The Observer
The Observer An IIJNM publication
Vol 18, Issue 6
Bengaluru police to install CCTV cameras under Nirbhaya Fund | P 2
@theweeklyobserver On the Web: issuu.com/ theweeklyobserver/docs/ the_observer
Thursday, October 4, 2018
People who are sexually abused are in need of counseling | P 2
Bescom reports spike in Commuters worried as electricity thefts this year BBMP plans a flyover Sahana S
Most theft cases reported from commercial areas: Bescom
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Yajush Gupta
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he number of arrests for power thefts in Bengaluru has increased significantly this year. Bescom says that it has reported thefts from many areas. “In the first six months of 2018, the Bescom vigilance department arrested 72 persons from the Urban and Rural districts for power theft. The number has increased significantly this year. Only four people were arrested in 2016, and 35 in 2017,” Ravi Mohitey, an assistant executive engineer at Bescom’s vigilance department, Rajajinagar, informed The Observer. As per the Tariff application filed by the BESCOM, there is a projected revenue gap of Rs.2302 Crores for Fiscal Year 2019, which also includes the gap in revenue of Rs.1028 Crores for Fiscal Year 2017. “We have been able to track a number of offenders.However, power theft has increased especially in the commercial areas of Bengaluru. These thefts affects everyone…,”said Rajashekar M, an accounts officer from the vigilance department. Bescom permits temporary connections to commercial establishments on a pro rata basis at Rs 6
Wire tapping at K.gollahalli Village,Kanakapura Taluk Credit: Yajush Gupta per unit. Sagar K, the owner of a food truck at Global Village, said: “To take power directly from a pole, we need a letter of approvalfrom Bescom. For temporary connections (3-4 days), we only have to pay for those days (at Rs 6 per unit); but for a longer duration, registration for a regular connection is required.” However,people illegally tappower from existing connections and electric poles for their commercial establishments. “The number of illegal tapping has increased mainly due to the carelessness of the authorities,” Sagar added. The Bescom vigilance department has registered most power
theftsfrom Rajajinagar jurisdiction this year. The company has 11 vigilance sub-divisions that work to track thefts, which are punishable by both imprisonment and fines. Of late, Bescom has come up with a scheme to curb power thefts. It rewardsan informant with a minimum of Rs 10,000 and maximum of 1% of the penalty. Part 14 of the Electricity Act, 2003, prescribes penalties for people who tapwires, tamper with or damage meters. “There are 11 police stations in the city that work with the Bescom vigilance sectionto track down electricity thefts within the city”,Mr.Mohitey added. yajush.g@iijnm.org
ommuters are unhappy with the upcoming flyover between the Koramangala water tank and Krupanidhi Junction. They fear the construction work will create more chaos and trouble for them. “The upcoming flyover on this route will create more traffic and it will be difficult to reach the passenger’s destination on time,” Raja B.N., an autorickshaw rickshaw driver, told The Observer. Work on the four-lane flyover is supposed to be completed within 30 months. The flyover will cover three important intersections: Ejipura Main Road-Inner Ring Road junction, Sony World junction and Kendriya junction. Commuters are wary, having faced traffic congestion during soil testing on September 1. Venkatesh C, a gardener said: “This is not the right time for building the flyover as there is a lot of traffic chaos over the route. The construction will increase traffic jams. Commuters will have to take different routes.” “It will now take me four hours to reach my destination,” Kumar P, driver of a private bus, said. Chandrakanth, student of Amity College, said: “Roads are already congested here; if they build a flyover, it will be difficult to travel to college.” But BBMP executive engineer S. Ramesh had a different opinion. “This is a 2.4-km elevated Ejipura flyover and 2+2 lane which are bi-directional covering three major intersections and four minor intersections. The en-
Whitefield residents, workers await more BMTC buses
R Yohanjali
T
hough Whitefield residents sent it petitions for more buses four years ago, Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation has still not increased the frequency of ordinary buses in the area. The area houses multinationals like IBM, SAP Labs and Mphasis. “They should increase the frequency at least during peak hours. The existing buses carry more than their capacity,” Senovia Rodriquez,a software engi-
neer at Capgemini, informed The Observer. “They load more people to earn more money.” The official Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation website (mybmtc.com) has been under maintenance for several months, making it tougher for commuters to find bus routes. According to another website, travel2karnataka.com, there are only 25 BMTC buses from the Kempegowda Bus Station to Whitefield. The most frequent one is Volvo AC bus 335AA to Vydehi Hospital, doing the 24-km,
90-minute journey 16 times a day. There are 22 BMTC buses connecting Whitefield to KR Market. There are 31 buses from HAL main gate. Lack of direct connections to major destinations forces commuters to change buses. “Private operators have more vehicles; even then, the number of people boarding the buses is more. The government buses are air-conditioned that adds to our expenses and is notfeasable,” said Harshini,a software engineer. Bhoomitra, an A4 analyst who
uses private transport, said: “The best part is that private buses are more during the peak hours, i.e. from 8 to 11 in the morning and from 9 to 11 at night. Other than that, we don’t see private buses.” Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport said they cannot provide frequent buses till Whitefield because it lacks enough vehicles. The available buses are used within Bengaluru Urban. Volvo buses are deployed in Whitefield because employees of IT companies earn well and can afford it. yohanjali.r@iijnm.org
Bus drivers and college students are unhappy with the construction | Courtesy: Police tire part will be signal-free from eastern part of the Bengaluru to the southern part. It will be a major relief to people going towards Electronics City and BTM Layout,” he said. As per data available with The Observer, the budget allotted for the flyover is Rs 214 crore. The work is assigned to Simplex Infrastructure Limited a construction company in Bengaluru. sahana.s@iijnm.com
News Briefs Karnataka: BDA may reduce land acquisition cost for the Peripheral Ring Road leading to reduction of 40% of the land required for the project. National: UN High Commissioner of Refugees requests Indian government to not deport the seven “Rohingya” to Myanmar as it may endanger their lives. International: United Nations Court has ordered United States to remove sanctions on humanitarian goods for Iran making a setback for US President Donald Trump.