The Observer
The Observer An IIJNM publication
Vol 18, Issue 1
Autorickshaw drivers are doing additional jobs to boost their income | P 2
IISc revives the idea of bus priority lanes to ease traffic in Bengaluru| P 2
Even adults suffer from it, says founder of facility Akanksha Kashyap
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We get patients of the age 21 and above complaining of addiction to pornography, but those are rare cases. Addiction is generally detected when the child becomes socially detached and an academic decline is observed. — Dr Manoj Sharma, founder SHUT, NIMHANS away from him.” It is extremely difficult for the child to accept he is a technology addict. “In all these years, I have seen only one or two patients who come recognising that they have a problem. It is generally the parents who realise the problem.” Dr Sharma said. Addiction is generally detected when the child becomes socially detached and an academic decline is observed. A one of its kind clinic in Bengaluru, SHUT was established after NIMHANS recognised tech-
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Thursday, August 30, 2018
Facility to SHUT tech addiction out ervice for Healthy Use of Technology (SHUT), which treats cases of technology addiction, has seen a gradual increase in the number of patients. Dr Manoj Sharma, founder of the clinic at NIMHANS, says: “When I started the clinic in 2014, I used to get one patient a week, but now the count has increased to 7-8 a week.” Most of his patients, in the 15-19 age group, suffer from gaming addiction. Technology addiction is not restricted to teenagers; it is seen in adults too. “We get patients of the age 21 and above complaining of addiction to pornography, but those are rare cases.” Dr Sharma informed The Observer. “One such case of technology addiction was where the child refused to believe that something was wrong with him. He was completely detached from social life. His parents, realising that it was turning into a severe problem, restricted the usage of technology. As a rebel, the child shifted to TV because he was well aware that it could not be taken
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nology addiction as a condition requiring special treatment. Gaming addiction was an absurd idea few decades ago, but recently the World Health Organisation recognised it as a ‘gaming disorder’ in the draft of the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases. Digital detoxification is done through various psychological sessions, the first few being the most important ones. SHUT primarily provides lifestyle changes for detoxification, followed by
methods like breaks between usage and exercise. Discussing the reasons for such addictions, Dr Ameer Hamza, additional professor, department of psychiatric social work at NIMHANS, said it is the easy accessibility of technology and a communication gap between parents and their children that is a major cause of the addiction. “Since both the parents go to work, they have no one to talk to, (and) they turn to technology.” Ashwini Tadpatrikar, a clinical psychologist, said: “The only way to retain yourself from such addictions is engaging in healthy interpersonal relations and concentrating more on face-toface conversations.” Anitha Kurup, Dean of social sciences, National Institute of Advanced Studies, said the way in which technology has taken over was never predicted. “All technology developers argue that they will come up with solutions for eye strain, but that does not reduce the impact.” Parents today give their children access to technology and draw a line later the child is already addicted. This is unfair. “Technology has taken over privacy Where do you include the use of ethics in technology is something we haven’t been able to draw the line for.” akanksha.k@iijnm.org
News Briefs Nation: A three-judge SC bench has ordered that the five persons arrested by Pune police be placed under house arrest till the next hearing. The activists are charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for their alleged links with Maoists. International: The H1-B suspension period has been extended to 15 days for five months. The United Citizenship and Immigration Services took the steps to clear its backlog and extended the visa process from September 11, to February 9, 2018. Business: RBI has said declares that after 21 months, 99.3% of demonetized money has returned to the government. Household financial savings reached 2.8% of the gross national disposable income. It is the highest in the last six years. Sports: Swapana Barman’s unprecedented gold in heptathlon and Arpinder’s gold in triple jump takes India’s tally of medals to 11 gold, 20 silver and 23 bronze. Science: A study published in the journal Nature says that the largest mass extinction in the Earth’s history, called the End-Permian Extinction, might be a result of destruction in the ozone layer.
Understaffed cops do not record underage driving Police catch such riders, website has no mention Pranay Prakash
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hildren below 16 riding motorbikes during festivals is a common scene in Bengaluru. If one goes by police records, the cops are not aware of this, but police officers say they catch underage riders regularly. “We apprehend four to five underage traffic offenders in a month in the locality,” RT Nagar traffic inspector Feroze Khan informed The Observer. According to the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, “No person under the age of 18 years shall drive a motor vehicle in any public place: Provided that 1[a motorcycle with engine capacity not exceeding 50cc
may be driven in a public place by a person after attaining the age of 16 years.” Despite special drives against traffic violations, the website of the Bengaluru traffic police doesn’t mention any underage traffic violations. Pre-university students are regularly apprehended for underage driving, but police keep no record of this. The reason: They are understaffed. “There are around 70 lakh vehicles, including geared and nongeared two-wheelers and cars, on Bengaluru’s roads. There have been awareness campaigns and special drives for different trafficrelated offences. Since police are stretched in terms of manpower, covering every area in the city... becomes a great challenge,” DCP (Traffic), East, Anupam Agarwal said.
Underage riders on road A PU college on Residency Road has banned its students from bringing bikes to the campus. The principal of the college said: “Understanding that this is in violation of the law, we banned our students from bringing twowheelers to the college three years ago. We also asked parents
to not allow their children to ride two-wheelers to the college.” Sandeep, a student of the college, said: “I was caught by police once, but they let me go when I pleaded with them.” Yelahanka resident Virendra Goyal, a father of a college student, thinks the government should keep a record of underage riders. “The government should maintain a database of underage traffic offenders which can be linked to their Aadhaar cards. They should be blacklisted from applying for a driving licence,” Goyal said. While police don’t have an estimate of such cases, parents and teachers are worried at the rising cases of underage riding. pranay.p@iijnm.org
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The Observer Thursday, August 30, 2018
IISc revives idea of bus priority lanes
Drivers and commuters say these will help Abbinaya Kuzhanthaivel
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wo years after the BMTC dropped its plan to introduce bus priority lanes, the civil engineering department of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has revived the idea as a solution to traffic congestion in Bengaluru. A bus priority lane is a separate lane for buses. “Buses are unattractive as they are a slower mode of transport. Segregating buses from other vehicles will have high reliability as movement will not be affected by traffic. Bus priority lanes will provide a network of door-to-door connectivity and attract more commuters,” says Ashish Verma, associate professor, transportation systems engineering, IISc. The report, titled Sustainable Transport Measures of Liveable Bengaluru’, says that an increase in private vehicle usage poses a threat to sustainable development as two-wheelers and cars comprise 90% of the total regis-
tered vehicle population. “It is a good idea and will be convenient for the public as it will reduce traffic congestion. However, its success remains in the hands of the public. It is the public who have to prefer public transport to private. There are chances this idea will be implemented in Bengaluru, but it will (have to) be specific to routes. Narrow roads can’t have separate lanes,” Valsa Rajan, central manager of the Bengaluru Development Authority, Indiranagar, informed The Observer. Records of the Karnataka transport department show a steady increase in the number of two- and four-wheelers registered every year. The BMTC has 6,646 vehicles on the roads, according to information available on the BMTC website. The BMTC had planned to introduce bus priority lanes in 2016. “It’s beneficial for everyone. We have tried doing this for a long time, but the traffic department has not approved it stating that the roads are not wide enough to provide dedicated lanes. We can’t assure traffic control before implementation. But people will prefer public transport if travel becomes easy,” a top BMTC official said.Bus crew The Observer spoke with welcomed the idea. “We will be very happy if we
The shelved plan to introduce dedicated bus lanes could now ease traffic flow on congested roads. Credit: Abbinaya Kuzhanthaivel have bus priority lanes. Movement is slow because of the other vehicles. There is difficulty when the cars or two-wheelers change lanes,” BMTC bus driver Ravi Prakash said. “Traffic congestion increases
mental stress. Separate lanes for buses will give us a great relief,” observed S. Kaliavanna, a driver with Tamil Nadu’s State Express Transport Corporation. “It will be good if separate lanes are assigned for cars and two-
Creating opportunities Auto drivers do multiple jobs to make ends meet for vulnerable kids NGO rescues and educates street children Anuradha Sriram rishna Reddy was found on K the streets begging when he was eight years old. He had run
away from his native place, Hyderabad after his parents died. Krishna Reddy said he begged on the streets for a year before he was rescued by volunteers from BOSCO Mane an NGO working for vulnerable young people. “They said they would give food, education, shelter and clothes,” he told The Observer. “I am handicapped since birth but Sister Teresamma, a nurse working at BOSCO Mane, persuaded me to get my legs operated upon. Today I can walk without calipers. The BOSCO volunteers are the reason I am working as an Ola driver,” he said. BOSCO Mane helps rescue abandoned children, children living on the streets and child labourers among others. They are provided education and trained in carpentry, tailoring, computers, screen printing etc. The NGO aims to remove emotional trauma of street life. The rescued children are coun-
seled by professionals, either through intensive or preventive approaches. The children are sent back home, if possible. Manja P Okalipuram, a rescued child, said: “I was rescued from the railway station. At BOSCO Yuva Kendra, I learnt screen printing. I now work as a screen printer.” Kiran Kumar, a rescued child, trained to be a two-wheeler mechanic at BOSCO Mane. He now works at BOSCO Boys Home and Technical Training Institute. BOSCO Mane has transformed the lives of thousands of orphans’ since 1980,when it was set up. “Daily, BOSCO Mane serves as a transit home for 30 children rescued from railway stations, bus stops, etc. The NGO has cared for over 7,000 children annually in recent years,” said Vivek, human resource manager the NGO. BOSCO Mane serves as a nodal agency to collate and share information about missing children. Officials of BOSCO Yuvodaya, another branch of Don BOSCO, said: “The happy faces of children rescued by us and their performance inspire us to work harder.” M. Shyamraj, a volunteer at BOSCO Mane, provides skill training to rescued children. “But for BOSCO Mane, I couldn’t have imagined my life getting simple he said. anuradha.s@iijnm.org
Raveena Bhati Hundreds of autorickshaw drivers in Bengaluru have taken up additional jobs to shore up their incomes. “In a family of five, I am the only earning member. I work as a plumber to pay the college fees of my eldest daughter,” says Sampath, a father of three who has driven autorickshaws for 25 years. Bengaluru, with a population of 1.2 crore, has an estimated 1.5 lakh autorickshaws. Many prefer autorickshaws to the Metro because the threewheelers are easy to hire and travel to interior parts of the metropolis. Venkatesh, the office secretary of the Autorickshaw Drivers Union, which has 28,000 members, informed The Observer: “20% of our members do multiple jobs, like security guard delivery boy and plumber, for extra income as they earn only Rs 20,000 a month by driving autorickshaws.” On an average, an autorickshaw driver earns around Rs 800 a day. Out of this, they spend a fourth on fuel. Autorickshaw driver Hriday, 30, said he works as a mechanic and a private cab driver to support his family. The ARDU helps drivers to be-
come independent and know their rights. It also helps their children with scholarships. If a member driver passes away, the union gives Rs 50,000 to the family of the deceased. The union conducts monthly campaigns to educate drivers about traffic rules. The Nava Karnataka Auto Drivers’ Union has 2,000 members. Union president Naveed Khan said 200 members are involved in secondary jobs. “Autorickshaw drivers also work as electricians, plumbers, painters and caterers to add to their incomes.” There are also people who drive autorickshaws to boost their stretched finances. Earning Rs 500-800 extra per day helps them to keep the show going. Like Sunil, who worked as a salesman in Parle, now drives an autorickshaw. He is the only earning member in a family of three. “After seeing my friends earning Rs 8001,000 per day, I borrowed an auto from a friend. I earn an extra Rs 800 a day.” Murli is a TV mechanic has driven an autorickshaw for eight years. “As technology advanced, my knowledge could not keep pace with the changes. Working as a mechanic couldn’t sustain my family, so I started driving an autorickshaw,’’ he said. raveena.b@iijnm.org
wheelers. Bus transport has no problem. It would be better if there are two lanes, as traffic will slow down when a bus stops to drop passengers,” KSRTC driver Shiva G said. Commuters and drivers of other vehicles said dedicated lanes would prevent traffic congestion. “Our city is a cocktail of all modes of transport. I would be happy if bus priority lanes are introduced. It would help in fast movement,” John Isaac, a resident of Indiranagar, said. Autorickshaw driver K Raghu said people like him would welcome the move. “It would be very easy to drive in the city if buses move in separate lanes.” “We have to stop every time a bus in front of us stops. It is difficult to drive without changing lanes as private vehicles can’t stop at bus points,” said Hemanth Kumar, a cab driver. In 2016, after initial preparations, the BMTC shelved a plan to introduce bus priority lanes on Old Airport Road, Outer Ring Road, Silk Board junction to Hebbal and Goraguntepalya to Hosakerehalli, according to a report in The Times of India. An Economic Times report said that the transport utility did not receive the government’s clearance. abbinaya.s@iijnm.org
Around the city • UX India 2018, Pre-conference Meet; Lalit Kumar Gautam speaks; Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, south Bengaluru; Sept 1, 1- 6 pm • Prof N.A. Nikam Memorial Endowment Programme; Romila Thapar speaks; Indian Institute of World Culture, Basavanagudi; Sept 1, 6 pm • Literary meet for Tolerance, Dakshinayana and Gram Seva Sangh; Senate Hall, Central College; Sept 2-18, 10am-6pm • Hands on Clay, an art workshop; Clay Station, Sadashivanagar; Sept 2-30, 11 am • Bhagavad Gita Chapter 14; Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’; AOL Ashram, Kanakapura Road, Sept 1 midnight • Pupper Party 4.0 by Pet Fed Benguluru; Sept 2; Noon to 3pm • ‘Inner Resonance’ by NGMA, Bengaluru, retrospective exhibition; NGMA, Manikavelu Mansion, Palace Road, Sept 1 to 30, 11 a.m to 6.30 p.m • ‘Media & Rural India’ lecture by P Sainath; Suchitra Auditorium, Banashankari, Bengaluru, 2nd Sept, 4.30 p.m.
Observer Team Editor- Ajay Biradar Desk- Ileena Dutta, Raveena Bhati, Oisika Dev Reporters- Abbinaya Kuzhanthaivel, Akanksha Kashyap, Anuradha Sriram, Pranay Prakash, Raveena Bhati