The Observer An IIJNM publication
Woman succumbs to burns a day after her daughter’s death | P 4
Vol 19, Issue 14
Thursday, November 21, 2019
21 of them work in three shifts, don’t know if their work is permanent
Adilin Beatrice C
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No vaccines, diphtheria show a spike
Nine marshals on duty at Varthur lake | Credit: Adilin Beatrice C on November 20, we imposed Rs 2,01,000 as fine on local chicken
sellers who dumped chicken waste in the lake.”
“We’re surveying encroachments that are within the buffer zone (a radius of 30 meters from the lake). BBMP will send a notice to them to clear the place.” The marshals were appointed to inspect the lake area and prevent illegal activities in the buffer zone. They will check anti-social activities and illegal dumping of construction debris and garbage into the lake. Ramesh, assistant engineer of ward 149, said: “Varthur lake comes under the BDA. Due to its bad condition, NGT has asked BBMP to appoint marshals to take care of the lake.” Continued on Page 4
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Epaper:https://issuu.com/ theweeklyobserver/docs Website: http://www. theweeklyobserver.in
News briefs Trump scandal
U.S. Ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, on Wednesday testified that he was part of a pressure campaign on Ukraine, whichwas undertaken at the direction of President Trump.
Twitter blames Tories
Twitter accused Britain's governing Conservatives on November 20 of misleading the public by rebranding themselves as factcheckers during a live TV election debate, fuelling concerns about trust in politics.
Probe against Amnesty
The Enforcement Directorate’s findings in its probe against the Amnesty International India Private Limited and related entities have been made part of the case registered by the CBI alleging violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act.
Street vendors continue to wait for certificates that could set them free Shoby Krishna G
paucity of vaccines and lack and awareness have raised diphtheria cases in Karnataka. According to official data, 464 cases have been reported in 2019 till October from across the state. Most of the patients are from the north Karnataka; Bengaluru has reported 13 cases. The Tdap vaccine, which must be given to children at the age of 11 or 12, is not available at pharmacies of government hospitals. It’s the same with the DPT booster stage 2. Parents are not aware when their children have to be given the diphtheria vaccine. Full story on page 4
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Beware of complimentary neck crack done at barber salons | P 2
Marshals at Varthur lake collect Rs 2-lakh penalty in two days ollowing the deployment of 21 marshals at Varthur lake, strict measures are being taken against those who dump trash into the water body. Wesly Fernandez, one of the marshals deployed, informed The Observer: “We work around the lake on three shifts. Every shift has seven marshals, with one in charge of them. For now, BBMP has given a work order to be here. We don’t know if it’s temporary or permanent. The decision will depend upon what the National Green Tribunal says. On November 19, we collected Rs 2,200 and
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ending certificates, which aim to regulate street vending, have not been issued by BBMP as the authority responsible for issuing the certificates, Town Vending Committee (TVC), has not been formed yet. Divya, who sells fruits around KR Market, informed The Ob› server : “We did not have any legal certificate. I don’t have enough money to own a shop. My cart is my only means of survival. This makes us vulnerable to harassment by authorities. The police ask for a bribe of Rs10 or Rs 20 everytime they come here. If we don’t pay the amount they ask, they take away my weighing stone. Then we have to pay Rs 500 to get it back. So we would rather pay the bribe in the first instance than lose our business and pay and extra bribe.” Veeran, a vegetable vendor in Chickpet, shared: “I have been selling vegetables in this cart for the past 10 years. I don’t have any certificate or ID card.” Asked if authorities have approached him to issue any certificate, he said nobody has met him for reg-
The Town Vending Committee is the authority to issue certificates to vendors above 14 years of age. The Act acknowledges the rights and duties of street vendors. It has provisions to prevent harassment by authorities | Credit: Shoby Krishna istration or any survey. Paramasivan, a street vendor outside the Chickpet Metro station, said: “It would be helpful
if the authority issues certificates or identification cards to vendors like us. We do not have a trade union or an association to fight for
our rights. So these certificates would give validity to our business. They will also prevent harassment by the police.” The Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation) Act, 2014, says no street vendor should be evicted. It talks in detail about three types of certificates for vendors: stationary vendors, mobile vendors and other types of vendors. The Town Vending Committee is the authority to issue certificates to vendors above 14 years of age. The Act acknowledges the rights and duties of street vendors. It has provisions to prevent harassment by authorities. A senior official from BBMP’s social welfare department informed The Observer : “We have already issued 11,000 certificates, and 24,000 vendors have been identified. We have got a directive from the skill development department and the nodal agency, to not issue cards till TVC is formed. Election preparations for TVC members are under way. The Joint Commissioners of zones are the officers responsible for the election process.” Continued on Page 2