The weekly observer

Volume 16 Issue 7

An IIJNM Publication

THURSDAY 06 OCTOBER, 2016

New Bellandur rejuvenation plan raises several doubts Arunava Banerjee Arunava.b@iijnm.org BENGALURU - Seven years after the state government agreed to revive the city’s largest lake, an expert committee overseeing the process is expected to finally release its report next week on the rehabilitation of Bellandur Lake.

Reviving the 915 acre Bellandur Lake will provide an alternate water resource for residents of Bengaluru and promote a sustainable water ecosystem in the area, officials said.

Sridhar Pabbisetty, chief executive of Namma Bengaluru Foundation and a member of the 18-member Bellandur Lake committee said a Detailed Project Report (DPR) and proposal to revive the lake is expected to be published by mid-October. He added that a draft report has already been forwarded to the state government, who are yet to respond. Following publication of the report, said Pabbisetty, the government is expected to float tenders for the work, which is, according to Namma Bengaluru Foundation’s “Save Bellandur Action Plan” (SBAP), expected to take three-to-five years to complete. The central government had earlier this

year allocated Rs 800 crore for the rejuvenation of water bodies in Bangalore from the “Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation” scheme.

The estimated cost of the entire revival process is Rs. 400 crore.

Bellandur Lake is Bangalore’s largest water body, with a storage capacity of 8,400 million litres. It is polluted to such an extent that no aquatic life exists.

A large part of Bellandur is covered with weed and the lake has shrunk to a little over 700 acres. The water in the lake is black in colour, opaque and frothing, thus, becoming a spectacle for visitors.

Reviving the lake would require Bruhat Bengaluru Manahanagara Palike (BBMP) and the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) to coordinate, as the lake falls under BDA supervision while the area around the lake and the Varthur Lake catchment that feeds water to the Bellandur comes under BBMP’s jurisdiction.

The first step to revive the lake would be to drain the water in a controlled manner using thrust boring technology, said experts. Once that is done, the top layer of the lake bed with toxic sediments needs to be

Lack of rain leads to 8 per cent fall in coffee production in the country Phalguni Vittal Rao phalguni.r@iijnm.org BENGULURU - It is going to be a rough time for coffee farmers across the country this year with an expected 8 per cent dip in production owing to lack of adequate rainfall.

Post-blossom estimates for 2016-17

said Reddy, adding that irrigated estates have also been affected.

“When there is a rainfall deficit, we normally pump groundwater, stored in artificial tanks on plantations, for irrigation. However, a decrease in natural showers over the years has ensured in no replenishment of groundwater,” said B P

Coffee plantation as much popular in Karnataka, a farmer is up on his week in his coffee plantation Source: The Hindu released by the Coffee Board of India say that coffee production will fall to 3.2 lakh metric tonnes from a record high of 3.48 lakh metric tonnes recorded in the 2015-16 season.

Karnataka, which produces 71 per cent of India’s coffee, had a crop yield of 2.51 lakh metric tonnes at the end of the 2015-2016 crop year in March 2016. This year, Karnataka is expected to have a yield of 2.29 lakh metric tonnes of coffee, a decrease of 8.7 per cent.

“When there aren’t enough blossoms and backing showers, sprinkler irrigation is used to water the crops. Delayed rainfall and climate change are major factors contributing to such a drop in production,”

Ganapathy, former chairman of the Kodagu Planters Association.

Without adequate rainfall and irrigation, the quality of the coffee suffers, said Sandeep P.M., a research assistant at the Coffee Quality Division of the Coffee Board.

“When there isn’t enough water, nutritional value does not reach the coffee bean, which does not grow to its maximum potential. As a result, the number of beans in a bunch becomes less along with its size.”

The quality of “cupping” – the aroma, flavour, and strength present in a cup of coffee – is lower, he added. The Western Ghats largely dominates coffee production in India.

Continued on Page 4

Rejuvenation of the Bellandur Lake has been in the pipeline for years.

Source: Deccan chronicle treated over a four-year period to restore the lake bed to its original depth.

The other challenge in restoring the lake is the construction of dry weather flow diversion channels, according to the SBAP plan. The plan also mentioned the need to set up a silt trap at water entry points of the lake to prevent solid waste from entering, requiring the intervention of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB).

Finally, the SBAP report said a treatment plant needs to be set up to

treat the surface run-off and dry weather flow water.

Pabbisetty said the expert committee is comprised of current and former government officials, NGO members, environmentalists and Ramamurthy, who had filed a Public Interest Litigation on the government’s apathy towards Bangalore’s water bodies in 1997.

Jaganath R, executive engineer of lakes for the BBMP, said the government has big plans for Bellandur and Varthur lakes and implied that the work on the lake would run

more smoothly if put in the hands of the BBMP, rather than being divided anong multiple agencies.

“We are trying to take jurisdiction of the lake,” said Jaganath R. “Only some days back we have applied for jurisdiction of this lake. The lake comes under BBMP, but the BDA has sole authority for its rejuvenation.”

Kannada filmmaker and environmentalist, Suresh Heblikar, is sceptical about plans for revival of the lake. “Several lakes have already been encroached upon. If Bellandur lake has to be revived then the government must act immediately,” he said.

Priya R, a local resident, said, “Bellandur needs to be restored. It is the biggest lake in the city. It is a sad sight to see the pathetic condition of this huge water body. Citizens living around the lake are also working for its restoration. Not only does the presence of sewerage lead to a foul smell around a 50 metre radius, it also leads to health issues in the areas surrounding the lake. Reviving the lake is a necessity and its revival will also help address the water problems of Bengaluru.”

Two-wheeler deaths rise as riders refuse helmet use Mitali Goyal mitali.g@iijnm.org

BENGALURU- In the past 20 months, some 187 motorbike and pillion riders have lost their lives.

What they all had in common: They were riding without helmets.

Last year, 124 people died in road accidents while riding without helmets. As of August 2016, the number of deaths of those without helmets is 63; the number of injured while driving without helmet is 276. .“It is unfortunate that people, knowing the importance of helmets, don’t wear [them] and the cases are increasing each day,” said M.N. Sreehari, traffic expert and advisor to the state government on traffic issues.

“Today, the young generation of our country feels proud on not wearing helmets and ultimately they lose their lives,” said Sreehari. “I think stricter rules should be implemented in order to make sure that the cases decrease either in the form of fines or imprisonment.”

About 1,770,890 people were booked last year for riding without a helmet. As of August 2016, there were 1,172,922 cases booked. Pillion riders, or those who ride on the back of a motorbike, were also subjected to fines; 1,114,833 cases were booked against them for riding without a helmet in 2015.

Mr. Nitish, owner of a twowheeler, said he obeys traffic laws and believes in wearing a helmet at all times. “I always wear a helmet

A family is seen flouting multiple traffic rules here.

Source: Motorstown.com and I don’t understand why people don’t wear helmets. It acts as a safeguard.”

As of March 31, 2016, the twowheeler population in Bangalore stood at 4,219,709. Two-wheelers make up 69.1 per cent of the total vehicle population in Bangalore and account for 60.6 per cent of all motor vehicle cases in Bangalore, report Bangalore Traffic Police statistics.

Karnataka Motor Vehicles Rules state that motorbike drivers and pillion riders caught riding without

a helmet are liable to pay a fine of Rs.100.

Sreehari estimates that even after fines are imposed by the Bangalore Traffic Police, 80 per cent of the population still doesn’t wear a helmet and most people age 2025 are the ones not wearing helmets, he said.

C.K. Baba, deputy commissioner of police for Traffic East, did not want to comment on the issue other than to say, “The cases are on [the] rise and are expected to rise.”

BENGALURU

THE OBSERVER THURSDAY,OCTOBER 06, 2016

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Water workshop held in Bengaluru

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A two-day water workshop was conducted by Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) which constituted of a panel discussion regarding water convservation and usage Mahak Dutta and Ayushee Chaudary mahak.d@iijnm.org ayushee.c@iijnm.org BENGALURU: Bengaluru’s water story is one of scarcity, depleting groundwater levels, disappearing lakes, monsoon floods and water quality issues. The situation has been aggravated with the recent Cauvery conflict which has an emotional and political bend which in turn forces the need to set right misunderstandings about the city’s water stresses, how they are being addressed and the implications for the future. A two day water workshop, which was conducted on October 1st and 2nd at Karnataka State Pollution Control

“

Our Constitution doesn’t say anything about the right to water but there is a right to life which includes the water’s right since water is basically a necessity for life

” Board office, addressed some of the most important questions about the fate of Bengaluru city in the near future.

It was marked by the presence of

various government officials, environmental activists, ecologists and journalists which helped to give a complete picture by presenting all sides of the story.

According to studies, out of the 1400 MLD (Million litres per day) water that is out from Cauvery river, 47 per cent (approximately 658 MLD) is lost due to leakages.

The panel discussion had inputs from significant members- Mr. Lakshman, Chairman, KSPCB; MV Rajeev Gowda, RajyaSabha MP; Sridhar Pabbisetty, CEO, Namma Bengaluru Foundation; Ravindra, Chief Engineer, Maintenance, BWSSB; Dr. Kshithij Urs, ‘People’s Campaign for Right to Water’; Dr. Jai Prakash Alva, KSPCB and Imran Qureshi, journalist and Nitin Pai, co-founder Takshashila Institution, who also moderated the panel discussion.

“Our Constitution doesn’t say anything about the right to water but there is a right to life which includes the water’s right since water is basically a necessity for life,” said Ramaswamy R. Iyer, a water policy expert, giving the judicial interpretation of water.

Nitin Pai, co-founder Takshashila Institution said, “This is an issue of governance and political will, which often goes missing.”

Mr. Lakshman, Chairman, KSPCB said, “We have formed a squad and our priority is to enforce and penalise those emitting industrial effluents, from the Peenya Industrial area.”

The first day comprised of talks, panel discussions and documentaries on lakes rejuvenated by a group of people.

It began with a film called ‘Water and a city’ by Swati Dandekar, which highlighted the daily water needs of Bengaluru which amounts to 1100MLD (Million litres per day) and how the

Panel members at the water workshop at KSPCB office, Bengaluru Bengaluru Water Supply and Sanitation Board (BWSSB) is supplying only 500MLD of water.

Moreover installing bore wells is also a costly affair. It costs up to 80,000 rupees.

Mr. S. Vishwanath, a water journalist and urban planner spoke about the production cost of water

by BWSSB amounting to 34 rupees per kilolitre. “Generally, well to do people who have access to proper water supply from BWSSB are charged with nominal rates, but the underprivileged section of the society are not a part of water supply board and hence they receive water from private sources at a price of Rs. 300 per kilolitre and end up paying more,” he said.

They discussed the need for Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) along with regulating indiscriminate use of ground water. Nagesh Aras, civil activist and STP (Sewage Treatment Plant) expert spoke about hydrology, water sources, pollution, quality of water and process of wastewater management and recycling.

There is Cauvery water connection in many places but no water is available since three to four years. Years have passed yet people haven’t availed Cauvery water even after paying for it.

Another film,‘River or Sewer: The story of Vrishabhavathi’ portrayed the problem of rapid urbanization leading to stress on the river as a source of water. The film on Arkavathy River also had a lasting impact. It showed the importance of groundwater, how farmers have been resorting to bore well and the lack of coordination between the water management authorities.

Issues about water availability in Bengaluru were also raised where people were of the opinion that the amount of water available in Bengaluru is at its peak and it will only become scarce now.

Government needs to create awareness about water conservation as a basic measure.

People are seen filling their cans with water from tankers Source: The Hindu

‘Kaikondrahalli Lake: The Uncommon story of urban commons,’ was a film about the rejuvenation of the Kaikondarahalli lake by a group of citizens. The lake was severely polluted and contaminated but it was only after months of working on the project that they were able to

STAFF PHOTO

revive its natural beauty.

Their plan included approaching the BBMP, presenting their ideas to the officials and building a fence across the lake. But it was only possible after waiting for many months that they were able to look forward to the recovery of the water in the lake.

In another session on case studies and solutions of problems, issues of groundwater conservation and water sustainability were discussed. The techniques include storing water in wells, communalising bore wells and eliminating private ownership of water.

This is only possible by reusing and recycling wastewater in which lakes also hold significant importance. For groundwater recharge and wastewater management the STPs need to be linked, to be reused.

They also tried to establish an understanding about water, being a commodity in Bengaluru. From problems to solutions, reasons to initiate, everything was discussed.The positive and negative sides of the lakes like Ulsoor, Bellandur, Hunoor and Jakur lakes formed an important part of the discussion.

Nevertheless, role played by nature is also fundamental for the recovery of water resources. Citizen awareness can help to recover the water resources. Understanding and managing water bodies at local levels with private investment, for public benefit were thought of as probable solutions.

BENGALURU

THE OBSERVER THURSDAY,OCTOBER 06, 2016

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Two per cent houses harvest rainwater Karishma Jayapaul karishma.j@iijnm.org BENGALURU: While rainwater harvesting has been made compulsory for residents of Bangalore since the bill passed in 2009, only 2.5 per cent of the total number of houses in the city have installed it.

According to India’s 2011 Census, the latest figures available, Bangalore has 32,67,960 houses, of which 29,05,233 are occupied. Of the occupied homes, over 28,00,000 are defaulters of the compulsory rainwater harvesting rule.

The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) declared on March 3, 2016 that those who have not installed the rainwater harvesting systems will be penalised 2 per cent of the total water and sanitary charges for the first three months, after which the fine will go up to 50 per cent of the water and sanitary charges till the defaulter gets the required system installed.

“During August, we have identified nearly 2,500 connections who have not implemented rainwater harvesting,” said B.M. Manjunath, assistant executive engineer of BWSSB. “We have issued the notices to the defaulters twice already.”

“The water table has declined to 300 metres from 28 metres, and 400–500 metres in intensely urbanized areas such as Whitefield, over a period of 20 years,” said a report published in June 2016 called “Ben-

galuru’s reality: Towards unliveable status with unplanned urban trajectory,” by T. V. Ramachandra and Bharath H. Aithal from The Indian

applicant has installed the rainwater harvesting system according to regulations. Only after this entire process of inspection, the water supply connection to the applicant will be sanctioned.

The buildings with an area of 2400 sq. ft. built before 2009, having the BWSSB connection must have rainwater harvesting systems as per the rules laid down by the department. They must then notify the department of installing the system after which the service station in charge of the subdivision will inspect the premises. The applicant will then be given a certificate and their names will be uploaded in the BWSSB’s data system.

“If collection and storage are deBWSSB’s theme park is an initiative to spread awareness across signed carefully, it is possible to the city Picture courtesy: BWSSB website cater water demand even in areas Institute of Science, Bangalore. with rainfall as little as 400 mm / 2009.

BWSSB records show that the The BWSSB has more than 100 year,” said Dr. Ramachandra T.V. maximum number of rainwater harfrom the Centre for Ecological Sciservice stations. In every service ences, Indian Institute of Science, vesting systems have been installed station there are engineers who look Bangalore in his paper titled “Need in Saha Karanagar with installations in 5,061 houses followed by 4,118 after the water supply. Those who for Rain Water Harvesting in the want the water supply connection Context of Urbanization.” Analysis in Banagiri Nagara. need to apply for the same to their shows that between 80 to 85 per The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage (Amendment) Act, 2009 concerned BWSSB subdivision of- cent of all measurable rain can be states that, “every owner or occu- fice. They will then be inspected for collected and stored from the catchment area, which includes light pier of a building having a sital area the rainwater harvesting systems bedrizzle and dew condensation. of 2400 square feet and above or fore having the water supply sanc“If anyone wants to get rainwater every owner who propose to con- tioned. These systems must follow harvesting system installed in the struct a building on a sital area of the parameters laid down by the house, they can visit our website 1200 square feet and above shall BWSSB. After the inspection of the which gives a list of plumbers provide for rain water harvesting.” premises, BWSSB will upload a file whose names are published in difSince this rule was implemented in in their data systems stating that the ferent areas,” said Manjunath.

Ejipura residents depend on tankers as water supply irregular and contaminated Supriya Dedgaonkar supriya.d@iijnm.org Owing to supply of contaminated water, residents of Ejipura have to depend on water tankers. It has been over a month that the residents of 9th main road, Kormangala are facing difficulties due to irregular and contaminated water supply.

According to Mr. Ravi.Chandra, a resident of Ejipura said “around 50 families have been affected due to the water crisis. Daily activities have been hampered to a certain extent as they do not receive water that is clean or which can be used for cooking,” adding, “Several complaints have been lodged over the past few weeks about the water crisis and the contamination of water. People have been suffering from typhoid and other water-borne diseases.”

The residents of this area complain that they receive water once in every three to four days.

Lately they have been receiving water that is highly contaminated and is not drinkable.

The daily activities have been hampered due to the same. The water problems in this area have been prominent over several months now.

They have lodged several complaints but not much heed is taken by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board.

Dr. Medha Kulkarni asserted that 8 patients have been diagnosed with typhoid and fever due to the intake of contaminated water

2009, there are separate rules for those who got the water supply connection before and those who want the water supply connection after

in August from this area.

According to Bangalore Water Supply and Sewage Board (BWSSB) (in a report), water consumption of the city has increased by 30% in the last 6 months.

Mr. Krishnamurthy who is a water supply engineer said, “The work is tedious, expensive and the main problem is the sewage and drinking water mixing up. They do not have enough authority and higher officials should be contacted.”

Sarla Kumari (P.R.O) said, “As the cement roads have been laid, they have to take permission from the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike to dig up the roads.

Sometimes the work is delayed but they ignore the whole problem even after noticing it.”

Rahul Jindal who is a tenant of Friends Colony said, “They are tenants and working bachelors, the contaminated water doesn’t affect them a lot as they do not stay in the house for long, but is a real trouble for the ladies, whose all daily chores are depended on water.”

As an alternative to the water crisis, that has been persistent for a year now, people have been depending on water tankers.

Each family splurges around Rs.5000 to buy water from water tankers per month, out of which Rs.1500 is spent only on drinking water. Seventeen hundred litres of water lasts for around ten days. People largely depend on borewells too.

With an area of 4,636 sqm, Bangalore has an annual rainwater potential of 46,36,000 litres. BWSSB has built a rainwater harvesting theme park called Sir M. Visvesvaraya Rain Water Harvesting Theme Park in Jayanagar displaying 26 types of rainwater harvesting live models, according the design of KSCTC. They also offer training programmes and conduct mass awareness programmes in a bid to promote the need for rainwater harvesting. “We are reaching out to the public, to school students everyday and the BWSSB is doing its best to make people realise they need to conserve water,” said Manjunath.

Although the BWSSB is making efforts to promote the need for rainwater harvesting by enlightening Bengaluru with not just the theory behind conservation of a depleting source but also with practical illustrations in the rainwater harvesting theme park, the city does not seem to have taken it seriously.

Manjunath said, “They don’t want to invest in rainwater harvesting system. But since the penalisation rule in July this year, the people who have installed the rainwater harvesting systems have increased.

We had issued notices earlier, but most probably it is because of the initial investment. Maybe some people have not oriented their minds to do the rainwater harvesting..”

Water theft cases left unattended

by BWSSB, says public survey

By Rishiraj Bhagawati rishiraj.b@iijnm.org Bengaluru | Nearly 80 percent of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board’s customers said in a recent survey that no one from the city’s water board has visited them to check and fix water thefts.

This finding emerged in a study conducted by Public Affairs Centre (PAC), a non profit organisation hired by BWSSB to assess its work culture and water and sanitation facilities. The study was made public in July this year.

The survey was conducted among 2,057 BWSSB customers from various parts of the city.

“Water theft is a term used to broadly describe acts of pilfering water from BWSSB pipelines.

These connections are not metered, and hence cannot be regulated by the BWSSB,” said Dr. Meena Nair, head of the Participatory Governance Research Group at PAC. “I cannot deny that water theft is a common problem in the city today,” said Narasimha Murthy, chief engineer of projects at BWSSB, “but the situation is not as bad as is being suggested. The problem here is that these cases are difficult to spot as most of them have been prevalent since long.

“We have dedicated teams in BWSSB who go on rounds regularly to fix problems such as these.

We are handling the commercial areas in the city first and trying to

Data Source: Public Affairs Centre fix cases of water theft there,” he added.

Dr. Nagaraj VS, a resident of Yelahanka, said that water theft is “a common phenomenon around here but I’ve never heard of a BWSSB official come and fix it.”

The survey also found that nearly 80 per cent of BWSSB workers were aware of illegal water connections in their area of operation/jurisdiction. While most of them said they either disconnected the illegal connection or levied a penalty on the guilty, others admitted to not taking any action for reasons ranging from complexities in slum areas

to pressure from politicians, according to the study.

Nair said, “Yes, it is indeed surprising that everyone seems to be in the know of water thefts, and most BWSSB workers admit to fixing the problems wherever they arise, and yet we have such a large majority of customers complaining of water thefts. But the study reflected exactly what we found through our surveys.”

The PAC study, which continued for almost two years, was submitted to the BWSSB over a month before it was made public in July this year.

BENGALURU

THE OBSERVER

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 06, 2016

State gearing up to launch ‘Cereal Bhagya’ scheme for BPL card holders

THE WEEK THAT WAS

Yogita Chainani yogita.c@iijnm.org

REGIONAL Karnataka government release Cauvery water

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to

Both houses of Karnataka legislature unanimously adopted a resolutiono to release cauvery water for farmers. The resolution complies with the Supreme Court order to release 6000 cusecs of water on a daily basis for six days to Tamil Nadu

Source: The Hindu

NATIONAL Army camp near Baramulla attacked

BENGALURU: Karnataka government is launching “Cereal Bhagya” in November 2016 to provide nutritious meals to those below the poverty line, potentially helping as many as 1.03 crore families.

The new scheme, ‘Cereal Bhagya,’ aims to provide a nutritious meal to below poverty line (BPL) families. As many as 1.03 crore BPL families in Karnataka will be provided with 1 kg of cereals every month through the success of this scheme.

According to the state government, the scheme will require 10,300 metric tonnes of cereals.

“The linking of Ration cards to Aadhaar cards will help the below poverty line (BPL) families to register for a BPL card to avail the

schemes launched by the government,” says executive director (IT), Mr. Vijay Kumar, from the ‘Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs Department (FCSAD).

Kumar said FCSAD is working

to digitize the process so people can register online for the BPL card via a mediator. The card is usually

obtained in 10 working days Geeta Raghu, from Gollahalli village in Bangalore says, “BPL card is really helpful. I get the ration at a cheap price and I am very happy with the schemes government is implementing for the BPL card holder.”

Some 450 families in Gollahalli have BPL cards, said Panchayat officer, N Munichickiah.

Tayappa, of Devagiri Village in Bangalore, has had a BPL card for two-to-three years and, he said and is satisfied with the rations he receives from the government under the “Anna Bhagya Yojana” scheme, the flagship programme of the state government has benefited 34,650 families.

“Setting up everything has not only maintained the transparency, but has also increased the efficiency,” said Mr. Gangadhar, assistant executive director at FCSAD.

twitter Colleagues in Baramulla town are phoning with reports of massive gunfire in their vicinity. Prayers for all in the area. @abdullah_omar Both Houses decided to release water for crops in #Cauvery basin &for drinking purposes of nearly 600 villages in basin&Mysuru, Mandya, BLR @CMofKarnataka

to the Going organic, staying stylish Congratulations Indian cricket team for Courtesty: India Today One BSF(Border Security Force) Jawan and two militants were killed. The firing opened around 10.30 a.m. at Janbazpora in Baramulla in Kashmir.Nitin Kumar (24) put paid to militants designs, when he came out of his bunker, all alone, to challenge them.

Source: The Hindu

INTERNATIONAL India ratified the Paris treaty at the UN on October 2.

The Paris agreement was adopted by 185 nations last year on December 12 and India signed it in New York on April 22 this year.

India is the 62nd country to ratify the agreement. The agreement will enter into force one month after 55 countries that account for 55 percent of global emissions ratify the agreement. A special event was organised to mark the occasion, also observed as the International Day of Nonviolence, at the UN headquarters.

Source: The Hindu

BUSINESS Reliance Defence deal Anil Ambani led Reliance announced its joint venture Dassault Relaince Aerospace Pvt. Ltd with French aircraft maker Dassault Aviation SA. The JV is looking at creating a complete supply chain for the Rafale fighter jet in India. A joint release said the JV would be a key player in the execution of offset obligations” for the 7.87 billion euro contract for 36 Rafale jets.

Source: Livemint

Karishma Jayapaul karishma.j@iijnm.org BENGALURU: Anaka Narayanan’s store, Brass Tacks has modern, fashion forward and well cut silhouettes made with hand crafted textiles. We find out more about her venture into the fashion industry even though she pursued her bachelor’s degree in Economics from the United States and her journey so far.

TWO: Do you feel handicapped because you haven’t done a professional design course?

AN: Sometimes I do, but it is not my biggest challenge at the moment. Would it have been an advantage? Absolutely!

I just started working with an assistant designer along a textile designer. It makes a big difference because I think working with craftsmen and giving them an additional input adds a lot of value. In any creative field it is good to collaborate, otherwise, the brand tends to develop a certain sameness about.

TWO: You claim to be all about fabric, fit and quality. How do you maintain your standard of quality?

AN: It starts at the textile stage.

We work with craftsmen who really understand good quality. Whenever the fabrics come in, we wash them to do a strength test and make sure that we understand the fabric really well. If it doesn’t pass the basic wash test, with colours bleeding,

then we send it right back. There is some allowance that we give for something that is hand crafted and hand woven. But just because it is hand made it doesn’t give us a crutch to do a sloppy job.

TWO: In a city that has a floating

are also visible and that they are given credit. And the same goes for the craftsmen, what is a garment without the luxurious textured fabric.

TWO: How viable is having a store which also offers an option to

Singapore is already our partner in developing Amaravati, the new capital city of Andhra Pradesh: PM @narendramodi

Anaka Narayan at her store, Brass Tracks Courtesy: The Hindu crowd and a country with a competitive fashion industry; do you aspire to become a leading brand?

AN: I think that every brand needs to stick out otherwise there is no reason to start your own label. It is part of vision to really stand out and make Brass Tacks a leading label.

TWO: Tell us about your ‘Who made your clothes’ campaign.

AN: We often have photographs of the people behind the scenes. So much of my work rests on their hardwork so it is important that they

shop online?

AN: It really helps communicate what our brand is about if we have a chance to meet our customers and help them try on our clothes. I learn a lot just from first hand feedback, just by seeing people wear the clothes. Online is a great way to reach out to everyone, it doesn’t have any borders. But is a different ball game and I am yet to figure out how to make an online model financially rewarding.

Reduction in rainfall causes decline in coffee production CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Despite the anticipated decline in coffee production for 2016-2017, coffee exports won’t be as affected.

“The exports in 2016-17 are nearly 17 percent higher than previ-

ous years with countries like Italy taking 25 percent of the total exports,” said Reddy, of the Coffee Board.

To combat low production levels, low-price green coffee is imported from Vietnam, Indonesia

and Uganda for general consumption. “We use it for instant coffee production and export it back into the market,” said Reddy.

India will be importing 65,000 metric tonnes of green coffee this year compared to 75,000 in 2015.

SPORTS India wins the second test match against New Zealnd.

India’s 178-run win over New Zealand in the second Test, in which the fast bowlers contributed 12 wickets, here on Monday was a surprising contradiction to the country’s reputation as a favourite hunting ground for the spinners.

Source: The Hindu

winning at Eden Gardens and now being ranked number 1 in the world . Jai Hind @MamataOfficial

A comparison on previous year’s production and this year’s expected production Source: Coffee Board

Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to be Republic Day chief guest @PMOIndia THE WEEKLY OBSERVER TEAM EDITOR- IN - CHIEF Aneesh Srinivasan ASSISTANT EDITORS Bibin Raj PB, Mahak Dutta COPY EDITORS Karishma Jayapaul, Divya R LAYOUT EDITORS Rishiraj Bhagwati, Arunava Banerjee PHOTO EDITOR Mitali Goyal SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR Phalguni Vittal Rao STAFF Sandra Branger Cherry Agarwal Sumukh Khadekar Supriya Dedgaonkar Ahana Chatterjee Aarohi Pathak Yogita Chainani Ayushee Chaudhary Nivedita Naidu For comments, feedback and to write letters to the editor, mail at observethis16@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter @ObserveThis16