Tuesday, February 04, 2014
VOL. 13 ISSUE 25
City fails the acid test March 31 is the SC deadline for all states to control the sale of acid. In Bangalore, the majority of shops report brisk trade prutha bhosle
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cid is still easily available on the streets of Bangalore despite a Supreme Court directive that it should be more tightly regulated. Two months before the deadline to curb sales, a Weekly Observer reporter bought acid from 15 of 20 randomly selected stores in the city. One vendor said he had no fear of being caught as he was too friendly with local police. One shop owner said he sold 12 bottles a week while another said he regularly sold 25 bottles a week to customers. Acid attacks on females have been condemned nationally and states have been told by the Supreme Court to tackle the issue. An order curbing acid sales was supposed to be in place by October last year but states were granted a four-month extension. According to a study, 174 cases of acid attacks were reported in India in 2000. 35 cases of acid attacks were reported in Karnataka between 1999 and 2004. This figure does not include victims that do not report their case because they fear further violence. The number of cases rose to 53 by 2006 in Karnataka and court verdicts were given in only nine of these 53 cases. Out of 20 stores in the city, 15 owners sold acid at a cheap price despite the verdict announced by the Supreme Court to regulate its sale and price in the country. On December 3, 2013, the Supreme Court gave a four-month extension to states and union territories to frame rules for regulating the sale of acid. The decision was taken in light of a PIL which was filed in 2006 by Laxmi, an acid attack victim from Delhi. The extension was announced because except for Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry, no other state or union territory had taken any steps to reduce the sale of acid as per the model rules framed by the central government. The model rules states to minimize the sale of acid in all parts of the country. G. M. Vathsala, Chief Health Officer, BBMP said: “I am aware
A store owner sells recycled bottles filled with acid to our Weekly Observer reporter at Majestic, Bangalore
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of the announcement and I know that we still have two months to curb the sale of acid. We will work it out soon with positive results.” Kalyani, owner of Padmawati shop, said, “I order acid from a wholesaler in Yeshwanthpur. I receive 12 bottles from them which all get over by a week’s time. A litre bottle is sold for Rs. 22 and two litres for Rs. 45.” Vinod, a store owner based in Majestic, said, “Acid is generally used to clean toilet floors. It is a substitute of phenyl. I order 24 bottles a week from a wholesaler in Nagartapet. Per day around 4-5 bottles are sold. I sell them for Rs. 25 each.” Kumar, another store owner based in the city said, “I stopped selling acid for past three years now. I do not want to fall into any trouble after selling it hence I stopped ordering it. I fear that someday food inspectors might come for an inspection and my shop may get shut.” Jayaram Chowdhary, who has been living in the city for the past 35 years, sells bottles of acid without any company name on it. He gets acid filled in drinking water bottles from nearby chemical shops and sells 700ml for Rs. 30. He claims to have never been caught for this as he maintains cordial relations with the police in the city. He said, “I’ am aware that sellers are supposed to maintain a log regarding the names and addresses of people who purchase acid from us. I’ am planning to start preparing a log soon.” Shetty, a member of the Karnataka State Commission for Women, (KSCW) said: “Supreme Court has given permission only to license holding shop owners. The regulation of the sale of acid comes under the city police and not us. Once we receive files from the law department to act on this issue, we will start our work accordingly. Until then, it is not our responsibility.” Although the seat for the chairman of KSCW remains vacant for almost a year now, Shetty claims the department has been working smoothly. When asked about the rise of acid-attacks in the country, he refused to blame the department’s negligence for it.