are the most common crimes in HSR Layout. Sunil MA realised this the hard way on the night of January 3, 2019. He had stepped inside TBC Sky Lounge on 27th Main Road at around 7.45am. By the time he got out at 1am, he found his bike (KA51 EV3097) was nowhere to be seen. Strangely, the FIR was registered only on January 12, 2019. Working from an office in Sector 4, Sunil had decided to have dinner after work when the theft occurred.
ANOTHER INCIDENT
A few days later, on January 8, Abhinay Thakur was the next victim. The 26-year-old engineer and a resident of Sector 7 had parked his Bajaj Pulsar RS 200 (KA53 EM1084) in front of his house on 9th Main, 19th A Cross at around 7.30pm. When he checked up on it the next day at around 9.30am, the bike was nowhere to be found.
www.ShopHealthy.in is your one-stop shop for all health, nutrition and beauty needs. The website run by residents of Harlur offer products in categories such as Ayurvedic, Homeopathic, Naturopathy, Organic and also Imported brands of health and beauty products. They have been in business for over five years and have more than 50,000 unique products that you can choose from.
ShopHealthy took birth due to the inherent problem of availability when the couple, Divya & Manoj, were looking for organic health supplements and had to go to various shops to get all the products they needed for themselves and their family. And that’s why ShopHealthy was born in 2012. “We realized if the problem was so vast in major cities such as Bangalore, imagine the pain people have to go through to search these products in tier 2 and tier 3 cities in India,” says co-promoter Divya Kalra. “We have grown purely by word of mouth over the years and are happy to say that we have more than 80% repeat customers. We not only have organic food, snacks and cosmetics but also sell natural, ayurvedic and homeopathic remedies for all kinds of health conditions.”
The HSR-based website ships across India and caters to customers of every kind – retail, bulk, people interested in imported brands, and so on. If there is a particular imported health or beauty product that you need and is not listed on their site, you can send them a request and they will make it available to you. They take care of everything – getting it imported into India, customs duties and clearance, international and domestic shipment right upto your doorstep.
ShopHealthy has recently introduced various programs to encourage more people to switch to a healthier lifestyle. One of them is called “Try It For Free”. You can try any of the ‘select’ products for free if you follow the instructions given in the program. They also run a health blog on their site journaling various ways to make your life healthier and happier. So log on – eat well, feel well and live well!
Visit them and buy from www.ShopHealthy.in. For selling on their site or any other queries, get in touch with them at support@shophealthy.in or WhatsApp them at 9035000894.
On January 7 at around 3.10pm, 30-year-old mason Mallikarjuna was on 5th Main in Sector 7.
The thieves used a Bajaj Pulsar to rob the victim
After having withdrawn Rs 50,000 from Canara Bank on 5th Main in Sector 7, he was about to ride away when a person threw some Rs 10 notes and asked if those were his.
With his moneybag in his bike’s box, he bent down to pick six notes when two bike-borne thieves came from the other side and made away with his bag. Both wore helmets, making the exercise of identifying them through the five CCTVs in the vicinity an almost-futile exercise, unless they are known offenders. Mallikarjuna had withdrawn the money to pay his labourers when the theft occurred. The HSR cops have registered a case of theft and are investigating.
MRR Alcohol & Drug Abuse Treatment & Rehabilitation Centre opened about a month ago on Mangammanapalya Main Road. And already, there are about 8 patients undergoing treatment for alcohol abuse. Most of them are married with children and average 35 years.
DETOXING & COUNSELLING
According to supervisor KS Harish, the inpatients are being detoxed and counselled on a daily basis for a minimum of one month before they are released from the centre. “We have no strict timeframe…. they coudl stay longer than one month,” he told Residents Watch. “They are given detox tablets after being given a prescription by Dr Prashanth.”
Their daily schedule is to wake up at 5.45am and go back to sleep by 9.50pm. Inbetween, they get to do walks, exercise, yoga, TV watching, newspaper reading, sleep, discussions (one hour) and sharing their stories (1 hour). The discussion is between 10am and 11am while the sharing is in the evening. “Once they rehabilitation is complete, we call the family members and listen to both sides on their problems with each other. It’s family counselling time.”
During their discharge, the recovered addicts are given a schedule of meetings by Alcoholics Anonymous, a voluntary group of likeminded addicts to share for one hour every day in different places. “If they are serious about recovery, they will go and recover,” says Harish. “It’s one of the continuous treatment principles.”
The centre can only take male inmates. If women do come to them, they refer them to other centres. This ‘half-way home’ is managed by the MRR Trust that also runs a school and montessori in MG Palya.
Drug addiction
While all the inmates here have come to recover from alcohol abuse, the centre is also a drug deaddiction hub. According to Harish, ganja (cannabies) are the most common although there are also “solution addicts” who light up whiteners and inhale its fumes to get high. “This is quite common among slum children,” says Harish. “Gutkha addiction is more common in women in slums, garment factories and even middle class homes. Gutkha is more dangerous than cigarettes as you are chewing raw tobacco. If your mouth ulcers don’t go away despite treatment, it leads to cancer.”
Who is an addict?
A person who drinks whenever he wants and has no sense of time. “An addict is a person who has no control over his consumable capacity unlike social drinkers who do,” says Harish. “Some addicts drink in the morning and some get up at 2am for the same reason.”
Help is at hand
NRR Alcohol & Drug Abuse Treatment & Rehabilitation Centre
Software engineer Pratishtha Pandey, 32 years, has accused two staffers of Kaya Skin Clinic on 27th Main Road for stealing her gold necklace. The resident of Sobha Cinnamon and Saffron on Harlur Road suspects that Asabuddin and Shalini are behind the theft of her jewellery.
Representative image
The incident occurred on January 4 at around 2pm when she went to Kaya Skin Clinic for a facial. She asked staffer Shalini to remove her necklace and keep it safely until her session is over.
However, after the facial, she returned home without the necklace as she had forgotten all about it. When she remembered and rushed to the clinic at around 10.15pm, the necklace was nowhere to be found. In her complaint, she has accused cleaner Asabuddin and staffer Shalini of conspiring to steal her necklace.
The HSR cops have registered a case of theft and are investigating.
These are taxis driven by women and for women fliers. The next time you arrive at Bengaluru airport to reach HSR Layout, you could board these pink taxis. Keeping security in mind, these taxis have been introduced by the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) and supported by the Kempegowda International Airport authorities. They were flagged off only yesterday and are being promoted on Twitter by the city traffic police as well.
Right now, only ten cabs are operational but the number will go up, depending on the demand. They will operate round-the-clock with differential fares (Rs 21.5/km during the day and Rs 23.5 at night), GPS tracking and SOS emergency switch.
If you are looking at a cab service for use within the city as well, there is GoPinkCabs.com that offers rides to the airport and everywhere else in Bangalore with its all-women fleet and headquartered in Rajajinagar. Run by three women, their charges are higher at Rs 31.5/km (city) and Rs 30-37/km (airport, day & night). One-day outstation/sight seeing trips are also offered by this service.
Having heard rave reviews from her friends and associates, tennis superstar Sania Mirza was at Agara Lake this morning. Posing with her father at the water body, she has put up her photo on social media saying, “When you drag your dad for a walk/run and he shows up like he’s going to office feet upwards”.
Having delivered a baby after a painful C-section more than a year ago, Sania has embraced parenthood and has penned Ace Against Odds, the paperback version of which was released only last week. Her father Imran Mirza is also her coach, guide and mentor who shaped her career spanning 23 years.
Under-reporting of minor crimes is well-known in the police department for decades and this trend continues. We have come across cases where the HSR cops refuse to file FIRs (First Information Reports) related to mobile snatching, chain snatching and petty thefts. We are not sure how many grievous offences are swept under the carpet, but we will assume that most of those offences are being reported. Taking this into account, here goes a breakdown of the number of criminal and traffic offences recorded by the HSR police in 2018.
It is sad to note that for the past one week, not a single offence was recorded by the traffic police. Either they were on holiday mood or quite sympathetic to traffic violators. Or it’s just a simple police complaint that does not require an FIR which mandates the court’s intervention. To avoid this lengthy and time-consuming procedure, the cops avoid filing FIRs for petty offences, so they have more time for major offences. Fair enough. And in cases, where major thefts were committed due to the irresponsibility of the victim, such complaints are also not taken too seriously.
HSR Layout recorded 432 criminal complaints (FIRs) in 2018. That is an average of 36 FIRs every month or a little more than one case every day. On the other hand, the traffic police recorded 116 offences on the road, which is about 10 violations a month or one violation every three days. We dispute these figures for the reason stated above. They are not realistic as most police complaints that are not filed in the First Information Reports don’t make it in this statistic. Clearly, if those are included, the numbers will be far higher.
In the last four months since we began this news channel on HSR Layout, we have seen most complaints to do with two wheeler thefts, missing persons, and cheating firms. The cases that are not so frequent include car thefts, dowry harassment, sexual harassment, and financial frauds. There were no rapes or murders since September 2018. However rare they may be, but road accidents leading to the person’s death have occurred on Outer Ring Road near HSR and 27th Main Road. A BMTC bus was behind the killing of a 75-year-old citizen crossing Iblur junction by foot. A water tanker was behind the death of a young working professional riding a bike on 27th Main Road. There have been some road rage and domestic fights, but nothing that can cause an alarm. Overall, HSR is a mixed bag of serious and petty crimes.
Spread over 98 acres, the recently-revived Agara Lake has also become the hub of youngsters who frequent the place and indulge in drugs and public display of affection. The families and children that visit the park are visibly embarassed and have complained to the park authorities. This has prompted the cops to take action on such errant couples misusing a public space. However, the youngsters are not happy with this intrusion. In addition, there have been cases of chain snatching and usage of drugs.
Complains one such disgruntled person going by the Twitter handle ‘Bandit Biker’: “Why are police officers harassing couples, families and friends alike sitting on the lakeside at Agara lake? This isn’t the first time. What point are you trying to put across? I think the public is entitled to use the park without officers bullying people around including kids.”
The park caretakers respond to this by saying, “No moral policing, there are many who indulge is public nuisance and when kids are around, one needs to create a safe space, it does come with general restrictions! There has been serious police cases of late and in the interest of larger public safety, cops are doing their rounds,” says Kavitha Reddy of the Agara Lake Protection & Management Society. “Don’t agree with allegations that the police is harassing families and kids. Yes, there has been huge public nuisance by couples which visitors themselves have complained to the authorities. Last evening, a few were caught doing an illegal act. Public spaces have to be safe and some strict action has to be taken by the police!”
DRUGS, SEX & CRIME
The park caretakers have told us that couples have been caught making out inside the park premises. In addition, they have been seen taking drugs. A couple of chain snatching incidents have also occurred inside the lake premises. While one thief was caught, the other escaped due to an alert woman.
The presence of cops has now become a must due to all these incidents. This is also one of the reasons why the park is closed during the afternoons. The lung space and the caretakers also require some breathing space before the crowds come in the evenings.
“On the night of December 31, people were caught drinking alcohol,” says Reddy. “We had to call the cops and have them removed from the place. The next day morning, our security men saw a couple having sex behind the bushes, closer to the lake.”
The park caretakers are fed up of this nuisance. Condoms are found all over and couples are seen fondling each other in front of families and kids. The visibility factor is quite high compared to Lalbagh or Cubbon Park. Due to pruning of the grass, the snakes are out in the open. Therefore, the visitors are being told not to sit on the lawns, particularly when they have kids with them.
112 unresolved BBMP complaints; some are over a year old!Posted: Jan 1 at 12:32 pmThere are 112 BBMP complaints that remain unresolved, with some grouses that are almost a year old. Such is the callousness with which the civic body functions in HSR Layout. The latest list of grouses have to do with flooding, footpath encroachments and drainage issues.
FOOTPATH ENCROACHMENT
This complaint was filed more than a year ago, on November 1, 2017. According to the GPMS Online Complaint Monitoring System, this complaint (BBMP-GPMS/CMT-19329) is yet to be resolved. Says the complainant: “The foot path at junction of 14th B Cross and 9th main, adjacent to the HSR 6th sector BBMP office has been encroached by two petty shops which are also selling cigarettes in loose. This junction is hardly 30 meters from Lawrence School which further emphasises the gravity of the problem. The BBMP seems to have turned a blind eye to this nuisance which has been going on for a couple of months now. These encroachments must be cleared immediately.” On closer examination, we realise that this was not the first complaint. A similar complaint was lodged on October 31, 2017 (BBMP-GPMS/CMT-19328).
FALLING OBJECTS FROM AGARA FLYOVER
Col. RN Ghosh (retd) complained about a curiuos incident on October 23, 2018. “At about 21 Oct 17 at around 4:39PM, one falling object from the flyover near Agara exit (12.923909°N 77.653404°E) on the 27th Main Ring Road Junction damaged my car Nexa S Cross KA03NA3680,” he said in his complaint to the BBMP. “It is requested that the flyover be inspected thoroughly for similar falling objects, failing which there may even be a serious accident if it falls on any person, even with a helmet. As soon as I got on the divider between the flyover exit and the Ring Road, I took photos. The glass pieces kept falling apart thereafter as I drove home. Being a Saturday, no one picked up the call from BBMP numbers as well as your numbers iven in the policy. Look forward to your assistance for detailed repairs to prevent future re occurrence.”
DRAINAGE ISSUE
This resident complained (BBMP-GPMS/CMT-23273) about a drain issue on December 16, 2018. “The drainage in front of #1374, 25th B-Cross, 25th Main, 2-sector is blocked and overflowing all through the street, spreading the foul smell all around. Please assign the concerned team and get it resolved at the earliest. It has been more than two weeks, and the BBMP is yet to fix this issue.
REPEAT COMPLAINTS
We have also noticed that there are many duplicate complaints by the residents. Not realising that their online complaint is already registered, they file their grouse again. Therefore, the total number of complaints without these duplicate entries might come down to one-third too. However, the BBMP should be able to detect such duplicate complaints and merge them into one. What is Artificial Intelligence for?
While it is true that some of the power disruptions are due to the ongoing cabling work that will make Bescom lines insulated from rains and short circuits, there are several other issues that the electric company needs to sort out fast. To begin with, there are voltage fluctuations galore, that have damaged home alliances and electronic goods worth thousands in offices and houses in HSR Layout.
Sector 4 resident Geetha Pitchai sums up the long list of excuses that the Bescom gives its consumers: “Everytime we raise a complaint, the BESCOM staff will say that the outages are due to the various faults 1) Incoming Supply Failure. 2) Feeder Broke Down. 3) Cable Fault. 4) HSR Substation under Repair. 5) Bird fell onto the Transformer and due to an Explosion, the Supply was disabled. 6) Regular Repairs & Maintenance is on-going. 7) Tree Trimming Exercise is being done…..& many more. In many countries, if there is a power outage, a certain rate is applied against the ‘down-time’ and the corresponding rebate is offered as a discount.”
In Teacher’s Colony, the excuse is new, though. “This problem (frequent power cuts) can be solved after commission of new power sub station at Jakkasandra,” says Jagadeesh, AEE-Bescom.
The rot is within. Says long-time resident Ranga Rao: “About the time HSR was developing and when the KEB splitting process was taking place, third grade materials like transformer and cables were widely used and inflated bills were paid. I got this information from a former KEB employee who is unfortunately no more.”
Says another resident Shyam SM about the frequent voltage fluctuations: “My co brother retired from BESCOM a long time ago. He says it’s a distribution equipment problem, mainly the transformer. Unless strongly taken up, Bescom will not care. I have complained to the number available on the Bescom site. Look at the funniest side. He says, “Call when low or high voltage occurs. Have told him we cannot predict.”
