Vol.12 Issue 4 Indian Institute of Journalism & New Media, Bangalore 18 September 2012

by Nikita Malusare

A national leisure chain has been

accused of “organized cheating “by

clients who claim they are owed al-

most Rupees nine crore.

Country Club has faced over a

thousand claims from angry clients in

the last three years.

In Bangalore alone 12 cases are

currently going through court. Clients

claim they were misled by promo-

tional advertisements and exaggerated

promises.

The former members complained

about the aggressive marketing strate-

gies, such as the allotment of free land.

“This is organized cheating”, stated

Advocate Pratap Kumar who has

fought 25 cases against the club in the

last five years.

He added: “The club knows peo-

ple will be interested in investing in

plots and benefits, and many young-

sters fall prey to such offers.

The government should blacklist

such fraudulent enterprises and book

them under the unfair trade practices

act, so that people will stop investing

in such schemes.”

1045 cases have been registered at

Bangalore Consumer Disputes Re-

dressal Forum, Urban.

Most of the cases revolve around

free allotment of free land at Tumkur

Road which is underdeveloped and is

located far away from the city.

Jagdish Poojari , one of the many

complainants, was promised a plot of

land and a holiday package along with

free flight tickets on purchasing a “Mr.

Cool” membership card .

The card, costing Rs. 85,000

promised the buyer a free plot of land

at the Country Club Coconut Grove in

Tumkur Road, as well as holiday

packages to Goa.

When the members were not allot-

ted land for over a year, they grew sus-

picious and called the country club to

enquire about the delay.

These enquiries were largely ig-

nored by the club’s management and

staff.

A new site was later allotted to the

Mr. Cool card holders at Vedic Coun-

try Spa project 11. Complainants state

that this site is over 40 kms away from

the Bangalore city and is underdevel-

oped. Hasmukh G Lodhia, 64, had re-

ceived a congratulatory call form the

club for being the winner of a raffle

and was asked to collect his gift from

their office.

At the office he was offered a

membership for Rs. 1, 05,000 and an

offer to travel free of cost anywhere in

India, along with free accommodation

in the ‘A’ grade hotels. Accepting the

membership, Hasmukh and his family

planned a trip to Mumbai, with the use

of his club membership.

However, after reaching the hotel

at Mumbai where the Country Club

had acquired lodging for him, the

hotel insisted that he pay for his stay,

and not use the offers which his club

membership entailed.

Hasmukh was asked to pay book-

ing deposit and transportation charges

by the hotel management, saying that

they did not trust the club as it had de-

faulted its payments many times in the

past.

He then filed a written complaint

to the club, asking them to reimburse

the expenses incurred by him. The

club agreed for a part-settlement and

promised to deposit the rest into his

account, which remains pending.

Based on a verdict passed by the

Bangalore Consumer Forum, the

country club was asked to refund

Rs. 85,000 to its Hasmukh along with

the interest, within four weeks from

the date of the verdict.

However, even after the lapse of

an entire year, the club has failed to

abide by the directive. A lawyer for

one of the complainants, Anees

Ahmed, said, “The refund money

takes over 6 to 7 months to process.

There is no strict action being taken in

light of the delay. The club continues

to fool other members and makes

money out of memberships.”

The club maintains that it has no

provision to cancel any of the mem-

berships it has issued to its clients.

They also claim that members file

cases in a bid to avoid annual mainte-

nance payment. Hasmukh himself

owes Rs. 7991 to the club.

The officials of the country club,

when contacted by The Observer, re-

fused to comment on the story.

Country Clubs network all over India

Country Club accused of Rs. 9 crore scam

Police silent on cases of missing children; NGOs forced to pick up slackby Kriti Khandelwal

Vital details of missing children are

not being passed on by police.

As soon as a missing person’s re-

port is filed, the officers in charge are

required to circulate the missin g per-

son’s details and photographs to police

stations across the city on the same

day.

But when asked, D K Varde-

gowda, Assistant Sub-Inspector at

Wilson Garden Police Station, said

that it takes more than one day to in-

form other police stations about the

FIR registered against a missing per-

son. “Through the wireless device, we

tell the police stations within three

days.” he said.

As of the end of May this year

only 61.6 percent of missing children

have been traced so far. The where-

abouts of the rest are still unknown,

according to figures provided by the

Missing Children Bureau (MCB) in

Karnataka

The MCB, which has an ambit

across 20 districts of Karnataka, has

begun using non-governmental or-

ganizations to help them track missing

children.

When parents or police file an FIR

or missing person’s report involving a

child, the MCB provides them with in-

formation which can be easily ac-

cessed on their website. They then

inform the parents that their child is in

a specific NGO.

The NGOs help the police track

missing children by providing them

with a human touch, as opposed to the

police authorities.

Many NGOs also provide basic

counseling to children as well as to

their parents and try to sort out the dif-

ferences.

Mrs. Pushpa Natta, the Assistant

Coordinator of MCB District Banga-

lore Urban, said that it’s not only chil-

dren from BPL families who go

missing. “When you talk to children,

you come to know that problems are

faced by children from good families

as well.” Children who are found also

take time to open up and talk, she said.BOSCO, an NGO, reveals increase in number of missing children.

Statistics of the runaway children from KSRTC bus stand

Students at Kengeri Bus

Station face trouble in get-

ting bus passes.

Page 2

Exotic animals sold in

cramped cages at Russell

market.

Page 3

Cauvery water supply a

persistent issue with the

residents of Ramamurthi

Nagar.

Page 2

News Digest

2 The Weekly Observer 18 September 2012

Residents of Rammurthi Nagar still

not getting water although BWSSB

promised to supply Cauvery water

in 2006.

Despite complaining for over eight

years, urging the authorities to take the

initiative in supplying water to their

households, the BWSSB has failed to

listen to the residents’ grievances.

The Cauvery water supply scheme

was commissioned by the state gov-

ernment in 2004. The BWSSB (Ban-

galore Water Supply and Sewerage

Board) completed the installation

processes for most residents who de-

manded new water connections, by

2006.

The new connections were secured

by the residents after paying the bene-

ficiary contribution of Rs. 2500 to the

authorities.

The deadline set by the BWSSB

for receiving applications was Sep-

tember 2005. Those who applied for

connections after the deadline were

asked to pay a penalty of Rs. 3000.

“I really don’t know why I should

pay a fine of Rs. 3000 extra for a new

water connection when we are not

even given water for drinking,” said

Mr. John, a resident.

There are four bore wells for over

two thousand households in the local-

ity, of which the water from only two

bore wells is accessible.

The working bore wells are sub-

merged in drainage and waste dumps.

Currently these two water sources

have almost dried up due to drought

and residents hardly access water from

them.

Residents claim that the pump op-

erator appointed by BWSSB to help

residents access water from the bore

wells, shows up once every two days.

“It will take two weeks to repair

the pump if it is damaged and we are

forced to buy tanker water from pri-

vate suppliers that will cost Rs. 1000

per tanker,” said Mr. N S Ajanappa,

Secretary of Ramaurthi Nagar Welfare

Association. He further added, “the

cost sometimes goes beyond

Rs.1500.”

When asked about the water short-

age at Ramamurthi Nagar, the

BWSSB refused to issue any comment

but said that connections to the various

households will be completed shortly.

Residents believe that the water

connections issued under the Cauvery

Water Supply Scheme will be polluted

by water from the drainage canals, as

the sunk bore wells come in close

proximity to the sewer lines.

In spite of filing complaints to the

ward councillor and the local MLA for

the past six years, there has been no

progress in the construction of the sup-

ply lines.

“The Councillor and MLA are

nowhere to be seen in the locality. We

have almost completely given up all

hope that our voics will be heard,”

said Mr. Karthik, a resident and shop-

keeper of Rammurthi Nagar.

The problem of falling aquifer lev-

els was also one of the problems dis-

cussed by the residents. Aravind, a

resident, said, “We used to strike

aquifers at around 100-200 feet below

the ground, but nowadays, we don’t

get water even if we bore down 500 or

even 600 feet.”

The residents say that the govern-

ment is apathetic to their plight and

show no signs of addressing their con-

cerns.

“Water is an essential commodity.

It is part of the right to lead a life of

dignity, ” says Bettenekera Gowda,

another local who has lived in the area

for the last 7 years. “The government

has been indifferent to the complaints

lodged by us” said he.

The issue has not been addressed

for a long time although residents have

been registering their protests in the

form of written complaints.

Water a scarce commodity for people living in Rammurthi Nagar

By Deepu Aby

Sex workers in Bangalore are strug-

gling to get proper healthcare due to

problems in obtaining identity

cards.

“Most of the sex workers do not

stay at a fixed location and neither do

they have families. They are either

trafficked or flee from their homes due

to gender inequity or violence and are

reluctant to revealtheir identities,

“says Mr. Augustine C Kaunds, the

coordinator of SPAD (Society for Peo-

ple’s Action for Development)

The Lack of identity cards as well

as ration cards restricts them from ac-

cessing many facilities. They do not

have access to basic facilities, health

being important. Most of the HIV pos-

itive workers have to struggle even to

get free treatment in government hos-

pitals.

Mr. Augustine

added that many of

these women have chil-

dren and want to enroll

them in schools, but ad-

mission is denied to

them because they do

not possess identity

cards. He also said

they were being dis-

criminated as they were

not able to mention the

name of their fathers.

The Karnataka sex

workers union had rec-

ommended health cards

for free medical treat-

ment of sex workers

with STD’s in all dis-

tricts and taluks. Pen-

sions, treatment for

sex-workers’ partners

and supply of condoms in rural and

urban areas were the other additional

demands by the union, which they be-

lieve, should be part of the 12th five

year plan of the government of India.

Though, the plan states that atten-

tion will be given to more vulnerable

groups like female sex workers.

Bangalore’s Invisible Sex Workers

By Amrita

Students forced to shell out more for bus passes

No ID card, No health care -Amrita

By Vintu

Paying extra bucks for the bus passes -Vintu

Veteran journalist Kuldip Nayar ad-

dressed a seminar on the ailing Indian

democracy in Bangalore on Friday.

In the seminar conducted at the

Bangalore International Centre, Mr.

Nayar said that fundamentalism and

communalism are a threat to

democracy in India. He also held

poverty, religious fundamentalism

and casteism as hurdles which can

derail democratic form of govern-

ment.

Referring to Anna Hazarey’s anti-

corruption movement Mr. Nayar be-

came nostalgic remembering the

Jaypraksh movement of the 1980s.

“However,eventually, the govern-

ment got the better of him. If Anna’s

movement begins again under his

leadership, it will aid in rejuvenating

the democratic setup” said Mr.

Nayar.

Discussing about the freedom of

expression and Fundamental Rights

for Indian citizens Mr. Nayar cited the

example of emergency during the

1970s when Indira Gandhi was the

Prime Minister. He said that all the

basic rights were suspended during

that period including the right to free-

dom of speech..

Mr. Nayar also spoke about ‘tal-

ibanisation of cities in India’.Talking

about the religious fundamentalism

making its roots in India, he said that

in the current scenario there is a

prevalent mistrust between Hindus

and Muslims. He insisted that this

feeling of hatred towards each other

should be contained.

A question on whether the illiter-

ate strata of the society should be

included in the democratic system

was answered by Mr. Nayar in the

form of an Urdu couplet. He meant

to say that “in a democratic system,

people are counted, not weighed”.

He stressed that in a democratic

form of government success can only

be guaranteed when the educated

masses play their role effectively.

Mr Nayar asked the media to play a

more augmented role in its duties to-

wards the public and the nation. He

also showcased the positive side of

democracy by telling that only in a

democratic nation can people gather

together and discuss about the failure

of democracy. “The faith of people in

the electoral reforms of India is very

strong. Democracy is going to stay”

said MrNayar.

An Urdu couplet asking the politi-

cians not to play with the emotions

of citizens was recited by Mr Nayar

towards the end of the seminar.

He concluded the seminar by ex-

tending an invitation for his book

launch on Saturday evening at the

Taj West End in Bangalore.

Nayar: “Fundamentalism and Communalism

are a threat to democracy in India.”

Kuldip Nayar -Deepu

By Sumit

A water meter which was installed in 2006 is still not working

Students have to pay extra cash to

get bus passes issued from Kengeri

Bus station. .

Officials at the Kengeri Satellite

bus station demand extra money

alongwith documents and identity

proof for easy issuance of bus passes.

This incident is common with col-

lege students especially when the

queue at the counter is not very long.

in the absence of general public, offi-

cials freeel free to demand money.

“They made me pay additional

money by notifying no-mistakes as

wrongs with the submission. They de-

manded 200 rupees extra from me if I

needed the pass,” said Sumit, a student

The easy prey of BMTC person-

nel’s target are students from outside

the state. As they do not know the

local language and lack proper knowl-

edge of the system, they can be de-

ceived easily.

“We have no other way but pay

whatever they demand as we are in

dire need of acquiring the pass,” said

another student, who had to pay 100

rupees more than the required fees.

The amount fixed by BMTC for

students of professional and technical

courses is 1750 rupees for 12 months.

As per the instructions given on the

form and the website of BMTC, stu-

dents need to produce only their iden-

tity card and fee receipt of the college

along with two passport size photos in

order to attain pass.

But students say that they have

been asked to produce a bona fide cer-

tificate without which the officials do

not issue a pass.

“I was asked to pay Rs. 200 extra

under the claim that I had no bona fide

certificate, which is not a requirement

for issuing the pass,” said Mohini, a

student of Mechanical Engineering.

A BMTC officer, contacted for

clarification with regard to the issue,

said, “An identity card, two passport

size photos and fee receipt from the

college along with 1750 rupees are the

only requirement for engineering and

other professional students to procure

a pass.”

But the personnel at the counter

demand some other documents which

the students may not be possessing so

as to extract some extra money.

“Having all the requirements at

hand, I requested them a lot to have

the pass issued yesterday. But they de-

nied me the pass saying that I have to

produce a bona fide certificate,” said

a student in the queue.

As BMTC try to ease the lives of

several students by subsidizing fees

and increasing the distance that they

can travel with their passes in the bus.

3 The Weekly Observer 18 September 2012

Endangered animals held in cramped cages; sold as petsVarious species of endangered

wildlife are being sold at Russell

Market and at other pet shops in the

city.

More than 50 species of animals

and birds, like the Golden Conure,

which is on the International Union for

the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

list of endangered species are sold in

the market and also at Pet shops

around the city.

Dogs, cats and hamsters are also

sold at these places, where they are

kept in cramped, dirty cages, lacking

space to move around, and even to

breathe freely.

Beside pet animals like dogs and

cats, exotic wildlife like the Conure,

Pygmy marmosets, Green-winged

Macaws, Pheasants, Lorikeets, Red-

eared sliders, Cockatoos and various

other bird species are chained to

cramped cages, and sold as pets.

The Golden Conure, or the Golden

Parakeet as it is otherwise known, is

listed as an endangered species in the

IUCN list of threatened animal

species. Abdul Wahab, the owner of a

pet shop, said that exotic birds like the

Golden Conure cost around Rs. 2 lakh.

“Sometimes, it takes up to a year or

two to sell each animal. Especially the

expensive ones,” he added

Though the shopkeepers are not in

breach of Indian law in selling these

animals, as only native Indian species

are protected by the government, the

animals being sold at these shops face

increasing amounts of mental and

physical trauma.

“These animals may be protected

species in their own countries, but in

India, they do not come under the

purview of the wildlife authorities,”

said S. Pallavi, a project officer of the

World Wildlife Fund.

Some of the birds, after years of

confinement to small cages, have

started losing their minds, and flit aim-

lessly from one end of the cage to the

other. “The birds are subject to

tremendous psychological stress. They

are sometimes adopted alone and are

not fed properly,” says Sumanth Mad-

hav, a wildlife activist.

Sumanth added that the mar-

mosets and the turtles, such as the red-

eared slider become increasingly

aggressive once they reach sexual ma-

turity. “There are instances where peo-

ple’s fingers have been bitten off,” he

said.

The aggressive species of animals,

like the red-eared slider, are then aban-

doned by their owners, often at lakes

and rivers. This leads to the animals

decimating local bird populations by

preying on them. The non-native

species of birds also spread diseases to

the local wildlife.

Sumanth said that though there are

no laws for dealing with the trade in

non-native species of wildlife, the

confinement of these animals is “ethi-

cally wrong”, and the rising demand

from people who wish to own them as

exotic pets is the most important factor

contributing to this burgeoning

industry.

Students risking lives to dodge fares Social media seminar held in the city

The role of the media and social net-

working sites in the exodus of the

north-eastern people during the

month of August was scrutinized in

a seminar conducted in Bangalore.

The whole event was moderated

by Vincent Subramaniam, the co-

founder and editor of ‘India Together’

and ‘Citizen Matters’ in St. Joseph-

College. The audience actively partic-

ipated in the talk show helping it turn

into a success.

The show consisted of some emi-

nent panelists like — Subir Ghosh, a

specialist in media matters, Dinesh

Kumar, a senior journalist and-

Lawrence Lian, a lawyer. Three

North- Eastern students represented

their community. They also shared

their real-life experiences at the time

of their exodus.

Kim, a post graduate student of

political science said she received a

message on her phone. It read, “Four

north easterners have died, be cau-

tious.” She also said “after receiving

the message I was really scared, and

my parents were worried about me, so

I didn’t had any option other than

leaving the city”

P.D. Joseph, a student who was in

charge of the those who stayed in the

college during the exodus period said

“there were 45 students, who took

shelter in our college during the time

of exodus, out of which one student

was from another college. We spent

our days in fear.”He also added that

the college did their best in providing

security.The police were also lauded

for their efforts in protecting the stu-

dents and helping restore calm in the

city.

Mr. Subir Ghosh, speaking on the

topic of communalism said, “This

whole matter of communalism is very

complex.” He also asked journalists to

be more people centric. According to

Mr. Lawrence said: “Most of the news

related to the exodus was completely

based on some perception. They were

not sure about the news.”

There were many questions raised

during the entire show, but audience

left the event with better information

about the power of social media.

A caged Palm Cockatoo -Rohan

by Rohan

Students prefer clinging to the

footrest to buying tickets while trav-

elling in BMTC buses plying

Kanakpura road.

There are three engineering col-

leges on the Kanakpura road, whose

students use the BMTC bus services

on a daily basis. There are many who

avail the college bus facility or use

motorcycles as means of transporta-

tion.

Those who don’t have either of the

two options have to depend on the

BMTC services.

The conductors of the BMTC

buses plying this road take advantage

of this situation. Young students hang-

ing from the footrest of the bus with

minimal support is a common sight on

this route. The entire stretch of the

Kanakpura road has no traffic cop to

monitor the various traffic violations.

There are no designated bus stops

on this entire stretch. Drivers stop the

buses wherever they find a good num-

ber of passengers waiting for the bus.

This aggravates the already persistent

traffic problem on the road.

Metro construction work going on

the Kanakpura road has left the road

in a dilapidated condition and traffic

jams add to the woes of people.

Another important concern is the

issuance of tickets. Bus conductors

prefer taking less than the fixed ticket

rate, without issuing the tickets.

This is beneficial for the conduc-

tors as well as the students. “Why

should I pay the full charges when I

have to keep hanging on the footrest”,

says Mansoor, an engineering student.

The bus conductors have a differ-

ent say on this whole issue. They find

it difficult to drive the bus on the nar-

row road with waiting passengers

coming in their way. “We have to stop

as there is no other choice. People

keep coming in front of the bus”, said

the driver of a BMTC bus.

The students, who hang from the

footboard of the bus, pose a threat not

only to their own lives, but also to the

lives of the other motorists using the

roads.

“The Police are also partly re-

sponsible for this problem as they

don’t take proper measures to prevent

these incidents from occuring,” said

the local residents.

by Sumit

Money over safety -Sumit

-Pyusha

The “Superhero” Ganesha

by Urmi

4 The Weekly Observer 18 September 2012

Bangalore reels under water crisis

Villagers demand the return

of their land from the BDA

by Shreya & Siddharth

Waiting for water -Shreya

Kengeri farmers demanding the

return of their land staged a

protest at BDA head office.

People rallied in front of the BDA

premises on Tuesday and their protest

lasted for more than two hours.

After a delay of many years, the

BDA finally agreed to pay the com-

pensation to the farmers who were af-

fected by the acquisition of their land.

But, the grieved farmers have now de-

manded that they get their land back,

stating that the compensation was in-

adequate.

When the BDA officials of the

land acquisition department were con-

tacted, an official, Mr. Pandu, said,

“The land is usually acquired through

a particular procedure, which follows

the the tender notification, to advertise

to people who are interested in selling

their land.”

When asked about the farmer’s ag-

itation, he said: “Often farmers dissat-

isfied with the deal of BDA, protest by

moving petitions at the high court.”

But he refused to comment about the

Kengeri people’s agitation.

BDA has long been dogged by

controversy for delaying the compen-

sation to the farmers whose lands have

been acquired many years back. But,

after numerous protests and com-

plaints, the BDA finally declared that

it was releasing compensation to the

protesting farmers.

Mr. Pandu added that the compen-

sation is given to the farmers in such

a way that they get the majority of it

by monetary payment and the rest as

land.

There have been agitations piling

up against BDA, pertaining to land ac-

quisition. Land owners from various

villages are not happy with the com-

pensation that has been offered. Thus,

they have decided to get their land

back, instead of the proposed amount

of money.

An RTI activist, Shivkumar, criti-

cized the BDA for its role in usurping

land from the farmers. According to

him, the BDA cheated farmers for sev-

eral years without giving them ade-

quate compensation, which has now

induced the farmers to turn against the

government.

by Priyanka Roy

Ganesha’s Arrival

The painters give the idols a beautiful finishing touch. The artists work

tire elessly to produce these idols. They are worshipped by people everywhere.

Hundreds of families have been

without water for the past three

weeks in the city.

The residents of Murgeshpallya

get water supplied only once every

week through water tankers. Also the

water supply from these tankers is

limted. People pay Rs.400 every

month as water bill yet they have no

water supply. BWSSB has not taken

any action till date for this problem.

A resident of Omega housing

complex, Mrs. Soma Paul said: “We

never get water supply on a regular

basis, we have to buy our drinking

water everyday. There is no tap or bore

well in our area.”

When asked about the ongoing

water crisis in that area, a BWSSB of-

ficial said, “We are trying to solve the

problem but we cannot promise any-

thing right now.”

The case of Ganganagar is more

serious where the people residing in

10th cross are not getting water supply

for the past six months in spite of pay-

ing their water bills.

K Lakshmana Rao, a resident said,

“We face this issue especially in sum-

mers as the bore wells go dry. Then,

we are left with no other option except

to pay for private water supply. We

pay up to Rs. 500 pertank. Our prob-

lems don’t end here; we also have to

pay for the drinking water which is

supplied in cans.”

Bangaloreans are forced to depend

entirely on private water supplieEx-

ploiting the situation, these suppliers

are laughing all the way to the bank,

with their charges per load of a 7,000-

litre tanker ranging from anywhere be-

tween Rs. 500 to Rs. 750, depending

on the area and customers' pockets. It

is the water mafia which is exploiting

the situation by squeezing the resi-

dents to pay through their nose; that

too without guarantee on the quality

and quantity of water.

BWSSB officials said that they are

helpless as they are not empowered to

monitor private suppliers.

When contacted, the BWSSB of-

ficials were not available for com-

ment, neither were they present in

their office.

Years of exploitation of natural re-

sources around the city has caused the

lakes and water bodies to dry up and

the water table to recede.

With the festive season just around

the corner, residents are going to pay

the price at the cost of shelling out

extra money for purchasing potable

water.

Rhetoric -Sumit & Romana

by Pyusha Chatterjee

Protests sweep

Bangalore city

for seventh day

Protests against the diesel hike

continued for the seventh day at

K.G.Road,Bangalore

The Social Democratic Party of

India called a state level protest

against the hike in diesel prices. The-

government cancelled subsidies on

diesel and ordered a hike of Rs. 5 per

litre on diesel.

Waseem Ahmed , District General

Secretary of SDPI said, “The hikewill

affect the man on the street. Already

prices of basic commodities are not af-

fordable. If diesel price is hiked it will

eventually affect all other commodi-

ties. ”

Red and green flags were held

aloft demanding a rollback in prices.

They said that this hike was a way to

loot the common man.An angry pro-

testor said “They looted us through 2G

and Coalgate scams and now they are

looting us by removing the fuel sub-

sidy.”

The protestors also held aloft ban-

ners criticizing the government for

failed fiscal policies which led to the

common man being targetted, in the

way of cuts to fuel and food subsidies.

Najeem, a protestor, said that the

price of vegetables and essential com-

modities are bound to increase as a re-

sult of the fuel price hike.

Residents across Bangalore also

expressed their displeasure at the fuel

price hike. Many of them said that

they might have to switch to public

transport, as commuting to work on

motorcycles or cars will become unvi-

able because of the skyrocketing

petrol prices.

by Nikita Malusare

Publisher : Indian Institute of Journalism andNew Media

Address : Opp. BGS International ResidentialSchool,

Kumbalgudu, Kengeri, Bangalore, KarnatakaNews Editor: Sumit

Chief Sub Editor : Vintu AugustinePhoto Editor: Pyusha Chaerjee and Kriti

KhandelwalLayout Editor: Deepu Aby Varghese

Sub Editors: Shreya Mukherjee, Priyanka Roy,Urmi Sengupta

Proof Readers: Rohan D. Premkumar, NikitaMalusare, Sidharth Shekhar.

Printer: Lotus Printers, 32/25, 2nd MainRoad, Sir M. V. Industrial Town, West of Chord

Road, Bangalore Mail us at: mail@iijnm.org

The Observer Team

Lord Ganesha statuettes being readied for the festivities