This will be my last post on this blog. I hope you have found it to be informative and illuminating on life as an expat in Bangalore. It has certainly been a journey of resilience and endurance and always interesting and incredible in equal measure. Do look back on posts for travel hints and tips – we visited some interesting places.
.
I wanted to highlight some of the fabulous hardworking people who were part of our daily lives and who we have left behind in India. Helpers, gardeners, recyclers are looked down on in Indian society and generally treated appallingly. I incurred the wrath of more than one neighbour by providing bottled water, speaking amiably and paying above (scandalously low) market rates for helpers. I was verbally abused by neighbours and publicly abused on the complex Whatsapp group for doing so. It made me even more determined to treat everybody equally, with respect and pay a fair price. I think my apparent indifference to their attempts to intimidate me infuriated them even more. I knew I was doing the right thing and their opinion was of no consequence as a result. (It still stung though; I am human after all.)
.
These lovely ladies were true workhorses. They were the best recyclers I’ve come across. Everyday they would collect the waste (wet kitchen waste for composting and dry waste for recycling). They could flat pack cardboard in minutes, bundle up newspapers, sift through discarded items to see what could be repaired and reused. The amount of waste that actually went to landfill was greatly reduced by these ladies dedication. They were a great team and also massively undervalued by residents. I miss their cheery smiles and good mornings.
Above is Lattha with Zahra. Lattha was my friend and neighbours helper and was wonderful with all the children, including Zahra. A truly lovely lady.
Below is a picture of Padmamma who was my gardener until she retired after her daughter’s wedding. It was so lovely of her to come and say goodbye and wonderful to see her after so long.
A family picture (below) with Manjunath our last driver and Lakshmi our gardener. Lakshmi helped me transform a tired, dry garden into the green oasis it became. The banana tree was a real triumph. She is such a dedicated gardener, it was a joy to have her onboard. She laughed at my attempts at Telugu names of plants and wildlife as clearly my pronunciation wasn’t up to scratch, whilst her English improved dramatically.
These two lovely folk (below) are the egg delivery family. Every week they would come to the house with freshly laid eggs from their farm. These were really fresh eggs too and they literally did carry all their eggs in one basket (usually on the head – he is posing for the photo here!). They spoke Kannada and I spoke English and a little Hindi and yet we always made ourselves understood. She cried when we left which made me understand some of the impact we had on people’s lives.
(Above) The wonderful Saroja and Lakshmi with us in the garden (with me talking to Manjunath or hurry up and take the shot as I was roasting!). I don’t think I would have survived the first year in India without Saroja – she was a Godsend, truly. She joined us as soon as we arrived in the complex and was with us for the three years we lived in Bangalore. She was a great helper in every way and always cheerful, despite what life threw at her. I will miss her a lot. She is a wonderful lady with a wonderful family.
(Above) Bhuvana was our part time cook (twice a week) which releived the pressure of trying to source ingredients and think of meals with what was available. She loved cooking and learning new receives and always wanted to cook about 6 separate dishes for us to try! She was about to return from maternity leave when we were departing so she came to say goodbye with her beautiful daughter.
Who isn’t pictured: the ironing Guy. He spoke Kannada and I spoke Hindi and English and we understood each other. Every other day he would collect our ironing and return it that evening. Always cheerful, always did a good job and we always paid him what he asked and didn’t count items and try to reduce he price – so he really liked us as we also didn’t negotiate him down from his standard INR 5 (6p) per item. As we were leaving the complex managing committee negotiated the rates down to INR 3 (3p) per item, which I complained about on the group before I left. It never ceases to infuriate me that those with money and power will always try to abuse that to keep the low income earners in poverty so they can control them. It’s a really unattractive side to India.
Pictured below is the dream team of Lakshmi and Saroja. They kept the house and garden in order, and anyone who tried to con us. They were always looking fabulous in their saris and were always cheerful and hardworking.
.
So as I leave this blog, I start another as we have moved to Singapore. Please do check out my other blogs:
Songofmight.wordpress.com featuring songs and poems to glorify God
And
Singaporeserials.wordpress.com about expat life in Singapore
On 18th March 2017 we were at VR Mall, probably at the cinema, and as usual there are some building works going on. Only this time there was a clever Decoration of the hoardings. The hoardings had a timeline history of Bangalore on them. It was an interesting read so I took photos of the information and I have finally copied it here. (I am unable to give credit to the author as it was not noted.) I hope you find it as interesting as I did.
Timeline History of Bangalore
890AD
The earliest reference to Bengaluru was found in the ninth century Western Ganga Dynasty stone inscription on a ‘vira Gala’ – (a ‘hero stone ‘ which is a rock extolling the virtues of a warrior). The stone was found in Begur and the inscription refers to a battle in 890 at Bengaluru.
1100AD Hoysalas
The Holysalas at Belur. According to Kannada folklore, Veera Ballala II, one of the powerful Hoysala kings, founded Bangalore.
1569 Kempe Gowda
Kempe Gowda erects the four towers (shikaras) at four points in different directions in Bengaluru.
1570 Someshwara Temple
Someshwara Temple. Erected by Kempe Gowda in 1570, the legend goes that Kempe Gowda tired by hunting rested under a tree at the site of the temple and the god Someshwara appeared to him and convinced him to build a temple.
The earliest reference to the name Bengaluru was found in the ninth century Western Ganga Dynasty stone inscription on a ‘vira gallu’ – hero stone.
Jamia Masjid
The Sangin Jamia Masjid in Taramandalpet was constructed by the Mughals.
1761 Bangalore Fort
Hyder Ali builds the Bangalore Fort.
1780 Lal Bagh
Hyder Ali lays the foundation for Lal Bagh. Tipu Sultan later divided the park into different sections and laid a walking path lined with cypress trees.
1800 GPO
The General Post office was opened in Bengaluru in 1800. Postal Services came to Bengaluru with the passing of the Indian Post Office Act of 1854.
1806 British Cantonment
The origin of the word Cantonmentcomes from the French word canton meaning corner or district. The British moved their garrison from Seningapatam to Bengaluru and set up the cantonment in 1806.
1806 St. Marks Cathedral
Originally raised in 1808 and enlarged in 1901 it is situated opposite to Queen Victoria’s statue.
1840 The first newspaper
The first printing press was established in Bengaluru in1840. in 1859, Bangalore Herald became the first English bi-weekly newspaper to be published.
1840 Raj Bhavan
The Raj Bhavan known as Residency earlier was built by Sir Mark Cubbon in 1840.
1852 Holy Trinity Church
The Holy Trinity Church was built in 1852 to accommodate the increasing English speaking congregation in the cantonment area of Bangalore.
1862 BCM
In 1862, Bangalore’s first civic body, the Bangalore City Municipality (BCM) was formally established.
1864 City Connects by Rail
In the south the first line was laid from Royapuram in Chennai to present day Walajah road constructed by the Madras Railway Companyon which a train ran on 1st July 1856. By 1864 the Madras line was extended to Jolarpettai and then to Bangalore Cantonment.
1864 Karnataka High Court
Atta Kacheri- literally means 18 government is located at the entrance to the Cubbon Park and was built in 1864. It is a two storied stone structure in an intense red hue with Corinthian columns in gothic style of architecture.
1875 St Mary’s Basilica
Located in Shivajinagar, St. Mary’s Basilica is the oldest church in the city, which dates back to 1685. It used to be a small chapel, which was rebuilt on by Abbe Dubois in 1875.
1882 St Joseph’s College
The college was founded in 1882 by the Fathers of the French Foreign Mission Society of Paris bought a plot of land on St John’s Hill and gradually made the transition to the location it occupies currently.
1882 Whitefield
On 27th April 1882, His Highness Chamraia Wodeyar, the Maharaja Chamraia Wodeyar granted 3900 acres of land to Eurasian and Anglo-Indian Association, Mysore and Coorg (E&AI) for the establishment of agricultural settlements in Whitefield.
1884 Binny Mills
The oldest mill in the textile manufacturing area of Cottonpet was set up in 1884.
1890 Lalbagh’s Glass House
In 1874 James Cameron took charge as the superintendent of government gardens. He proposed the construction of the Glass House on the lines of Crystal Palace in London to nurture exotic imported plant species. Construction began in 1888 and was completed in 1890.
City’s first department store
Spence & Co (where Foodworld is now located) started by an Englishman, Mr Oakshot, was the most sophisticated and only department store in Bangalore.
1897 Victoria Hospital
The foundation stone of Victoria Hospital was laid on 22nd June 1897 by her highness Kempananjammaniavaru, then then maharini regent of Mysore, to commemorate the completion of 60 years of the reign of Queen Victoria.
1904 Hudson Memorial Church
Hudson Memorial Church lies in the middle of Hudson circle near Bangalore City Corporation. The church was built in 1904, in memory of Rev. Josiah Hudson. This impressive structure with a tower and several stained glass windows is an example for the new-gothic style architecture.
I can scarce believe that this issue is still rumbling in into another year, but yet it is.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has announced that the state of Karnataka is not in a position to release Cauvery Water to Tamil Nadu as their is insufficient storage in the reservoirs. The timing is particularly poor as today is Pongal in Tamil Nadu (harvest festival) a day of celebrations for the harvest that has been and for the sowing to come.
The Supreme Court is due to rule on the Cauvery Water dispute next month. I doubt that will be the end of it either.
Thursday 18th January
The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami criticised “The Centre” for not responding to his letters whilst the Supreme Court Order is awaited. The standing paddy crops in the delta are in need of water if they are to be saved. The Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has stated that is is not possible for Cauvery Water to be released.
Monday 22nd January
110 villages and other municipal areas have been added to the local state responsibility (BBMP), Yelahanka (where we live) being one. We don’t get piped Cauvery Water here and rely on paying for water tankers to provide water. Some residents have paid ₹75,000 per household for a Cauvery Water connection which hasn’t been done. In addition, underground drainage was supposed to be complete but has yet to appear.
Sunday 11th February 2018
BBC News report:
2. Bangalore
Local officials in the southern Indian city have been bamboozled by the growth of new property developments following Bangalore’s rise as a technological hub and are struggling to manage the city’s water and sewage systems.
To make matters worse, the city’s antiquated plumbing needs an urgent upheaval; a report by the national government found that the city loses over half of its drinking water to waste.
Like China, India struggles with water pollution and Bangalore is no different: an in-depth inventory of the city’s lakes found that 85% had water that could only be used for irrigation and industrial cooling.
Not a single lake had suitable water for drinking or bathing.
Friday 18th February
In a landmark verdict that is expected to have a massive political impact, Tamil Nadu’s share of water from the river Cauvery has been reduced by the Supreme Court. Karnataka will now release 177.25 TMC to Tamil Nadu instead of 192. Karnataka will receive a greater share of water. The big win for Karnataka comes just months before crucial state elections.
The news spread quickly and some schools closed early in case there was any trouble. Cars were being turned away at the Tamil Nadu border and were not allowed to proceed.
Saturday 19th February
The Supreme Court’s decision made the front pages of the national newspapers. Karnataka receiving an extra 14.75 tmc ft of Cauvery water per year from the current 270 to 284. Tamil Nadu will now receive 404.25 instead of 419. The Supreme Court has also ordered that the water be used for intended purposes and no defiance’s to be shown by any state, with the order being in force for the next 15 years.
Wednesday28th February
Just had a message from the complex management. Compulsory aerators being fixed to all taps in villas to reduce water consumption – and they’re charging us for the pleasure. Also advised to lock outside taps so they are not misused for gardening. Hose pipe ban for car washing in force.
It’s not even summer yet. Time to get out of dodge before the drought hits?
Tuesday 6th March
15/110 villages added to Bengaluru city can now apply for a Cauvery Water supply. These are all rural villages and they have to apply online and register by supplying proof of home ownership (a receipt of the property tax payment), transfer a fee online and complete an application form. A physical inspection of the property will then follow, a revenue number issued and then connection. The rather hopeful timeline is one week.
There are several glaringly obvious issues with this proposal. Firstly, pipeline for Water is currently being laid and only 35% complete. Expecting rural villagers to have online connectivity, or access to it, is incredulous. Most rural workers are farmers or daily wage labourer earning between INR300-500 a day. They can’t afford computer equipment or connectivity as their money will be spent on food. Proof of home ownership is another huge hurdle. Who keeps tax receipts after they have bought a house? Most of the rural houses will have been built by themselves from mud bricks and corrugated iron. Expecting a tax payment for that is a triumph of hope over reality. There is also an assumption of literacy, which is very unlikely as school costs money. Stating the whole process will take a week is risible – nothing, and I mean nothing, moves that quick in India unless a bribe has been paid.
Announcements like these really make me angry. It’s just politicians producing bullshit with little grasp of reality. Incredible India indeed.
Friday 23rd March
Karnataka state has requested a ‘Cauvery Decision Implementation Committee’ to be set up by central government following the Supreme Court Order. Karnataka has also requested that the Union Resources Water Minister heads up such a Committee. The Committee should set up a monitoring agency consisting of chief secretaries of all basin states meeting as often as necessary but at least once every 3 months. Karnataka state detailed how such a Committee would work, how appeals should be dealt with and when applications for review of decisions could be presented.
It has literally taken years to get this far and Karnataka states recommendation following the Supreme Court order is to set up yet another Committee. One just wants to scream “get on with it!” And “stop dithering!”. Bureaucracy is an art form here and this is an excellent example of an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy being added to a decision that has already been made.
Wednesday 28th March
The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (‘BWSSB’) has stated that there is enough water from the Cauvery and Kabini rivers to supply the city through the summer until June.
The fact that I am relieved at this statement, although remain sceptical, speaks volumes about how severe the water crisis is here. Anywhere else in the world I would be worried that the city might run out of water in 3 months time whereas here it’s a relief that we will have water for that long.
Thursday 29th March
The Union Minister for Water Resources is filing a petition to the Supreme Court seeking clarification on the implementation of its verdict on the Cauvery water sharing dispute. The Supreme Court ordered that a scheme be set up by 29th March and the Ministry hasn’t and has waited for the deadline to expire before filing a petition for guidance.
I hope the Supreme Court issues a contempt order for not implementing the original order and deliberately delaying the matter.
Sunday 1st April
Tamil Nadu has sought initiation of contempt proceedings against P.K.Sinha (cabinet minister) and U.P Singh (Union Water Resources Secretary) accusing them of deliberately disobeying the Court’s orders.
“The Centre” on the other hand has applied to the Supreme Court requesting a deferment of the implementation of the Cauvery Water decision until after the Karnataka state elections on 12th May fearing public unrest and violence.
I hope the contempt proceedings are successful because this delay has led to a problem with the upcoming elections. A double whammy. I predict a further delay unfortunately.
Monday 2nd April
Flash protests were held in Chennai yesterday and the DMK announced total shutdowns and protests in Tamil Nadu on specific dates, the first being on Thursday 5th April. The ruling AIADMK is to hold a day long fast demanding the constitution of the Cauvery Management Board. PM Modi is expected to be in Chennai on 11th April and shops will be shut across the state in protest. Chemists are shut today, and farmers are going to gherao the airport on Tuesday. The parties have also decided to undertake a “Cauvery Rights Retrieval Walk” from the Delta region.
Tuesday 3rd April
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the contempt proceedings lodged by Tamil Nadu state on 9th April. The three presiding judges hearing the contempt proceedings application did comment that a ‘scheme’ did not mean the Cauvery Management Board only, but a cheek has to be put in place.
Wednesday 4th April
The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) have regulated 10 buses on the Tamil Nadu route due to increasing tensions. There are usually 45 buses running. Cancellation of service completely is likely if violence erupts.
Protests took place yesterday in Tamil Nadu as the ruling AIADMK party demanded the constitution of a Cauvery Management Board. A day long fast (8am to 5:30pm) took place and shops shut. The Tamil Nadu farmers association staged a rail roko protest during the Bandh.
Thursday 5th April
Yesterday the Supreme Court asked the people of Tamil Nadu to maintain peace, reassuring them that their interest will be taken care of in the Cauvery Water sharing dispute.
Friday 6th April
The Tamil Nadu bandh over the Cauvery water led to buses and lorries doing u turns at the border as police stopped vehicles with Karnataka registered number plates. 211 buses were cancelled until 5:30pm. Private bus operators said 1,200 buses for destinations in Karnataka were cancelled.
Saturday 7th April
Deccan Herald article:
Sunday 8th April
Amid opposition to IPL matches here in view of raging protests over Cauvery issue, Tamil film star Rajinikanth today said it would be good if organisers stopped the games as such a gala event would be embarrassing when the entire Tamil Nadu was agitating.
Alternatively, he suggested Chennai Super Kings (CSK) team players could play in the city wearing black bands as a mark of expressing the anguish of people who have been staging protests demanding setting up of Cauvery Management Board.
“Playing IPL matches here when the whole of Tamil Nadu is agitating for Cauvery (management board) will be an embarrassment,” he told reporters here referring to the opposition from different quarters to the event. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), IPL authorities and the owners of Chennai Super Kings should extend their cooperation by allowing the players to wear the black bands he said.
Rajinikanth also appealed to IPL fans to wear black to extend their support to the stir. Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) leader T T V and some pro-Tamil outfits have opposed playing of IPL matches in the city, citing the ongoing protests in support of setting up of CMB.
Dhinakaran has appealed to the cricket fans to shun the matches scheduled to be held here in order to strengthen the voice of farmers’ seeking CMB. Pro-Tamil outfits including Tamilaga Vazhvurimai Katchi have also opposed the holding of IPL matches in the city.
Opposition DMK Working President M K Stalin had said the organisers of IPL matches should realise the issues faced by the people and act accordingly. “We are not saying that it (matches) should not be held. The organisers should realise the problems of people and act accordingly,” he had said last week.
Fisheries Minister and senior AIADMK Leader D Jayakumar had said the BCCI would realise the situation in Tamil Nadu and decide whether to hold the matches or not. Seven IPL matches are scheduled to be held here between April 10 and May 20.
Monday 9th April
The Supreme Court today asked the Centre to formulate and file the draft Cauvery management scheme before it by May 3 and directed the authorities of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and other stakeholders to ensure peace in the meantime.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said it had considered the award of Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) while deciding the water share of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry in its judgement.
The bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, said that its judgment has to be complied with all the stakeholders.
The court said the authorities are required to ensure peace till it peruses the draft scheme and finalises it for proper distribution of Cauvery water.
Tuesday 10th April
The newspapers are reporting on the front page the Supreme Court decision from yesterday. They emphasise that the court has criticised the central government for failing to comply with the court order and implement a scheme. The court also asked the Attorney General to explain why they did not implement a scheme and reminded them that the Court does no5 I tend to supervise progress for a long time. The central government now has until 3rd May to implement a scheme.
Wednesday 11th April
The High Court of Karnataka yesterday directed the state government to file a written statement over its stand on granting permission to Bandhs. This is in connection with a batch of petitions challenging permission to Bandh (a general strike) on Thursday 12th April by various pro Kannada organisations over the Cauvery issue.
meanwhile the central Government in New Dehli states it will frame a new scheme by the 3rd May deadline whether it be judicial or administrative, and the name did not matter. Water between February to May (summer) is only released to maintain environmental flow and the release of water as per the court order applies between June to January.
Deccan Herald article:
IPL organises could find themselves on a slithery wicket with a Tamil outfit today threatening to let loose snakes into the Chepauk stadium here to protest over the Cauvery issue if another match of the cricket league is held at the venue.
The snakes will not be poisonous as the intention is not to harm anybody, but to only express angst over the delay in the formation of the Cauvery Management Board (CMB), Tamizhaga Vazhvurimai Katchi (TVK) chief T Velmurugan said.
“If the IPL match is held on April 20 in Chennai as per schedule, I will hold the snake protest. I will let snakes into the stadium. There is no change in it,” he said.
The TVK chief, who has held protests on several pro-Tamil issues, said, “These snakes which we intend to let into the stadium will have absolutely no poison.”
“Our idea is not to harm anybody, be it players, spectators or the police personnel on duty. We want to scare people away, let there be no cricket match now,” he told PTI.
He said when the entire state of Tamil Nadu was on an agitation mode for its rights on the Cauvery issue, an IPL fixture, which was an entertainment event, was not needed.
Seven matches, including the one held yesterday, were scheduled to be played in Chennai.
IPL organisers have sought additional security in the wake of the protest by various Tamil outfits, who have demanded that the matches be shifted.
Thursday 12th April
The BCCI has short-listed four cities to host Chennai Super King’s home matches after the IPL franchise was told to consider shifting base due to the Cauvery water protest. The BCCI moved the remaining Chennai Super Kings home games to Pune.
There were already calls by various groups not to host cricket matches in Chennai when the state was facing such a grave situation. Massive protests were witnessed on Tuesday ahead of the match between CSK and Kolkata Knight Riders and an identified protestor flung a shoe at CSK’s Ravindra Jadeja during the match.
Friday 13th April
PM Modi face a black balloon protest in Chennai yesterday in protest at his indecision to set up a Cauvery Management Board. The balloons carried the phrase “Modi Go Back”.
The Deccan Herald has commenced a campaign of investigation into the water tanker mafia.
Tuesday 8th May
The Karnataka Government was at the Supreme Court yesterday stating that it had not committed any default in the release of the Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu in 2017-18, the third year of distress. This is in response to the Tamil Nadu governments application to have more water released to the state at Billigundulu, maintaining that there had been a shortfall.
The Tamil Nadu state also pointed out that all the deadlines set by the Supreme Court to set up a scheme for the management of the Cauvery river Water had all expired on 3rd May. The Union Government is to respond today but has already declared that the PM and other Cabinet Ministers are campaigning in Karnataka for the State Assembly elections on 12th May.
This is part two of the continuing row regarding the Cauvery river water. It is a ‘diary’ of daily news and events about the issue.
Sunday 30th April
The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (‘BBMP’) is investigating the private water tankers as the Bangalore water Supply and Sewerage Board (‘BWSSB’) has stated that it has not given permission for the drilling of any commercial borewells. Private tankers are tapping into the groundwater from borewells drilled in public places, including footpaths and parks. The BWSSB has 69 water tankers. There are between 3-4000 illegal water tankers in Bangalore. Commercial water tankers are stealing public water to make a profit. It is also unregulated so the quality of the water is untested.
The NGO ActionAid issued a report stating that there had been unprecedented crop loss and mass migrations amongst vulnerable people. It studied the effects of the last three years of drought in three districts in Karnataka covering 20 villages and over 13,000 people. 90% of crop loss was due to the scarcity of water and families were forced to travel up to 3 km for water and over 3 hours every day was spent looking for potable water. The drought has also resulted in cattle loss with one district reporting over 2000 cattle being lost.
Tuesday 2nd May
Multiple industries that rely on Water in their processing have been affected by the water shortage. The government issued a notice to businesses to stop drawing water for at least one month to assist with the crisis. As 0.77 cubic meters are discharged as waste for every cubic meter used it is easy to understand why the government have taken such action.
The Hindu newspaper is reporting about the severe drought facing Telengana state and Andrah Pradesh. It seems all of south India is affected.
Wednesday 3rd May
The Hindu newspaper runs a full page article on resident action trying to save lakes from pollution around Bangalore. Jakkur lake near us is described as a model lake as it has an engagement with the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (‘BWSSB’) and the Bangalore Development Authority (‘BDA’) to maintain the 120 acre lake.
Tuesday 9th May
Storage at the Kabini dam and Krishnaraja Sagar reservoir is expected to last until June. This will avoid a drinking water crisis in Bangalore. Water provision after this date will depend on the monsoon rains.
Wednesday 10th May
The Karnataka government has been discussing which expert to appoint to the experts panel on the Cauvery water disputes board ahead of the next hearing on 11th July.
Kabini has reported that elephant numbers are dramatically down on previous years due to the severe drought. Herds are smaller and sightings have been less.
Thursday 11th May
The papers are reporting that the price of some vegetables are soaring and are difficult to come by due to the high temperatures. On the other hand some farmers are having to let crops wither and die such as chilli crops as there is a glut in the market and it is not worth harvesting due to the low prices.
Tuesday 23rd May
There’s been a lot going on personally so I haven’t managed to keep up with this diary of the water issue. Over the last week or so the pre monsoon rains and storms arrived. We have had thunder and lightning, hail, wind and lots of rain. The rain came down so quickly one evening it floooded into Zahra’s bedroom. I got drowned trying to lift the grill off the drain so the water could escape quicker.
The newspapers are reporting people being injured or killed in the rains and storms. Holiday has been cancelled for the state water and sewerage staff until after the monsoon.
It’s strange as it is still extremely hot and stifling at night. Sleep deprivation is coming into its own at the moment. In the U.K. such weather is associated with winter and it would be freezing cold. I’m sat outside at 8:30pm in 28C temperatures – it’s hot and humid. Mosquitoes, flying ants and all manner of creepy crawlies and flying insects are out and about. Three mosquito repellent sticks burning and lots of anti mosie spray and the blighters keep on coming. My legs look like a dot to dot from a zombie movie. Snakes are an issue to at this time of year. Thankfully we haven’t had any (so far) in our house or garden but the neighbours have this week. Cue an alert on Whatsapp and the snake catcher paying a visit. Anti snake powder is spread in a lot of gardens, ensuring that those of us who haven’t braved the truly appalling smell of the powder are even more likely to get a snake. Yippee!
Wednesday 24th May
The pre monsoon rains continued to disrupt power lines and supply well into yesterday. People started to lose patience. Our driver and helper were without power for over 24 hours meaning that they could not shower (water heaters not operational) their phones ran out of charge. Now it did strike me that it was somewhat of a first world problem caused by a developing world infrastructure. Phones are so critical here, especially for drivers. This place cannnot function without them, or we have forgotten how to. Turning up at a pre arranged time and place are a thing of 30 years ago, now people merely phone each other when they’re ready. How our society and culture have changed.
The Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) received over 3,200 complaints. I suspect it may take some time to work through all of those. Three electricity poles had been damaged and trees uprooted near two primary power stations causing damage. That’s not a quick repair. Some may be without power for some time yet.
Thursday 25th May
An article in the Hindu newspaper discusses getting buses “Monsoon ready”. Intrigued I had to read the whole article to get to a paragraph near the end which explained that this meant ensuring that the wiper blades were working and that any leaks were plugged. All this required “special maintenance”. That would be usual maintenance in the UK. The traffic comes even more to a standstill during Monsoon as those who commute on two wheelers (mopeds and motorbikes) take to cars and buses. The rain causes flooding (due to inadequate drainage) and roads become impassable. As a consequence a journey that would take an hour in usual Bangalore traffic then takes 2 hours. It’s painful.
The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board inspected the 51 lakes in and around Bangalore during April 207. 11 of the ‘lakes’ did not have any water at all. Only water from 2 of the lakes could be treated and disinfected for use as drinking water. The rest were only fit for wildlife or industrial cooling and irrigation.
Tuesday 30th May
The weather reporters are all predicting an early arrival of the south west monsoon. It is expected to hit Kerala today and potentially with the Bay of Bengal / northeast Monsoon too. The Monsoon can last up to 4 months.
Wednesday 31st May
The south west monsoon hit Kerala yesterday and is expected to arrive in Karnataka today. That means heavy rains for the next 15 days. The monsoon rain is expected to be average – which is better than last year, which had monsoon rains fail. The rural agriculture community will benefit the most from the rains as a higher percentage of their crops success meaning more cash in the rural economy.
The lack of infracstructure to deal with drought scenarios will again appear on the agenda following the rains. Potholes continue to be a big issue in Bangalore. People on Two wheelers lose their balance when hitting a pothole covered by water, especially as their is no indication of the depth. The lack of resevoirs to meet drinking water demands is obvious as is the need to clean up the lakes in Bangalore from all the pollution.
The next 15 days is the start of a four month period of monsoon rains, hopefully. Let’s see what it brings.
Wednesday 7th June
The southwest monsoon is expected to arrive within the next couple of days and the met office of India has predicted a 98% monsoon rainfall – which is good news for everyone.
It rained this evening without the usual accompanying storm. It made a refreshing and pleasant change to be able to sit on the front porch with a cuppa and the paper (mosquito protections in place).
Thursday 8th June
The monsoon is expected to arrive today and the morning is overcast and cool. It’s a lovely relief from the searing heat of the last few months.
The Comptroller and Auditor general released a report criticism the Karnataka state for failing to provide drinking water under the National Rural Drinkung Water Program. The state government provided 55litres per capita per day to only 14% of the rural population. The report said that only 10% out of the targeted 99 rainwater harvesting works were completed between 2013-2016. Water testing laboratories were not established in 76 out of the 176 taluks in the state (43%). Only 62% of the water purification plants intended were commissioned betweeen 2013/2016.
Considering there has been a severe drought and a crisis in water sharing one would think that the state government would prioritise these things. It is simply staggering they haven’t and frankly inexplicable.
Friday 9th June
The Hindu newspaper’s info graphic
The monsoon has started and it is refreshing. The rain is washing away the dust and bringing plants and trees back to life in their glorious green foliage.
Bangalore continues to lag behind the modern world by failing to harvest rainwater. The Hindu newspaper reported today that the compliance rate for rainwater harvesting (for buildings of a specific size) was only 51.7%. With an acute water crisis and the regulations being mandatory it is yet again inexplicable that residents are not complying. As a consequence the BWSSB has started to introduce heavy penalties for non compliance. Fines of up to 100% of the usual bill are being imposed for non compliance. It will be interesting to see if this has an effect or whether disconnection will be the only way to ensure future compliance.
Monday 12th June
A state wide Bandh (strike) has been called today by Kannada Okkoota and Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce president SA Ra Govindu demanding the implementation of the Kalsaa Banduri project and resolution of water issues. Several organisations issued statements of moral support but the state bus companies are expected to operate as usual.
As a precaution Zahra’s school has closed for the day and the virtual learning platforms enabled again. This means a day at home using the iPad for class lessons. Something that is extremely boring for her.
This Bandh I think is about crop loan waivers for farmers who are struggling under crop failures (due to lack of water and rain) and the heavy loans they took out from nationalised banks to plant the crops.
There has also been a call for a three day satyagraha. I had to look up what this meant. (Thank you Wikipedia for the next information.) It comes from Sanskrit and “loosely translated as “insistence on truth” (satya “truth”; agraha “insistence” or “holding firmly to”) or holding onto truth or truth force — is a particular form of nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. The term satyagraha was coined and developed by Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948).”
Gandhi, M.K. “The Theory and Practice of Satyagraha” Indian Opinion 1914:
“Principles
Gandhi envisioned satyagraha as not only a tactic to be used in acute political struggle, but as a universal solvent for injustice and harm. He felt that it was equally applicable to large-scale political struggle and to one-on-one interpersonal conflicts and that it should be taught to everyone. He founded the Sabarmati Ashram to teach satyagraha. He asked satyagrahis to follow the following principles (Yamas described in Yoga Sutra):
Nonviolence (ahimsa)
Truth – this includes honesty, but goes beyond it to mean living fully in accord with and in devotion to that which is true
Not stealing
Chastity (brahmacharya) – this includes sexual chastity, but also the subordination of other sensual desires to the primary devotion to truth
Non-possession (not the same as poverty)
Body-labor or bread-labor
Control of the palate
Fearlessness
Equal respect for all religions
Economic strategy such as boycott of exported goods (swadeshi)
On another occasion, he listed seven rules as “essential for every Satyagrahi in India”:
must have a living faith in God
must believe in truth and non-violence and have faith in the inherent goodness of human nature which he expects to evoke by suffering in the satyagraha effort
must be leading a chaste life, and be willing to die or lose all his possessions
must be a habitual khadi weaver and spinner
must abstain from alcohol and other intoxicants
must willingly carry out all the rules of discipline that are issued
must obey the jail rules unless they are specially devised to hurt his self-respect
Rules for satyagraha campaigns
Gandhi proposed a series of rules for satyagrahis to follow in a resistance campaign:
harbour no anger.
suffer the anger of the opponent.
never retaliate to assaults or punishment; but do not submit, out of fear of punishment or assault, to an order given in anger
voluntarily submit to arrest or confiscation of your own property
if you are a trustee of property, defend that property (non-violently) from confiscation with your life
do not curse or swear
do not insult the opponent
neither salute nor insult the flag of your opponent or your opponent’s leaders
if anyone attempts to insult or assault your opponent, defend your opponent (non-violently) with your life
as a prisoner, behave courteously and obey prison regulations (except any that are contrary to self-respect)
as a prisoner, do not ask for special favourable treatment
as a prisoner, do not fast in an attempt to gain conveniences whose deprivation does not involve any injury to your self-respect
joyfully obey the orders of the leaders of the civil disobedience action
do not pick and choose amongst the orders you obey; if you find the action as a whole improper or immoral, sever your connection with the action entirely
do not make your participation conditional on your comrades taking care of your dependents while you are engaging in the campaign or are in prison; do not expect them to provide such support
do not become a cause of communal quarrels
do not take sides in such quarrels, but assist only that party which is demonstrably in the right; in the case of inter-religious conflict, give your life to protect (non-violently) those in danger on either side
avoid occasions that may give rise to communal quarrels
do not take part in processions that would wound the religious sensibilities of any community”
Friday 23rd June
The Indian Meteorological Department reported that the southwest monsoon rains in Karnataka state have been normal n the first 4 weeks since 1st June. The rainfall deficit is only 2%.
Saturday 24th June
The Declan Herald newspaper published a full page guide on how to survive the monsoon with hints and tips on food, diet, fitness, fashion and treatments as rain lashed the state.
Monday 26th June
A UNICEF report , called “When Coping Crumbles” on India’s 2015-16 drought has suggested that India prepares for drought when it is raining. The Supreme Court, last year, directed the drought management manual to be revised (the fact that there is one is surprising to a westerner). As a drought can now be predicted the state should implement water conservation and drought resistant crops. The report also stated that the drought reduced production and availability of food, fodder and water affecting human and animal health but also institutions such as schools and hospitals. Women, children and marginalised people suffered the most.
I can’t help thinking that the report is really a statement of the obvious. Or maybe that’s because I was here living through it.
Tuesday 27th June
Heavy rainfall within the state has meant that the reservoirs have increased their water levels and storage. Water levels in the dams of the Cauvery basin have increased substantially.
Wednesday 28th June
The Declan Herald ran a quarter page article in their supplement called “Be rain ready!”. It advocated wearing bright colours to counter the gloom, advised on wearing flip flops and ditching the leather boots (not sure I’ve seen anyone in Bangalore wearing leather boots). It also advises wearing shorts (synthetic fibres), taking an umbrella and wearing a raincoat. Now for those of us who live in the U.K. This is common sense (although it would be too cold for flip flops!). It was a surprise to me that the newspaper ran such an article and found it newsworthy. I think it would have been derided in the U.K.
Thursday 29th June
Heavy rains have increased the water levels in dams across the state. Newspapers are reporting the rainfall levels and the dam storage capacity against current storage levels.
Monday 3rd July
Yesterday farmers blocked the Bangalore to Mysore highway for half an hour, by squatting, in protest at the release of Cauvery water from Krishnaraja Sagar to Tamil Nadu.
Tuesday 4th July
JD(S) state president, HD Kumaraswamy, warned his party that he would join farmers protesting against Karnataka releasing Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu. Farmers are concerned that the inflow of water into the four reservoirs in th Cauvery basin is low and therefore they will suffer.
Wednesday 12th July
The Karnataka state criticised the Cauvery Water Tribunal’s method of calculation of water release at the Supreme Court yesterday. It stated that the Tribunal used the ‘natural flow theory’ instead of calculating it n the basis of need for each state.
Thursday 13th July
The Declan Herald reported that the Chief Minister of Karnataka had stated that despite the southwest monsoon deficit, leading to low water in the hydro electric dams, the state would ensure there was no power disruption during the coming months.Now this is India. We have power cuts several times everyday. I am not sure what the Chief Minister means when he says he will ensure there is no power disruption because I doubt it will be dealing with daily power cuts. The paper also reported that showers “lashed” Belagavi city for a whole 15 minutes on Wednesday!
The Supreme Court case on the sharing of the Cauvery water drags on with Karnataka continuing to accuse Tamil Nadu of breaching the 1924 agreement. The SC declared on Wednesday that “Every state is part of the nation and we don’t want them to quarrel.” The case continues. Meanwhile members of a Kannada organisation staged a protest against releasing water to Tamil Nadu, by partially burying themselves.
Saturday 15th July
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah stated that only 5tmcft of Cauvery Water has been released to Tamil Nadu this year. The Supreme Court had ordered 10tmcft of water in June and 50tmcft of water in July.
The Deccan Herald reported that a weak monsoon has resulted in poor water level as in the four reservoirs in the Cauvery basin which are holding 26tmcft of water. As a consequence water cannot be released to Tamil Nadu as directed by the Supreme Court but are releasing 25-30% of total inflow to Tamil Nadu. The state is facing a worse drought than last year if monsoon rain doesn’t fall as needed over the next few weeks.
Wednesday 19th July
The Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal decision on the amount of water Karnataka has to release to Tamil Nadu was called into question at a Supreme Court hearing yesterday by representatives for Karnataka. The states contended that the Tribunal did not take in to account rainfall and the needs of the City if Bangalore when decided how much water to release to Tamil Nadu.
Thursday 20th July
The Indian met office has forecast heavy rain over the next three days, which they hope will address the power and water shortage.
Thursday 27th July
The Chief Minister wrote to PM Modi regarding the revised drought management manual issued by the Dept of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare stating it would adversely affect obtaining central drought relief aid from the central government.
The Supreme Court sought a response from the central government regarding Tamil Nadu’s plea to set up the Cauvery Management Board.
Friday 28th July
Rain continues to fall in the dam catchment areas, raising water storage levels.
Thursday 3rd August
The Water Resources Minister stated that the flow of water into the four reservoirs in the Cauvery basin is 52% and the present storage levels were insufficient to meet the irrigation requirements for the kharif season (monsoon crops).
Members of the farmers federation staged a protest on the Bangalore to Mysore highway in their chaddis (knickers), women holding brooms marched on the Deputy Commissionsers office and a third group lay siege to the canals originating from the Kabini Reservoir.
Friday 4th August
The southern states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala have a severe deficit of rainfall in the first half of the monsoon season with Karnataka recording a 16% deficit. As this is a shortfall for the second consecutive year the possibility of drought is looming large which will affect the availability of water for crops and drinking water.
Thursday 10th August
The state government gave in to pressure from farmers and decided to release water from the four reservoirs of the Cauvery Riverr to fill up lakes and for drinking water only, not for crop irrigation. Meanwhile the Supreme Court is still hearing arguments on the review of the Cauvery River water distribution.
Wednesday 16th August
Over 35mm rain fell yesterday evening – it really did look and feel like a proper monsoon rain. The garden was water logged. Southern parts of Bangalore (around Koramangala) were flooded as they received over 124mm of rain. Trees were uprooted, electricity supply was interrupted and houses flooded. Drs issued warnings about drinking water contamination.
Friday 25th August
It rained all last night and is still raining this morning. The newspapers are reporting that it has been the heaviest rainfall in August for 127 years – I can believe it. Parts of low lying areas of Bangalore flooded. The infrastructure can’t cope. Storm drains are clearly failing and roads are literally being washed away.
Thursday 7th September
It’s done nothing but rain heavily for the past week. Sunday night saw 122.5mm of rain falling in 5 hours in Jakkur where we live. I was awoken several times in the night and awoke in the morning to discover the house flooded ( see separate blogpost ‘A bad day in Bangalore’ for that episode). Everything is sodden. The grass isn’t even drying in the afternoon sun. It feels a bit like being in the UK at the moment, except of course it is warmer.
Saturday 9th September
Bengaluru has had continuous rain for the last 10 days. The Deccan Herald reported that the city of Bangalore received 209.5mm of rainfall between 1st- 7th Sept. The normal rainfall for the whole of September is usually 211.7mm. So basically a month’s worth of rain fell in a one week. I can believe it – it’s been raining and raining hard.
Typhoid is now becoming a problem in Bangalore with the hospitals reporting soaring numbers in cases. The Government has issued guidance to boil all drinking water before consumption. There’s certainly a lot of Bangalore Belly going around as well as a flu type virus which is knocking the ex pats sideways. There’s generally a lot of illness about.
Friday 15th September
There is a huge increase in road erosion and potholes since the monsoon started in earnest. Some of the journeys are like off roading it is so bad. The newspapers are reporting a huge increase in compression fractures due to pot hole injuries on two wheelers.
Sunday 17th September
The monsoon I supposed to be receding but as it does so is is leaving behind a mountain of wet rotting garbage everywhere in Bangalore. Roads are flooded and some are impassable. The warm wet weather means that disease will spread quickly. It is ideal conditions for mosquitoes. There could be an epidemic of Dengue, Chickengunya and typhoid. The storm water drains also carry sewage and so many are blocked with garbage that it is difficult for the water to drain 8ntonthe lakes as intended.
Tuesday 19th September
The rains have continued unabated. Record rainfalls for Bangalore and lots of roads being washed away and potholes forming. Trees have come down, power lines come down, homes washed away, walls have collapsed and homes flooded. People have dies in these incidents. Nothing appears to have been done to prevent more accidents and deaths.
The Deccan Herald newspaper reported to that the city let 3.76tmcft of water drain away in the storms in the 21 days between 18th August and 7th September from Kommaghatta and Chellaghatta valleys.
Thursday 21st September
The Supreme Court reserved judgment on the final decision of the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal Award of 2007 on the allocation and sharing of the river water. The 28 day hearing concluded with the Court requesting Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala states being asked to submit their ‘master note’ of written submissions. The judgment is expected by 1st March next year.
Tuesday 26th September
It rained a lot, again, on Sunday night which meant the roads yesterday were particularly bad in the morning. We stuck to the main roads to get to and from college and even them had to queue to get through a puddle the size of a pool , which was obviously also causing traffic jams on the dual carriageway (of sorts).
The Bangalore water authority is also trying to “crack down” on the thousands of illegal bore wells that have been dug in Bangalore as people are desperate for drinking water. the scheme involves voluntary registration. I actually laughed out loud. the authority then said it will close the borewells and issue fines. this of course will not happen as they do not have enough staff, the staff they do have are poorly paid and susceptible to bribes , which will happen as these illegal borewells are highly profitable for their owners. The lack of testing and regulation of the purity and safety of the water also means they avoid those costs too.
Thursday 28th September
Rain, rain and more rain….55.8mm of it in 24 hours according to the Indian Met dept. Areas of Bangalore continue to be flooded with the low lying Kormangala in the south being the worst hit with 5 floods in less than 2 months. Roads have become rivers, houses have been flooded and lives lost as walls collapse. Train tracks have also become rivers and commuting by car or train has become an endurance test even for those used to the terrible Bangalore traffic.
Sunday 1st October
Zahra is still running a fever and couldn’t come to church this morning. She has had it a week now and we are a little concerned. .
Viral infections are soaring. There are friends and colleagues who have cold and flu like symptoms and fevers with tiredness. However they don’t all cover the symptoms of Dengue and Chickengunya cases of which are soaring in the city during this monsoon. It appears to be a new type of viral infection. gastrointestinal problems are on the rise too as is typhoid.
With all the water lying around it is open season for mosquitoes, who are out in force. Despite repellent, clothes repellent, room repellants I am getting bitten to death (tea tree oil is a life saver).
The Deccan Herald newspaper has run a column advising on the diseases and how to detect them with the help of a handy chart.
Deccan Herald newspaper
In the meantime, one district if Bangalore has been consuming “drinking water” contaminated with sewage for the past four days. Unsurprisingly, most of the residents who consumed the water are in hospital with diarrhoea and nausea. The Bangalore Supply and Sewerage Board (“BWSSB”) have not yet visited the area to attend to the problem but are monitoring the situation and checking the water quality , allegedly.
Monday 2nd October
The BWSSB has written to the Karnataka Ground Water Authority to state that it no longer wants responsibility for regulating borewells and water tankers in the city. It is an astonishing act and he that would attract widespread condemnation in the UK for failing to perform the role they are paid to do, putting public health at risk and misconduct in a public office. It is unthinkable in the UK that the engineer in chief would write such a self damming letter. Here however it is merely reported on page 4 of the Deccan Herald newspaper. The BWSSB are all edged to have failed to implement the law since its inception in 2012. Water tankers operating illegally are not only depleting water levels but putting public health at risk with the poor quality of water. Why this isn’t a public outrage is astonishing.
Friday 6th October
Big thunderstorms last night, real thunder and lightening familiar with storms here lashed the city and our home. Waterlogging was a problem across the city and the north, closing roads and making them impassable. The Deccan Herald ran a front page ‘vital tips’ which rather stated the bleeding obvious as we would say in Britain.
Deccan Herald 6/10/17
.
Thursday 12th October
It hammered down last night. Like really rained, a lot. I checked on the neighbours house to ensure they weren’t flooding. all was ok there and we didn’t flood thankfully. I had to postpone the ladies Bible study as it was raining so hard that I couldn’t see across the road at one point – it was ridiculous. It was still raining hard when we retired to bed at 10:30pm that the pounding drops sounding like like pellets raining down on a drum. It was hot and humid so we had the fan on too to add to the noise. As a consequence I hardly slept and had a very restless night.
The traffic is terrible at the moment with potholes appearing everywhere as the roads are literally washed away. Shoddy original workmanship, no doubt as a result of some corruption somewhere along the line, means that some roads are impassable whilst main roads have become off reading experiences where a jeep would be better suited than an Innova.
Friday 13th October
Flooded main road at Hennur made it virtually impassable
The results of last night’s rain was self evident on my journey to college this morning as a major traffic jam occurred on a poorly maintained main road at Hennur. The potholes were huge before the deluge of overnight rain but now they were parts of the road that had been simply washed away. The resulting hollows had filled up with Water and created pools . WE QUEUED FOR AN HOUR TO WAIT OUR TURN TO GO THROUGH THE POND. As we proceeded slowly , as we couldn’t determine the depth, a moped driver fell off and straight into the water. We slowed to s stop to check he was ok -he was thankfully. We carried on just as a public bus decided to run the gauntlet and go through at speed. It soon slowed down as the bottom of the front of the bus grounded out. We carried on and managed to get through.
We had another deluge of rain in the evening.it was torrential. The newspapers reported the next day that 8 people had died in the overnight rains. Storm drains and falling walls had taken their victims and some had been simply washed away in the floods.
Sunday 15th October
We were at the Virwani Daiwali Party last night and the deluge of rain was relentless until the early hour of the morning. It rained on and off all day but in the afternoon the monsoon rain came down heavily for hours again. The garden was a series of puddles, the road outside was a small stream and I kept checking the house and the neighbours for any water ingress. I5 was torrential.
Monday 16th October
Whatsapp groups were alive with discussions on local flooding, where to get help with water ingress and leaks.
The Deccan Herald front page reported yet another monsoon related death . A 17 year old girl had gone to relieve herself when she slipped and fell not the d rain and was washed away. . The need for basic toilet facilities is glaringly obvious and yet the paper chose to highlight the fact that this young lady was due to get married in 2 weeks time. Another child bride. Two cultural things that need to change rapidly.
Deccan Herald 16.10.17
Saturday 2nd Dec
Rain and temperature drop in the wake of cyclonic storm Ockhi.
The continuing row regarding the Cauvery river water prompted me to keep a ‘diary’ of daily news and events about the issue. The shortage of drinking water, and water for irrigation of crops, is a big issue for Bangalore as well as the farming regions in the area. K.C. Subhash Chandra (hydro-geologist) explains:
Bangalore is approximately 800sqkm and is located in the eastern dry agro-climatic zone of Karnataka. It forms a basin divide and a catchment part of the Ponnaiyar River Basin in the east and Arkavathi River system of the Cauvery River Basin in the west. The city has no perennial water resource of its own, and is in fact benefitted by both South-west and North-east monsoons and receives normal annual rainfall of 830mm.
It is quite distressing having the knowledge that drinking water may indeed run out. It is a necessary resource for life after all. The following starts with my observations and as the situation continues rumbling on, albeit in a calmer manner, the diary becomes more about what is being reported in the news and the progress in the Supreme Court.
The importance of the health of Tamil Nadu’s beloved Chief Minister should not be underestimated – her admission to hospital made the situation much more volatile.
This issue rumbled on for much longer than I anticipated and dominated the news until Prime Minister Modi announced the demonetisation, an issue which then dominated the news going forward until Chief Minister Jayalalithaa passed away on Monday 5th December. There’s a separate blogpost on that.
As this is effectively a diary of events, this blogpost is an unusually long one and may seem a bit disjointed in places due to the nature and timing of events. This is part one. Parts two and three to follow.
Monday 19th September 2016
A calm day but with a noticeable police presence on the streets. Today was the day of the next court hearing regarding the release of Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu. The border between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu remains closed to vehicles and a curfew remain in place in Mysore. Everyone was awaiting to hear what the outcome of the court hearing was.
The court decided to reduce by 3/4 the order made on 5th September meaning that 3,000 cusecs of water was to be released from Karnataka to Tamil Nadu until 30th September.
Both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu states have appealed to the Supreme Court with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday 20th September.
Tuesday 20th September 2016
There is a huge police presence on the roads. The Hindu are reporting that 16,000 policemen have been deployed in Bangalore and several thousand more across the Cauvery River basin. It is estimated 4,000 have been deployed in the Mandya district (including border force personnel). Security has been tightened at all four reservoirs in the Cauvery river basin and on the Bangalore to Mysore highway. The borders remain sealed. This is impacting on tourist travel with Mysore hotels now offering a 30% discount on bookings in an attempt to attract visitors. Tourist drivers are also suffering with a lack of work. As they are self employed they are feeling the affects severely.
The sale of alcohol has been banned from 6am to 1am on Wednesday 21st September. Section 144 is in place until Sunday 25th September. (This interesting as we have tickets to see Much Ado About Nothing on Friday being performed by the Handlebards in the city). I have also been advised that section 66 is in force which allows the police to monitor social media.
The front page of the Hindu is carrying guidance for parents with children at private schools:
Source: The Hindu 20th September 2016
The principal opposition party, BJP, has asked the state government not to release any river water to Tamil Nadu due to the fear that there will be a shortage of drinking water in Karnataka if it complies.
At 11:21am the first message came through that some schools would be closing early and sending children home ahead of the Court’s decision on the Cauvery water. Stonehill school was able to complete a full day, including after school activities.
At 3:15pm we receive a message to inform us that our planned delivery of water would be delayed. We had on about 10l left in the house so that was worrying. Fortunately one of the neighbour’s came to the rescue and lent us a 20l container until our delivery arrived.
School pick up at 4pm was normal but with lots of people asking if I had heard anything about the court decision. There was nothing on the Internet and the news stations had not reported anything. In anticipation of disruption I stopped off at an ATM on the way home to ensure we had enough cash to get us through the next few days, just in case. Parents were tracking the school bus progress on WhatsApp, keen for their children to be home before any decision was announced. Around 5:30pm all the children had made it home.
At 5:40pm the news reported that the Supreme Court had decided that Karnataka had to release 6,000 cusecs of water from Wednesday 21st September until Tuesday 27th September. That doubled what the court had ordered the previous day.
Wednesday 21st September
The Karnataka cabinet resolves to hold an emergency session of the legislature and put on hold the decision on water release. Karnataka state decide not to release the water as directed by the Supreme Court.
Karnataka state flag Has been hoisted at the school gates in a show of loyalty and to deter any attackers I suspect. The alcohol ban still in force. Fighting reported in Mysore.
Thursday 22nd September
Alcohol ban still in force. Armed police and service personnel stationed at the entrance to Manyatta Tech Park where Rez works. The Karnataka state is still defying the Supreme Court Order and refusing to release any Cauvery river water. An all party meeting was held on Wednesday evening decided not to release the water until a special session of the legislature on 23rd September has discussed the issue.
The Supreme Court has ordered that a Cauvery Management Board be constituted within 4 weeks. It will be a technical body consisting of irrigation engineers and agronomists, representatives from the states and independent members. This means that when the monsoon rains are in deficit they will be able to adjudicate the sharing of the water. There will never be enough for both states with water intensive crops and rising population in Bangalore.
Chief Minister Jayalalithaa- Tamil Nadu
The Chief Minister for Tamil Nadu was admitted to Apollo Hospitals.
Friday 23rd September
A special session of the state legislature unanimously passed a resolution stating that it was imperative to ensure that no water was drawn from the Cauvery River basin except for drinking water of the villages and towns in the basin and for the city of Bangalore.
Newspapers were discussing the implications of the Karnataka state defying the Supreme Court Order which also put pressure on the Modi government to not form the Cauvery Management Board as instructed by the Supreme Court.
The Tamil Nadu government filed an application in the Supreme Court stating that the Cauvery Supervisory committee order to Karnataka to release 3,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu until 30th September was exceeding its authority. The committee decision had been overruled by the Supreme Court which doubled it to 6,000 cusecs until 27th September, the date of the next hearing.
The court has directed that a Cauvery Water Management Board be set up.
Editorial in the Hindu regarding the availability of water and sharing. For the first time an acknowledgment that Karnataka might not have enough drinking water if it does release water to Tamil Nadu.
Karnataka state farmers in some regions have already been denied water as it is needed for drinking water – the taps literally being turned off.
It was another normal day with Rez at work and Zahra at school. In the evening we met up with (15) friends to see Much Ado About Nothing performed by the Handlebards. It was a very funny and enjoyable evening and a much needed night out with friends.
Saturday 24th September
Rez went into work. It was the day everyone had to make up the time off due to the Bandh. Zahra and I visited the mini market that had appeared in the complex before heading out to the local village to get some lunch. I was determined to get out as much as possible in case we were confined to the compound at any moment.
The Hindu newspaper reported the outcome of the day long special session of the two Houses of the Karnataka legislature on the front page as headline news. They resolved that no water should be drawn from the Cauvery river except for the drinking water needs of the villages and towns in the Cauvery basin and the entire city of Bangalore.
Interestingly the property section of the Hindu newspaper carried an article about whether the citizens of Bangalore are doing enough to protect water bodies and the treatment of waste water. rainwater harvesting systems need to be massively expanded within the city as well as repair and maintaining the present systems. The forests need to be protected and with the city growing the demand for water will only increase. It is already becoming socially unacceptable to wash cars with a hose (there is a INR 500 fine for doing so in our complex).
The article commented that for the first time the decision makers “discovered that more than half of Bangaluru is not in the Cauvery basin”. This is important because when the tribunal decides on the allocation of the river water it can only consider that part of the city which sits in the basin.
October is the rainiest month of the monsoon season for Bangalore so hopefully a lot of rainwater will be harvested and stored.
In the evening Rez and I went to the India Night fundraising gala with some other international assignees. It was traditional India dress. Rez wore one of the outfits I had bought him last year and I wore a beautiful turquoise Saree with silver embellishing in a floral pattern. The evening was enjoyable, even if we did get fleeced in honour of the 22 charities that were being supported. All for good causes.
Saroja was looking after Zahra and just before we left for the evening Saroja states Don’t worry – I won’t let her out of my sight.” and promised to call if anything started to happen. It struck me then that it wasn’t just me that was keeping a close eye on events and also thought that the situation could change at a moments notice. I did wonder how long I, and others, could continue on high alert. It’s not a way to live life long term that’s for sure – it’s simply not sustainable.
The situation has been tense for a fortnight now and there is no end in sight when the south west monsoon continues to be light and the Supreme Court issues orders which do not appear to take into account the realities on the ground. The problem is that the Karnataka state government is reported to have poor administration and high levels of corruption in government services in the the last 3 years; this crisis is a great opportunity for them to get back into the good books of the citizens, as well as appearing to be on their side as regards the Cauvery River water.
Sunday 25th September
Another average day and we ventured out at lunchtime to the cinema to see the new movie ‘Storks’.
Monday 26th September
The Karnataka state legal team filed an application at the two judge bench of the Supreme Court submitting the legislatures resolution that the Cauvery river water should be released only for use as drinking water. The purpose is to inform the court of the states inability to comply with the Supreme Courts order to release 6,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu from 21st-27th September.
It is an interesting move by Karnataka state and one that is clearly an attempt to protect themselves from a contempt of court order and also to prevent a constitutional crisis. It will certainly be interesting to see how the court responds. It could order the enforcement of the order and that would be done through the Presidents rule through a Union government – a situation I think everyone will want to avoid.
Tuesday 27th September
The scheduled hearing of the Cauvery river water dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. NDTV News reporting from early morning that Tamil Nadu have asked the Supreme Court not to consider Karnatka states petition until it released the water ordered by the court previously. Tamil Nadu has also highlighted that it is Karnataka state’s duty to comply constitutionally. The Supreme Court directed Karnataka state to release at least 6,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu for next three days. The court said it would not take into account the Karnataka Assembly resolution not to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.
The court also directed the Attorney General to facilitate a meeting between executive heads of two states and the Centre to resolve the deadlock.Attorney general Mukul Rohatgi told the court that the Centre would attempt to resolve the issue by calling a meeting between the chief ministers of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka in the next two days. The Supreme Court told the Siddaramaiah-led government to release 6,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu till September 29 and warned against any disobedience, stating that ‘it won’t be a solution in a federal structure’.
Section 144 has been imposed in Bengaluru till September 30th midnight, in wake of ongoing violent protests over Cauvery water sharing row. When a section 144 is in force gatherings of more than 5 people are banned. Processions and public meetings are also bannned.
The order was passed by the bench of Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Uday Umesh Lalit, which fixed September 30 as the next date for hearing in the matter.
Wednesday 28th September
The Karnataka state defies the Supreme Court and decides to “defer” the release of water stating it is needed for drinking water.
Thursday 29th September
As farmers and landless workers migrate to the coast and other areas in search of work following the failure of the southwest monsoon, the deferred Karnataka state decision on the release of Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu was awaited. The meeting at the Water Resources Ministry is focussing on information sharing between Karnataka state and Tamil Nadu on the performance of the monsoon rainfall. The Karnataka state is obviously keen to avoid a confrontation with the Supreme Court and the view that it is unreasonably disobeying its order. They are considering releasing 6,000 cusecs for three days (as directed by the court) as storage of water had increased slightly after the state stopped releasing water to Tamil Nadu on on 20th September. However the storage levels in four of the Cauvery basin reservoirs is till a third lower than this time last year.
The state government also declared 68 taluks in Bangalore as “drought hit” due the shortage of monsoon rain.
The Hindu newspaper ran an article in the Metro section about a leading scientist in Bangalore harvesting rain water for his entire household needs and commenting (the obvious) that “we must not depend on a single river for all our needs”.
Saturday 1st October
Yesterday the Supreme Court gave Karnataka state one last opportunity to release 6,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu between 1st and 6th October. The court simultaneously asked for the Cauvery Water Management Board to be established by 4th October and report back by 6th October after visiting the river sites. The Chief Minister of Karnataka has convened another all party meeting to discuss the court order. The police have taken over 450 people into “preventative custody” and deployed extra personnel in some areas. The police have also been advising people not to travel to Tamil Nadu in vehicles that have Karnataka registrations plates.
Monday 3rd October
Karnataka state holds a day long session to decide next steps following the Supreme Court Order to release 6,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu from 1st to 6th October. This is required as the previous session held on 23rd September resolved only to release water for drinking purposes only.
The Hindu newspaper reports that Bangalore’s ground water is under pressure as 340 bottling plants are using all of Bangalore’s taluks, which are already over exploited. More worryingly it is thought that there are a further 2,000 illegal bottling plants. Bottled water has proliferated in the city to meet the massive demand for drinking water. There are only 340 bottling companies with an IsI mark but it is believed there are actually over 2000 companies operating within the city, which makes quality an issue.
The Dussehra (or Dasara) festival in Mysore usually attracts thousands but numbers were down this year.
Facts and Figures (from The Hindu newspaper)
708 bottling units in the state
283 Bengaluru Urban
57 Bengaluru rural
64 in neighbouring districts
Bengaluru and surrounding areas have 57% of all the packaged drinking water companies in the state
Each unit draws between 1,500 and 25,000 litres of water daily
All 8 taluks of Bengaluru urban and Bengaluru rural districts declared over exploited
Central ground water board guidelines say industries cannot extract groundwater in over exploited zones
Average groundwater depth in Bengaluru urban is 822.5 feet and the rate of decline is up to 200%
Average groundwater depth in Bengaluru rural is 848 feet and the rate of decline is up to 142%
Tuesday 4th October
The Supreme Court orders the release of 2000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu from 7th-18th October.
Thursday 6th October
The border between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka finally re-opened yesterday to traffic, except for buses. Buses were turned back at the check points set up at the state border.
Vehicles have been stopped from crossing the border since 10th September.
Karnataka state declared 42 taluks as in drought, taking the total to 110 out of the 176 in the state. A further 50 are on the verge of drought.
The Supreme Court asked for a technical report, on water availability in the Cauvery basin, to be submitted by 17th October. The establishment of the Cauvery Water Management Board has been put on hold as the matter was now with Parliament.
Friday 7th October
The central team start the inspection of the Cauvery basin as ordered by the Supreme Court.
Saturday 8th October
The Karnataka state government made a presentation on the severe water shortage in the Cauvery basin to the Supreme Court’s expert team whilst it was on its 2 day field trip on the ground. The state is expecting to see a shortfall of 20tmcft of water this year, for drinking and irrigation, due to the failure of the south west monsoon.
Sunday 9th October
It is two weeks since Chief Minister Jayalalithaa was admitted to hospital and no major policy issues have been taken in her absence by her two trusted advisors. The administration of the government on other issues is proceeding only after consultation and collective agreement.
This raises the issue about who will deal with the Cauvery water dispute in her absence from office. The question has not been raised, yet.
Monday 10th October
The Hindu newspaper reports on the historical parallels with Chief Minister Jayalalithaa ‘s hospitalisation, the resultant “governmental crisis” and the transfer of power to other ministers as a similar situation occurred 32 years ago.
Wednesday 12th October
All the portfolios held by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa were reallocated to her finance minister yesterday at her request and as the constitution of India allows. Ms Jayalalithaa will continue in her post as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
Friday 14th October
Karnataka state government is seeking a payment of INR 6,000 crore from the central government to help tackle the ongoing drought. The money would be used to supply drinking water, fodder and compensation to farmers for crop loss.
Tuesday 18th October
The Supreme Court orders the release of 2000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu until further notice. The Karnataka state government has stated that they will comply with the order as it is implementable. The Supreme Court acknowledged that both states are in dire need of water.
The Supreme Court also stated that it would not tolerate violence from its citizens.
The dispute is really due to water supply and usage techniques from both states. The report by the committee revealed a grim picture of agrarian crises on both sides. The committee also stated that the citizens of both states fail to realise the value of water. I would agree with that just from day to day observations of usage. Everyone, and I mean everyone, washes pots under a running tap. Either out in the street under a standpipe or in a sink. Plugs do not exist here – so much so that we had to import ours from the UK.
Wednesday 19th October
The Supreme Court heard the appeals by both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu states against the 2007 Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal. The Supreme Court has already stated that it has no jurisdiction to deal with the issue. It reserved judgment.
Saturday 12th November
Karnataka state has an 81% deficit in monsoon rainfall in the Cauvery catchment areas. It is likely that the 2000 cusecs of water a day released to Tamil Nadu is unsustainable. The depletion of water in four reservoirs is likely to lead to severe drinking water shortages, in Bangalore in particular, in the summer (April/May). The state is considering a petition to the Supreme Court for an amendment to the ruling from 18th October.
Sunday 4th December
Chief Minister Jayalalithaa suffered a cardiac arrest this evening. The news bulletins sent messages to mobile phones and the Indian news stations reported that she had been moved into intensive care. Chennai riot police were put on notice and security across Tamil Nadu was tightened. This is because she is a very beloved Chief Minister who has helped the poor and the fear is that there will be rioting and suicides as the poor lose hope.
Monday 5th December
The news bulletins reported that Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had passed away at 11.30pm.
Tuesday 6th December
The Hindu front page
Saturday 10th December
The Supreme Court upheld its constitutional power to hear appeals filed by Tamil Nadu , Karnataka and Keral against the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal final award in 2007. The three judge bench is to re convene at 3pm on 15th December to resume hearing the case.
Thursday 5th January 2017
The Supreme Court yesterday asked Karnataka to continue releasing 2000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu. The judges scheduled back to back hearings from 7th February for three weeks.
Karnataka’ water resources Minister responded by asking how water that was not in the reservoirs was to be released. The storage was close to dead storage after the second year of severe drought.
Monday 23rd January 2017
A senior lawyer resigned from the state legal team which has been arguing the Cauvery water dispute case n the Supreme Court. The final hearing of the arguments in the Cauvery water dispute are to be heard on 7th February. The court has previously directed (again on 4th January) Karnataka state to release 2,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu daily.
Tuesday 31st January
The government has cautioned CEOs and Deputy Comissioners of drought hit areas that they face action if they fail to provide drinking water and employment, and fodder to cattle, in the coming months. They must implement drought related works. It was acknowledged that Karnataka state is experiencing its worst drought in 6 years. The store of fodder was still being distributed to neighbouring States despite only having three weeks worth of stock for Karnataka state. This practice was immediately stopped by the Chief Minister. In addition, private borewells are being taken control of by the state and borewell water is not to be used for farming. Only three areas within the state do not have a water shortage after a 68% rainfall deficiency.
Monday 6th February
I discovered from a neighbour last week that the complex water supply is now being provided from a borewell. Here has been no official announcement from the manageing committee to the residents. The information came direct from the plumber who oversees the water deliveries into the storage tanks.. we always drink bottled water but other residents do drink filters tap water – they should be aware that the quality can no longer be guaranteed.
That aside, the Hindu newspaper reported that supply of water was erratic in some areas of the city; water was only available in the morning and evening and latterly in the evening only. The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) state water is being pumped to normal limits and spikes occur due to increase usage as the weather gets warmer. That does not explain the complete lack of supply in some areas unless the restoration of pipe works is affecting them all. The BWSSB is contingency planning for a water shortage by putting other agencies on notice to use their water tankers, drilling another 100 borewells and commencing an ad campaign to conserve water.
Wednesday 8th February
Karnataka state was back at the Supreme Court stating that the 1892 agreement between the Mysore and Madras governments regarding the Cauvery river water was an unequal bargain which could not continue to be valid after the commencement of the Indian Constitution. The same issue was previously argued before the Court in 2002 by Tamil Nadu state. The Supreme Court will resume hearing the appeal on 21st March.
Sunday 12th February
Farmers in Mysore border area are reporting crop failure of the “drought resistant” ragi. This crop requires very little moisture indicating that a drought like this had not been seen in a lifetime. Even in previous droughts a single crop has been harvested but not so this year. One farmer dug a 250foot borewell but still failed to strike water. 160 out of the 178 taluks have been declared drought hit. The rain deficiency was -18% in the southwest monsoon and -71% in the northeast monsoon.
Wednesday 22nd February
The government is in place a contingency plan to draw water from the dead storage of Krishnaraja Sagar (known as “KRS”) reservoir in anticipation of a drought and a drinking water crisis in the summer. The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (‘BWSSB’) states the present storage could meet the water needs of Bangalore until May, but anticipated a shortage in the peak of summer. The dead storage (water which cannot be tapped through gravity) is 4.4tmcft in KRS. Also under consideration is water rationing; restricting water supply to once in 3 days.
Water rationing is quite a scary thought. I can remember in the 1970’s UK when I was a young child, having to walk the 100m to the standpipe in the road to collect water in a queue when the standpipe was turned on. It’s incredible to think back over 40 years that that situation arose. Yet her we are in 2017 in India and they are considering supplying water just twice a week. In this heat it doesn’t bare thinking about. The smell of people alone will be dreadful, never mind the lack of sanitationand drinking water. I do wonder what the world is coming to when this situation is reached.
Monday 6th March
The Hindu newspaper reported the data testing of 83 rivers between April 2016 and January 2017, including the Cauvery River. The Cauvery river had 7.18% grade A and B (suitable for drinking after disinfection and outdoor bathing), 69.5% grade C (treatment and disinfection needed before drinking) and 23.35% grade D and E (only for wildlife, fisheries and irrigation). As the severe drought starts to take hold the high pollution levels are making what water is available unfit for human consumption even after treatment.
Tuesday 7th March
From The Hindu newspaper
Thursday 9th March
The Annual Water Conference was held in Bangalore. Karnataka state government stated that it “is one of the most water -stressed States in the country today”. The conference highlighted that different departments were fire fighting and unable to plan ahead to deal with the crisis.
35% of Bangalore received water daily with the rest receiving water every other day.
Friday 10th March
With Holi weekend upon us there was concern noted about how much water is going to be wasted at Holi parties being held across the city iver the weekend. Rain dances and pool parties proving popular in the heat use up valuable water resources from birewells and private water tankers. The state government appeared unable to do anything about it. It will be interesting to see if this is raised as an issue in future as water becomes scarce as the summer progresses here.
Saturday 11th March
The Karnataka state government is to provide midday meals to all government and aided schools in drought affected areas during the summer vacation from 11th April to 12th May inclusive. The government issued a notice to the education authorities in the 160 taluks severely affected by drought and asked them to monitor attendance as well as preparing an action plan for implementation, ensuring good quality meals.
The Hindu newspaper reported that a student had been assaulted by his landlord (and made to lick his landlord’s shoes) for using “excessive water”. The police are investigating.
Tuesday 14th March
Page 3 of the Hindu newspaper
The severe drought has resulted in total crop loss for farmers and the state government of Karnataka has instituted a disaster relief program for farmers.
Thursday 16th March
The Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of Karnataka presented his budget yesterday and a freee supply of potable water in slums. In addition he announced ₽509.55 crore for 374km canal development works in the Cauvery Basin. In an attempt to mitigate the drinking water problem, ₽5000 crore has been allocated to the Rural Water Supply Scheme and Nagarothana scheme for towns as well as a desalination plant at Mangaluru (the first in the Karnataka state) to solve drinking water problems there.
Wednesday 22nd March
A month long “Water Festival” is being planned for April by a group of citizens to bring “the discussion to the public so that it is not limited to academicians, NGOs and governmental bodies.” Maintaining an adequate drinking water supply and water conservation methods will feature within an art exhibition, film screenings, mixed media presentations and workshops based on water.
Advert in The Hindu newspaper 22.03.17
Thursday 23rd March
There were several article on page 2 of the Hindu newspaper about the Bangalore water Suppky and Seeerage Board finally trying to tackle the dumping of raw sewage in Ulsoor lake. Other lakes in the city will have to wait to be tackled. It was World Water Day yesterday and the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of Karnataka reminded people that Wayte should be used “judiciously” in the star as it is in the midst of a drought.
Friday 24th March
The Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment organised a talk in Bangalore on Thursday and revealed that Bangalore is only reusing 1%of its sewage.
They stated:
“We are in the 21st century, with infrastructure of the 20th century, administration of the 19th century and mindset of the 18th century”
Saturday 25th March
Muthuramalingapuram, Virudhunagar in Tamil Nadu is facing such a water crisis that 12 foot deep pit has been dug in the Gundar riverbed and women are scooping out water with wooden ladles.
Picture from front page of The Hindu newspaper
Sunday 26th March
The scarcity of drinking water is reported as becoming an issue in the elections with ladies waiting hours in queues and walking kms each day to collect two pits of drinking water from taluks.
Tuesday 28th March
The public accounts committee of the state legislature reported that only 850 borewells of the total 12,986, inspected by the quality checking institute, had potable water.
Sunday 2nd April
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu will be given ₽1,782 and ₽1,792 crore respectively from the National Disatser Response Fund for drought (and cyclone) relief.
A delegation of officials from Tamil Nadu travelled to Bangalore on Saturday to request the release of 3tmcft of Cauvery Water on humanitarian grounds due to the drought. Karnataka officials declined the request on the grounds that there is only enough water in storage to meet the drinking water needs up until June.
Monday 3rd April
As the water crisis deepens, private suppliers of water tankers have hiked their prices by up to 40% (from ₽700/₽750 to ₽1,000/ ₽1200 per 10,000 litres). The borewells from which these tankers are obtaining their water are drying up which means it also takes longer to fill a tanker (up to 3 hours from previously an hour), and therefore also limits supply.
Tuesday 11th April
The water resources minister, M.B. Patil, stated that there was just enough water in the reservoirs to meet the drinking water needs for Bangalore until 15th June, following a review of the reservoirs. He asked farmers to stop using irrigation pumps and asked people to use water “judiciously”. In addition, Mr Patil stated that there was not enough water to release any to Tamil Nadu and he has advised the Supreme Court accordingly.
Water rationing in Bangalore was Now advised by the Minister but the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewrage Board chair stated that rationing would only be implemented if the situation worsened.
Wednesday 12th April
The heatwave has claimed two lives in the last fortnight. The teaching hospital at Gulbarga Institute of Medical Sciences in Kalaburagi reported that 30% of newborns are suffering from acute dehydration. The government hospital mainly caters for the poor and marginalised sections of society. Acute dehydration in babies may lead to multi organ failure.
Sunday 16th April
The front page of The Hindu on Sunday (section 2) publishes a picture of a herdsman driving his cattle past a dry waterbody in Tamil Nadu. It goes on to state that: “Farmers in the State are facing the worst drought in several decades and are on a protest in Delhi seeking farm loan waiver.”
The centre pages of the paper carry pictures of the Bandipur and Nagarhole Tiger Reserves which have dried up watering holes and animals desperately searching for water. Solar panelled water pumps have been installed into some ponds with borewells dug to pump in the water.
The newspapers were also reporting that water tankers are are turning away non regular customers and saving water for their regular customers.
Monday 17th April
Vanakulum waterbody is so dry that children have now taken to using it as a playground and playing cricket there.
Tuesday 18th April
Hailstones the size of pebbles rained down overnight with wind and rain storming around. The streets were rivers and trees felled. 10mm of rain fell the in central business district according to the Indian Meteorological Department.
Friday 21st April
There was an opinion piece in the The Hindu newspaper on whether water should be privatised. Arun Lakhani of Vishvaraj Infrastructure stated:
We have regular water supply hours ranging from a few hours daily to once a week or perhaps once in two weeks. We have 60% pipe coverage and hardly 4% metering, leading to large wastage of water with no accountability. In sewerage, 38,000 million litres per day (mld) of untreated sewerage is discharged in lakes and rivers. The Ganga receives 12,000 mld of sewerage per day. The result is that 21% of diseases are water-borne; we lose over 10 crore person-days every year due to water-borne diseases.
Wednesday 26th April
The Hindu newspaper reported that the city’s parks and now reliant on water tankers as borewellshave run dry. It reports that 72 litres of water are brought in everydayto Water the parks in the central business district.
Thursday 27th April
Excessive borewells drilling has depleted the water tablein Andrah Pradesh and has affected the farmers badly due to lack of water.
The Hindu newspaper
Saturday 29th April
Animals are dying in hgher numbers due to the drought, as they struggle to find Water, and as a consequence wandering into human habitations and migrating.
To be continued in the next instalment.
.
* cusecs = cubic feet of water per second
** Section 144 – bans meetings or groups of 10 or more in public places
The importance of the health of Tamil Nadu’s ‘beloved’ Chief Minister Jayalalithaa should not be underestimated – her admission to hospital made the situation in Tamil Nadu and the Cauvery Water crisis much more volatile. This issue rumbled on for much longer than I anticipated and dominated the news until Prime Minister Modi announced the demonetisation, an issue which then dominated the news going forward until Chief Minister Jayalalithaa passed away on Monday 5th December. That was then followed by a power struggle and a criminal conviction in 2017. I kept a diary of events as they unfolded- a living history if you like – from an expat viewpoint.
Thursday 22nd September 2016
Alcohol ban still in force. Armed police and service personnel stationed at the entrance to Manyatta Tech Park where Rez works. The Karnataka state is still defying the Supreme Court Order and refusing to release any Cauvery river water. An all party meeting was held on Wednesday evening decided not to release the water until a special session of the legislature on 23rd September has discussed the issue.
The Supreme Court has ordered that a Cauvery Management Board be constituted within 4 weeks. It will be a technical body consisting of irrigation engineers and agronomists, representatives from the states and independent members. This means that when the monsoon rains are in deficit they will be able to adjudicate the sharing of the water. There will never be enough for both states with water intensive crops and rising population in Bangalore.
The headline news read: Chief Minister Jayalalithaa- Tamil Nadu -The Chief Minister for Tamil Nadu was admitted to Apollo Hospitals.
Saturday 1st October
Dr Beale, an internationally renowned specialist and researcher, from London Bridge Hospital in the UK was flown in to examine Chief Minister Jayalalithaa. After examining her he stated she was receiving the best treatment and would be available for consultation for the next few days.
Sunday 9th October
It is two weeks since Chief Minister Jayalalithaa was admitted to hospital and no major policy issues have been taken in her absence by her two trusted advisors. The administration of the government on other issues is proceeding only after consultation and collective agreement. This raises the issue about who will deal with the Cauvery water dispute in her absence from office. The question has not been raised, yet.
Monday 10th October
The Hindu newspaper reports on the historical parallels with Chief Minister Jayalalithaa ‘s hospitalisation, the resultant “governmental crisis” and the transfer of power to other ministers as a similar situation occurred 32 years ago.
Wednesday 12th October
All the portfolios held by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa were reallocated to her finance minister yesterday at her request and as the constitution of India allows. Ms Jayalalithaa will continue in her post as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. There was no update on her health from the hospital although she is still undergoing treatment (which was detailed in the newspapers).
Saturday 15th October
A bank clerk and a jewellery appraiser are arrested for making “mocking and adverse remarks” (The Hindu newspaper) about the health of Chief Minister Jayalalithaa (of Tamil Nadu) who is still in hospital, very unwell. The Chief Minister was admitted to hospital on 22nd September. The police has previously arrested 4 people for making derogatory remarks on social media platforms but this was the first time that the police have arrested anyone for making adverse comments in public.
Thursday 20th October
Chief Minister Jayalalithaa (of Tamil Nadu) – After a week of no information, the newspapers reported that the Chief Minister remains under close observation by a team of doctors and continues to remain on respiratory support whilst receiving passive physiotherapy.
Monday 14th November
The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Ms Jayalalitha, wrote from hospital to her party stating she hoped to be fully recovered and returning to work. This is the first letter to her party since being admitted to hospital 30 days ago. Rumours have circulated about the state of her health so this will come as a welcome sign to many.
Sunday 4th December
Chief Minister Jayalalithaa suffered a cardiac arrest this evening. The news bulletins sent messages to mobile phones and the Indian news stations reported that she had been moved into intensive care. Chennai riot police were put on notice and security across Tamil Nadu was tightened. This is because she is a very beloved Chief Minister who has helped the poor and the fear is that there will be rioting and suicides as the poor lose hope.
Monday 5th December
Zahra left on a school trip to Yercaud in Tamil Nadu for three days. From early morning some parents were posting concerns on the class Whatsapp group as to whether the trip should be cancelled in light of security concerns. It was astonishing the level of panic being created. The school has security measures (and a child protection policy) in place and the hotel is in a secure compound with guarded gates, in the hills. I reflected on the cultural differences in dealing with the situation.
At 4:40pm the parent Whatsapp group sprung into action again and at 5.50pm a parent posted a rumour, as fact, that the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Jayalalithaa had passed away. No news stations were reporting this and the hospital had tweeted a few minutes earlier that she was still alive, so it was challenged. Only when challenged was it stated as coming from another Whatsapp group and then went on to say that she “would seriously consider calling off the trip” and went on to disparage the people of Tamil Nadu and finished with “AS A PRECAUTION I would advise to call the trip off!”. The cultural differences between India and the U.K. were never more obvious than in this series of Whatsapp messages. I was irritated that another parent should be shouting at me via Whatsapp and telling me what I should do as regards my own child.
At 9pm the primary school principal emailed P8 parents with an update on the field trip at the Lake Forest Hotel in Yercaud, Tamil Nadu. (The hotel is in a quiet, rural location). He confirmed that the teachers and organisers on site were consulting with the Yercaud and Salem police force and receiving hourly updates from the Superintendent of Salem. The hotel was “currently” assessed to be very safe and the security had been doubled at the resort as a precautionary measure. They were closely monitoring the safe access routes for the return to Bengaluru. They also were considering sending additional school vehicles to assess the routes in advance of the buses carrying students. It was reassuring that they were receiving regular updates and taking precautionary measures to keep the children safe. The pictures from the trip showed the children happily enjoying the activities.
Later that night the news bulletins reported that Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had passed away at 11.30pm.
Tuesday 6th December
At 1am another parent posted on the parent Whatsapp group confirming that Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had passed away. Again I noted the differences between the UK and India. It is generally accepted in the U.K. that contacting someone after 9pm at night is for urgent or emergencies only, unless you are a family member. Anyone contacting you after 11pm at night is considered urgent or an emergency. This message would not have been considered to be within those categories.
At 6:35am we received another email update from the primary principal confirming that Chief Minister in Tamil Nadu had passed away, which may cause some disruption on the roads. As well as the hourly updates from the Superintendent in Salem and the police force in Yercaud, they were closely monitoring the road situation. The children were continuing with their activities in the resort and visit the outdoor activity centre (about 5 minutes drive from the hotel) if it was deemed safe to do by the local police.
Then again at 9:45am another update was received.
The organisers and teachers were determining the best time to leave the hotel and return to school; not making the decision to return until they had verified, accurate information that the route home was clear. In liaison with the local police, they had arranged for Tamil Nadu number plates to be fixed to the buses for the passage of travel through Tamil Nadu. This is necessary as vehicles with Kannada plates were attacked during the Cauvery water dispute. They dispatched an additional vehicle with the Transport Coordinator and another staff member to the hotel. The plan was for them to travel ahead of the students on the return journey to ensure that the route was clear and safe.
I’ve been hearing the sound of drums on and off for periods all morning. NDTV is broadcasting mainly from Tamil Nadu (with an anchor in the studio) and providing a running commentary on events there, including the funeral. The Hindu newspaper has pages dedicated to her work and life. She did so much to lift the poor of Tamil Nadu out of poverty. She is so revered as a movie star and as able and strong politician.
Bus services were suspended between Tamil Nadu and Bangalore as security was stepped up at the border in anticipation of violence erupting. There had already been stone pelting incidents at threee buses.
We received another update from school at 5:30pm. They were planning to leave the Lake Forest Hotel in Yercaud at 4.30am on Wednesday 7th December, with a decoy scout vehicle going ahead of them. The students are travelling through Salem very early in the morning and then plan to follow a route that avoids other larger towns. The organisers and teachers were continuing to be in close contact with the local police and during the journey they called ahead to police checkpoints, toll checkpoints and the border checkpoint to ensure clear passage.
The children were blissfully unaware of the issues and were happily engaging in activities at the hotel, instead of the outward bound centre. They had been informed of the Chief Minister Jayalalithaa death and were told that out of respect they would not be undertaking outward bound activities that day.
Wednesday 7th December
We received an update from school at 6:15am advising us that they had left the camp earlier that morning and had already passed through Salem, making good time as the roads were clear. Zahra later told us that they left the hotel at 3am and had packed the night before, got up and slept in the bus.
The PTA had a bake sale on at school that day so I was due to be at school from 7:30am anyway. I would be there when they returned. They arrived back at 9:10am and I have never been so relieved to see my daughter.
Thursday 8th December
Huge memorial posters have appeared all over the centre of Bangalore of the former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa regarding her “sad demise”. The Hindu newspaper continues to dedicate pages to her questioning the sudden downturn in her health and also asking whether she left a will.
An article was circulating on FB questioning why there were no photographs taken in hospital of her being treated. The huge invasion of privacy that would have created does not seem to matter to people who believe the rumours and false reports that the Chief Minister was poisoned and the hospital have kept her death quiet for weeks. It really is incredulous that people believe this; it is even more incredulous that educated individuals would circulate and ‘like’ such utter claptrap on FB. When I challenged why a medical professional would do this and for what benefit, there was a bemused response. When I pointed out that consequences of her death would be the same a month ago, or a week ago or a day ago I was met with a blank face. The complete acceptance of a false rumour without thinking about or challenging the information was frustrating in the least.
Friday 9th December
As Jayalalithaa lay in state the future of the AIADMK and the future of the Dravidian parties was being discussed in the media. Politics in Tamil Nadu is now in a state of flux. It is difficult to predict the future political make up of the state and the affect may have on Indian politics in general.
The Tamil Nadu politics has been progressive – the state produces leaders in social inclusion, geneder equality and inclusive democracy which are not matched elsewhere in India. It’s 39 MPs are said to often decide who rules in Dehli. No national party has been able to make inroads into the Tamil Nadu state. Many of them simply cannot voice strong enough views on the Cauvery River water dispute for example. The AIADMK appeal to the Dalits who are 21% of the population of Tamil Nadu; other parties will have to adapt to match that same appeal.
Saturday 10th December
A section of leaders in the AIADMK party has openly supported and promoted the idea that VK Sasikala is the natural political heir to Jayalalithaa. Chief Minister O Panneerselvam has met with her for several hours and she summoned several senior leaders, ministers, bureaucrats and police officers to her residence in Poes Garden.
Wednesday 8th February 2017
Chief Minister O Panneerselvam announced he was compelled to resign following a revolt and general secretary VK Sasikala dismissed him from the post of party treasurer and appointed someone else in his place. There was a meeting held with members of the legislative assembly which did not notify Mr O Panneerselvam of the meeting. Supporters turned up at his residence.
There seems to be a power struggle going on between the trusted advisors to the former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa – O Panneerselvam and her long term confidant and advisor VK Sasikala (who is subject to a disproportionate assets case at the Supreme Court).
Thursday 9th February
Chief Minister O Panneerselvam revolted against the ruling AIADMK* leadership. Members of the legislative assembly (MLA), MPs and officers of the party rallied around VK Sasikala.
Separately Mr Panneerselvam announced a judicial inquiry into the treatment administered to former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.
Friday 10th February
There’s a power struggle going on between Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam and AIADMK General Secretary V.K.Sasikala; the latter who was the best friend of Jayalalithaa and lived with her. O.Pannerselvam resigned on 5th February. Both were called to a meeting with the Governor on Thursday evening (9th February). Nothing is resolved. Social media is awash with campaigns for both people.
Saturday 11th February
The governor of Tamil Nadu has indicated in a report that he is waiting for the outcome of the Supreme Court hearing regarding the disproportionate assets case against Ms Sasikala. This is interesting as Ms Sasikala is not an elected member of the assembly – so how she can become Chief Minister is a mystery to me, but I am no expert in Indian politics. There are also rival factions within the party who are allegedly expelling the chairman and general secretary – it’s quite hard to follow and establish who is actually in charge.
In another development the Supreme Court has refused to intervene judicially, stating that the Governor of Tamil Nadu has constitutional discretion to decide who is Chief Minister.
Tuesday 14th February
NDTV is providing a running commentary and reporting on the awaited outcome of the VK Sasikala disproportionate assets case. The outcome will decide her political future and her personal liberty.
In addition the Attorney General has advised the Governor of Tamil Nadu that a “composite floor test in the Assembly would prove who has the majority in the power tussle” between VK Sasikala and O Panneerselvam.
The outcome of the two events will decide who becomes Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
Wednesday 15th February
Yesterday the court delivered its verdict on the 20 year old disproportionate assets case of Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and VK Sasikala. The decision indicated that the two criminally conspired to launder ill gotten wealth at her Poes Garden residence in Tamil Nadu. The court ordered them to surrender to the trial court in Karnataka immediately. That means that VK Sasikala will have to travel to Bangalore to be imprisoned. Considering the animosity between the neighbouring states over the Cauvery river water distribution this order really is adding insult to injury. VK Sasikala has been sentenced to four years in prison and is automatically disqualified from contesting any elections for the next six years. In addition a fine of ₽10 crore (10,000,000) each (with her other co accused) has been levied. (Roughly £12m).
The news channels went into meltdown with almost blanket coverage of the decision. News crews were camped outside the resort where VK Sasikala had been staying with her supporters and party members and members of the legislative assembly (MLAs). VK Sasikala acted quickly following the decision and put a succession plan in place by getting elected Edappadi K Planiswami as leader of the AIADMK legislature party. Now my knowledge of Indian politics isn’t sufficient enough to understand how that is possible. The newspapers are reporting that this man was proposed by the Forest Minister and unanimously accepted by 120 MLAs. In addition VK Sasikala expelled 20 leaders in the rival faction including the chief Minister O Panneerselvam and other Ministers.Not all the members of the legislative assembly are with her to vote on this and also I don’t understand in what capacity she is doing it. In addition she has also appointed her nephew (who was previously expelled from the party) to a prominent controlling position to ensure that control remains within the family whilst she is imprisoned.
VK Sasikala also asked the court for more time to surrender on health grounds but the court refused this morning and ordered her immediate surrender. I don’t understand why she has not been arrested and formally detained yet. The house is surrounded by police.
In any event the news covered her leaving her Poes Garden residence in Chennai in the late morning. She went immediately to the Jayalalithaa memorial in Chennai and then to another former Chief Minister’s memorial before heading off for Bangalore by road. Flights were not possible due to the Aero India show in Bangalore. VK Sasikala arrived in the late afternoon in Bangalore and submitted to the court to be jailed. Her car was surrounded by supporters and journalists both in Chennai and in Bangalore making for chaotic scenes and slow progress.
O Panneerselvam yesterday garnered the support of Jayalalithaa’s niece, Deepa Jayakumar, to assist in securing a majority in the house with the AIADMK.
The Governor’s role in this seems to be by-passed, if indeed he has a role to play at all.
Thursday 16th February
The Governor of Tamil Nadu invited AIADMK legislative party leader Edappadi K Palaniswami to become Chief Minister and also instructed him to hold a vote of support , “floor test”, within 15 days. Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami was sworn in as the 13th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in the evening.
Friday 17th February
The newspapers are reporting that VK Sasikala is being treated like any other prisoner with no special foods or privileges being provided. It is a huge topic of gossip amongst workers that she will be treated like royalty and be able to pay for social privileges by bribing guards – who will be able to make themselves rich by acquiescencing to her needs.
A group of MPS from the AIADMK has challenged the position she was elevated to on legal or rules grounds.
Timeline of the trial
14th June 1996 – Subramanian Swamy (Member of Parliament, Bharatiya Janata Party) files a complaint against Jayalalithaa.
18th June 1996 – the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (Dravidian Progress Federation, state party in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry) government directs the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (‘DVAC’) to register a First Information Report (‘FIR’) (a written police document needed to register a criminal complaint) against Jayalalithaa. Once registered a criminal investigation can commence.
4th June 1997 – charge sheet filed.
21st October 1997 – the court frames the charges against Jayalalithaa, VK Sasikala, VN Sudhakaran and J Llavarasi.
22nd January 2010 – Trial commences (It took 14 years from the registering of the complaint for the issue to come to trial. An astonishing delay).
20 & 21st October and 22nd & 23rd November Jayalalithaa appears before the trial court (I find it astonishing that she was not required to be in court everyday since the commencement of the trial).
28th August 2014 Trail concludes (it is unheard of for a U.K. Trial to take 4 years to conclude, most are concluded within a a matter of days or weeks but never years.)
27th September 2014 Jayalalithaa sentenced to four years in jail and fined ₽100 crore by the court.
7th October 2014 the Karnataka High Court rejects Jayalalithaa’s bail plea.
18th December 2014 the Supreme Court directs the Karnataka High Court to form a special bench to hear defendants’ appeals.
5th January 2015 Hearing begins
6th March 2015 the prosecution concludes arguments in the case.
11th May 2015 the Karnataka High Court acquits the accused.
23rd June 2015 the Karnataka government moves the Supreme Court
23rd February 2016 the Supreme Court begins hearing on Jayalalithaa’s acquittal.
6th December 2016 Jayalalithaa dies.
14th February 2017 the Supreme Court sets aside VK Sasikala’s acquittal and restores in full the trial court conviction of September 2014.
18th February
100 DMK MLAs were removed from the Tamil Nadu Assembly just before a Floor Test that would decide the fate of the State’s government. DMK was protesting against the floor test because it wanted a Secret Ballot instead. Fighting broke out, they took control of the speakers chair before being physically carried out of the chamber by order of the speaker. They were charged with bring the house into disrepute.
A secret ballot is not valid in these circumstances as the vote is on party whip lines. If a member defies the whip, which 12 MLAs supporting O Panneerselvam did, they can be disqualified from the chamber. Under the rules for methods for taking votes the vote could only be a voice vote or a division vote. The vote could note be a show of support vocally either as the majority in the house is only 5 people for the AIADMK, so it had to be a recorded vote by division. The DMK opposition clearly wanted a secret ballot to allows any potential defectors to have the confidence to vote against the party whip without the prospect of retribution. Their attempt failed and Edappadi K Palaniswami was confirmed as Chief Minister.
The Palaniswami government now has a problem. It is in power with a wafer thin majority of 5 but 12 MLAs defied the party whip and voted with O Panneerselvam. If the AIADMK lodge a formal complaint to the speaker and have the 12 rebels disqualified, it will trigger by elections which have to be held within 6 months. The likelihood is that the 12 would not be re elected due to popular opinion being against them at the moment. That leaves the party facing losing control and being unable to form the government. So the party may have to continue in government and hope the 12 do not continue to defy the whip or the party has them disqualified and hope the by elections return their own candidates. Interesting times indeed.
After winning the vote Mr Palaniswami and his cabinet colleagues visited the memorial of Jayalalithaa on the marina to pay floral tributes to her after the vote of confidence.
Sunday 19th February
An editorial appeared in the The Hindu newspaper describing the events of the vote of confidence / floor test. His was accompanied by a piece explaining why secret voting in the vote of confidence was not possible due to the rules only allowing a voice vote or division, neither of which are secret. There was an additional piece with the headline “Sasikala’s vow fulfilled, says Palaniswami “. These pieces took up the whole top half of page 12 of the paper as well as a quarter of the front page.
Monday 20th February
An editorial piece appeared in The Hindu newspaper regarding the violence in the Tamil Nadu Assembly in an attempt to scupper the vote of confidence in the new Chief Minister, as was required. The tactics employed by the opposition DMK party to delay proceedings was deplored.
Thursday 2nd March
An editorial appears in the Hindu newspaper reflecting on the events of the past few months in Tamil Nadu politics. The death of the Chief Minister Jayalalithaa , her replacement O Panneerselvam , the subsequent challenge and the conviction and imprsonment of Sasikala and the resulting appointment of Edappadi K Palaniswami as Chief Minister. It certainly has been an interesting few months. The Hindu states that the nature of Dravidian politics lies at the heart of this turmoil as it is devoid of ideological difference, an emphasis on culture as a means of securing legitimacy and the need for centralised leadership to run a patronage system.
Saturday 11th March
An editorial piece appears in the Hindu newspaper analysing the sequence of events and transfer of power in Tamil Nadu. M.K.Narayanan (a former national security advisor and former Governor of West Bangal) states:
The future of the state thus appears to be in jeopardy. Those who value democracy must recognise that a takeover of this kind by a small cabal poses a grave threat to democracy.
Wednesday 15th March
P.R.Sundaram of the AIADMK demanded a CBI probe into Jayalalithaa’s death alleging that none was allowed to see Jayalalithaa in hospital. The Lok Sabha Parliamentary Affairs Minister, H.N. Ananth Kumar stated: “Her sudden demise is of great concern to the Centre, too and there is a feeling that the death occurred in mysterious circumstances. The State government has already ordered a probe, and the Centre can act only after the report is in”.
Saturday 18th March
A half page editorial appeared in the The Hindu newspaper describing the politics of Tamil Nadu to be at a crossroads. The Dravidian basis of politics in the state has always relied on a strong charismatic leader and the party has yet to have one emerge , despite the appointment often Chief Minister. The BJP and congress have yet to have a strong presence in the state yet the editorial states:
“…a saffron shadow is creeping across the land and sweeping past all manner of social cleavages in numerous States.”
The “saffron shadow” refers to the increasing popularity of the BJP under PM Modi.
Tuesday 21st March
The Electoral Commission is hearing evidence and assessing the party rules of the AIADMK in deciding the plea to quash Sasikala’s appointment and therefore nullify all decisions taken by her. The fight is between V.K. Sasikala and O. Panneerselvam and it is being reported as a fight to control the party.
Wednesday 22nd March
The Karnataka state government has filed a review petition to challenge the Supremem Court’s abatement of the appeal against the former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in the disproportionate assets case. The aim is to ensure that the fine can be recovered from her estate.
Thursday 23rd March
The Electoral Commission banned the two factions of the AIADMK from using its symbol in the upcoming by election in Chennai. The rival factions of O. Panneerselvam and V.K.Sasikala have both staked a claim on the symbol.
Wednesday 5th April
The Supreme Court dismissed the Karnataka state petition challenging its abatement of the appeal against the acquittal of the former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in the disproportionate assets case.
Tuesday 18th April
TTV Dhinakaran, deputy general leader of the AIADMK, has had an FIR (first information report) filed against him for alledgedly trying to bribe an election official to obtain the two leaves party symbol.
The 20 year old disproportionate assets case against the late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has had a review petition dismissed at the Supreme Court. The ramifications of being found guilty would have been wide ranging as the acquisition of disproportionate assets by a public servant under the Prevention of Corruption Act would have attracted a severe punishment. With the others charged along with her now in jail with substantial fines it sets a bad precedent that Jayalitha’s relatives will enjoy the fruits of her labour unchallenged.
Monday 12th June
Jayalalitha ‘s niece, Deepa Jayakumar, tried to garland a portrait of Jayalalitha at the Poes Garden residence in Tamil Nadu. She was attacked but managed to accomplish her mission. The residence ownership is disputed between blood relatives and the AIADMK government who plan to convert it into a memorial.
Sunday 16th July
There have been several inspections, and reports, to the jail where Sasikala is being held. The initial report stated that she was receiving VIP treatment, a special kitchen, cook, office and lounge, being provided. Subsequent inspections have contradicted this, stated that the evidence i s being destroyed, setting prisoners against inspectors and accusing each other of leaking information to the media.
Monday 18th July
Photographs have been leaked to the newspapers of the living quarters of Sasikala in Bengaluru jail. She has 5 rooms at her disposal which are allegedly used as a yoga room, living room, kitchen, Tv room and office. The chief Inspector who reported on the VIP conditions has been transferred to other duties. The prisoners protested because 30 prisoners who gave evidence were beaten up at the behest of the prison Governor and those 30 have now been transferred to other jails.
Wednesday 19th July
The row regarding the VIP treatment of Sasikala in Bangalore jail rumbles on. Prisoners staged a protest yesterday about the appointment of the deputy general of prisons to take charge. The allegations are that this individual, R Anitha, was receiving a bribe of 3 lake a month “take care” of Sasikala. The prisoners state that she will destroy the evidence before the enquiry will take place. As a consequence she was removed from office within 24 hours and replaced by H S Revanna.
The letters pages to papers have people complaining about the removal/transfer of D Roopa from office as she uncovered the alleged corruption and should be supported not transferred.
Thursday 20th July
A three member inspection team visited Bangalore jail to ascertain whether the report allegations are correct. The jail has been instructed to follow procedures as per the jail manual and provide equal treatment to all prisoners.Checks on visits, duration and food flow into the jail has intensified in accordance with the jail manual.
Saturday 22nd July
The Public Accounts Committee have directed the Home Department to immediately suspend all officers responsible for providing VIP facilities to AIADMK leader Sasikala at Bangalore Prison. The PAC have also requested a detailed report on the irregularities within 15 days.
The AIADMK party announced they would constitute a panel to conduct an investigation in to Jayalalithaa’s death. In addition the Poes Garden residence (where Jayalalithaa used to live) is to be converted into a memorial. These are poictical concessions in an attempt to unite the warring factions of the party.
Tuesday 22nd August
The two opposing factions in the AIADMK merged yesterday with Edappadi K Palaniswami remaining Chief Minister but O Panneerselvam being made Deputy Chief Minister (a newly created post). The combined party decided to c Naveen a General meeting to formally adopt a resolution to expel VK SASIKALA and TTV Dhinakaran from the party ( a key demand for the merger). TTV Dhinakaran covened a meeting of his supporters and muted going to court to oppose the merger; they are also meeting the Governor.
Meanwhile the opposition DMK party has seized the opportunity and is planning a no confidence motion against the government.
Deccan Herald newspaper 22.08.17
Wednesday 23rd August
NDTV website reported that 19 MLAs, from the ruling AIADMK party, are in the Windflower Resort and Spa in Puducherry at the request of TTV Dhinakaran, who is the nephew of VK Sasikala and looks likely to be expelled from the party along with her. They are demanding that the Chief Minister resigns and is replaced. Dhinakaranwas arrested in April for allegedly trying to bribe Election Commission officials through a middleman and was released in June.
The Chief Minister and O Panneerselvam joined together on Monday and a key condition was the formal removal of Sasikala and Dhinakaran. The 19 MLAs in Puducherry have written to the Chief Minister stating that they were not consulted over the merger and does not have their support, potentially triggering a trust vote. The reunified party commands 134 MLAs and they need the support of 117 in a trust vote. If all 19 Dhinakaran supporters vote against their own party the AIADMK WILL LOSE BY 2 votes. There is no indication that these 19 MLAs will do so at present as their grievance is that Edappadi K Palaniswami remains in charge as Chief Minister.
In other news, the Supreme Court has dismissed a plea of jailed AIADMK leader V K Sasikala seeking review of its verdict convicting and sentencing her to a four-year jail term in a disproportionate assets case. The Supreme court also rejected her plea for an open court hearing of the review petitions.
Wednesday 13th September
The AIADMK held a council meeting and sacked party general secretary VK Sasikala yesterday. Sasikala’s appointment of her nephew TTV Dhinakaran, as deputy general secretary, was deemed illegal and all appointments were invalidated. The party also decided that it would no pinger have the pos5 of General Secretary and real,fed to retrieve the two leaves symbol of the party via the Electoral Commission.
Friday 15th September
The Madras High Court has issued orders to the Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Assembly not to conduct a floor test until 20th September.
Tuesday 19th September
18 AIADMK Members of the Legislative Assembly were disqualified from their membership of the Assembly by the Speaker under the anti defection law of 1986. They were all the supporters of the ousted leader TTV Dhinakaran. It is likely that the disqualified members with go to court to appeal this decision.
Thursday 21st September
The high Court in Madras extended its order to the Tamil Nadu government not to conduct a floor test at the same time refusing to stay the disqualification of TTV Dhinakaran and the 18 supporting MLAs.
Saturday 23rd September
The reunited AIADMK party has approached the Electoral Commission to reclaim the two leaves symbol and name of the party, which the Elctoral Commission had previously restricted due to the split in the party.
Meanwhile the TTV Dhinakaran visited the 18 disqualified MLAs who supported him at the Kodagu resort where they have all been staying. The newspapers are reporting that strategy meetings are taking place.
Sunday 24th September
The political in fighting is coming to a head now as the ousted AIADMK leader TTV Dhinakaran has threatened that CCTV footage of deceased Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa will be realeased if necessary to provide evidence about the lies told about the state of her health after admission to hospital last year. It now appears that no one, not even Sasikala, was allowed to see her. At the time Ministeres were making statements to the press about Jayalalithaa’s health improvements and diet whilst in hospital, which all now turn out to be lies. Another leader has confirmed this account stating that they were afraid of Sasikala and did as she bid. as an enquiry has been ordered into the events surrounding Jayalithaa’s last days , it looks like some ministers are coming forward early to confess their lies. This is going to get interesting.
Monday 25th September
Unsurprisingly there has been an outcry by the opposition parties in Tamil Nadu, all who are now demanding an investigation into the death of former Chief Minister Jayalith Minister Jayalalithaa. Jayalalithaa’s niece, Deepa Jayakumar, also said she would go to court to clear the doubts surrounding her aunts death.
Tuesday 26th September
The AIADMK appointed a retired Tamil Nadu High court Judge yesterday to head up the inquiry into the events surrounding Jayalalithaa’s death last year.
Meanwhile TTV Dhinakaran has stated to the press that he does not have CCTV footage from the hospital but personal video footage shot by his aunt Sasikala whilst ‘Amma’ was watching TV in her nightclothes. Now this is interesting because various ministers have already come out and said that no one, not even Sasikala, was allowed to see Jayalalithaa in hospital, so where this footage was shot and when will be a key issues.
Tuesday 3rd October
Prison Dept officials have stated that Sasikala has not applied for parole to visit her ill husband as she is not entitled to parole with criminal cases pending. This contradicts the statement made by her nephew TTV Dhinakaran who said they have applied for 15 day’s of parole so she can visit her husband in Hospital.
Wednesday 4th October
After denying that there even was an application for parole, the prison dept rejected the application made by Sasikala’s advocate in the grounds that it did not attach a certified health report confirming her husband’s critical condition. A fresh application will now have to be made and it is sure to be scrutinised intensively considering the public interest.
Tuesday 28th November
Yesterday the Supreme Court declined to consider a petition from a Bangalurean woman claiming to be the late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s daughter.
Saturday 13th January 2018
The Times of India reported that VK Sasikala is learning Kannada (the language of Karnataka state) under the Adult Literacy Programme at Central Prison, together with her convicted sister in law in the same case.
19th January 2018
The inquiry report into the preferential treatment given to Sasikala in prison may be referred to the Anti Corruption Bureau. It is alleged that jail officials had accepted 2 crore to spare Sasikala the hardships in jail.
Friday 2nd March
The state government has ordered further enquiries into each of the alleged “irregularities and misappropriation” (corruption to you and me) in the Prisons Department and also the violation of conduct rules by senior police officers.
The Anti Corruption Bureau are to investigate whether money had changed hands to provide special treatment to expelled AIADMK leader VK Sasikala who is currently residing at Bengaluru Central Prison.
Thursday 8th March
The Chief Minister if Karnataka has denied facilitating special favours for the jailed Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, VK Sasikala. He directed the prison authorities to comply with the requirements to provide a cot bed mattress and pillow for Sasikakla as per doctors orders (which implies that this is not normally provided!). The Revelation was part of the ongoing investigation into the two core bribery payment alleged to have been paid to facilitate special treatment.
.
I am sure there have been many more developments since I stopped gathering information in March. This is another example of the underlying tensions that people living in Bangalore, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have to deal with every day or week. The continual unrest and uncertainty makes people uneasy, wary and tired due to the stressful situation. It is constantly frustrating.
.
Note:
* AIADMK = All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
DMK = Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
IUML = Indian Union Muslim League
BJP = Bharatiya Janata Party or Indian People’s Party is the right wing, Hindu nationalistic party in power in 2016/2017
These are some of the incidents I documented whilst living in Bangalore but did not wish to publish whilst I still lived there for fear of retribution.
December 2016 / January 2017
Whilst we were away over Christmas 2016 an unholy row broke out in the complex between the residents following an incident between a resident and a driver. The driver parked his motorbike too close to a car belonging to a resident. The resident objected and demanded it was moved immediately. The driver asked for 10 minutes to ask permission from his employer to find a new parking spot. This was not good enough for the resident who demanded it be moved immediately. To reinforce this point he drew a handgun and aimed it at the driver.
The driver moved his motorbike and immediately went to the police station to register a complaint. The police refused to register the complaint and instead asked the driver to return at 3pm. The driver did so. He found the resident there also. The police and the resident persuaded him not to register a formal complaint. The resident apologised to the driver. (Stinks of corruption to me.)
The resident informs the Malachite managing committee that he was surrounded by a group of drivers and felt threatened. He demanded all drivers be investigated. Residents were sent a list of those drivers believed to be involved in the altercation.
In January a public meeting was held with residents, tenants and drivers believed to be involved in the incident. It soon became clear that many drivers were out with their employers and the list of drivers names was completely inaccurate. Heated exchanges took place between residents and tenants and the committee. Residents supported the gun touter and demanded an apology from the driver, who then did so. Voices were raised and there were a lot of angry people. It was clear from the exchanges that owner residents thought that they ‘owned’ the drivers and not that they were employees. It was a rather shocking and distasteful discovery.
Messages from tenant residents on the ADDA app, complex communications, asked about the associations rules in gun ownership, whether the resident had a license and whether the resident was complying with the licence. As with anything that is important, these requests for information were ignored.
(To put this into context a formal police complaint was registered against an owner who re paved his front drive as it did not look like the others in the complex!)
January 2017
A resident’s 19 year old son, who regularly speeds in the campus, kills two labourers (wearing helmets) on a motorbike with his car. He is alleged/believed to be travelling at 190kmph (although how he managed that in Bangalore is a mystery.) He returned home the same day. The Malachite Committee published the newspaper article on the following day with comments about his known speeding and nothing being done despite requests. The expats waded in and stated ‘innocent until proven guilty’ and the committee was not judge an jury. The article wasn’t removed but a statement clarifying it was posted “for information purposes” followed.
Shooting in Yelahanka
Our complex is in the outskirts of Yelahanka. On Friday 3rd January a shooting took place in the highway at a busy junction. Two men on a motorbike, with their faces covered with masks, shot at a driver and his passenger at Koligu Cross junction on Airport Road. The victim is the President of the Dasanapura Agricultural Produce Market Committee. Both victims were seriously injured and taken to a private hospital. The motorbike did not have number plates. 6 shots were fired. People scattered and the traffic cop standing close by took the injured to the nearest hospital, after which they were transferred to Columbia Asia Hospital (where we are registered). Initial thoughts are that the attack could be politically motivated as the President switched parties from BJP to Congress to win his election. The other thought is that it could be a gang attack as the younger brother of the President has a criminal past.
April 2018
There have been a lot of trespassing and attempted burglaries in the campus of late which has pretty much led to a hysterical (in a bad way) response from the residents. The security here are pretty ineffective but they are paid a pittance so why should they put themselves in harms way to tackle criminals? The solution being banded about is a high electric fence on the walls imprisoning us from the outside world and to arm the security guards with guns. Untrained security guards with guns is potentially lethal but the residents here just don’t see that.
Hysteria has reached such a level that on 11th April one of the drivers climbed on top of a pergola to retrieve a child’s toy and the teenage son of the resident grabbed a gun and threatened the driver. This was 4pm.
.
There were other minor incidents that just made living in our complex and Bangalore challenging. It became so routine that after three years the stress levels of dealing with it became normalised. It is no wonder that Bangalore feels like a tinder box ready to explode all the time, and indeed, sometimes does at the slightest spark.
Having lived in India for three years, I can see how Hindu nationalism is gradually creeping into every aspect of life. Tolerance for other religions was minimal when we arrived in 2015 but even that low level of tolerance has diminished over the three years to 2018. It is an extremely worrying trend.
Here are some of the stories that hit the headlines.
On 16th September 2016 Prashant Bhatnagar, a 45 year old christian, was abducted at gunpoint, severely beaten, urinated on and threatened with immolation for distributing christian literature in Kharghar and Taloja, near Mumbai.
On 24th September 2016 volunteers at the Gideon International stall at the annual agricultural festival in Dharwood, Karnataka were assaulted by 200 Hindu extremists who also destroyed the Bibles in various Indian languages.
On Sunday 2nd October 2016 Mr G Dhanasekharan, a christian municipal councillor, was hacked to death with sickles and other sharp implements by 5 people in Padappai, Tamil Nadu. The attack took place inside a church in front of the congregation.
Mangaluru 31st Jan 2017 the local village (gram panchayat) president opening a new dining hall at a temple was subject to a 20 people strong protest because he is a Christian. They said his presence was a violation of the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act 1997. He said: “it hurts to see such conduct. but I leave it to the Lord”- V.J. Sebastian, Kokkada GP president.
Sunday 12th February 2017, Dehli – two 17 year old juveniles were held by police for burgling a church in Rosina, North West Dehli on Saturday 11th February. The youths had fled with ₽5,000 from the donation box as well as vandalising the church, including the Holy Cross. It was the first incident the church had suffered in 25 years.
Sunday 26th February 2017, Nonspung village – 16 churchgoers were killed when their truck rammed into a concrete railing. The churchgoers came from Nginiong, Nongbudon and Mawbyrkong villages and were on their way to the Nonglang Synod of Presbyterian church.
Thursday 9th March Compassion International (an American Christian NGO) announces it is winding up operations in India. The Hindu newspaper reported:
According to the allegation carried in the NYT, the proposal forwarded was that the [Indian] government “might view Compassion International more favourably if the charity routed a portion of its $45 million in annual charitable donations away from churches and through non-Christian aid groups, including Hindu ones.”
The key figure at the centre of the decision is reported as being Mr Tiwari who works for a powerful Indian American lobby group. It is reported that he gave informal advice as follows:
“I told them I am against the conversion of children, and that if they wanted to prove that they were not into conversion, they should choose partners other than Christian Pentecostal outfits. I told them India is a secular country, but illegal conversions are not tolerated, ” Mr Tiwari said.
(I don’t think India is a secular country at all, it is very Hindu.)
One can only hope and pray for the Christians there. They need our support.
Expat Life in Bangalore 