Month: April 2018

The plight of the Hakki Pikkis, uprooted from forests, reveals failure on the part of the government A coercive approach to integrating tribal communities into society has ruined the lives of the Hakki Pikkis, a happy-go-lucky nomadic tribe that migrated from Gujarat to southern India years ago. The tribe is still reeling from the consequences […]

Inexpensive water from RO kiosks in Bengaluru is being used to make easy money Realizing the need for potable water, political parties in Bengaluru have made arrangements along with the Karnataka government to provide clean water at subsidised rates. These kiosks, funded by MLAs or (in some cases) the state government, have been set up […]

Illegal and unmetered connections on Bengaluru’s outskirts deal a crippling blow to BWSSB At a time when several areas of Greater Bengaluru are still without Cauvery water, theft of huge quantities of water is hampering the BWSSB’s effort to provide new connections. Complaints of water theft have been registered at the Thalaghattapura, Kodigehalli and Viveknagar police […]

All over Bengaluru, these medicines are sold over the counter —without doctor’s prescription Four years after the Indian Pharmaceutical Association recommended that the sale of Schedule H drugs without prescription be restricted, they are still sold like over-the-counter medicines. Most pharmacies that Insight, IIJNM’s investigative magazine, visited, handed Schedule H medicines without asking for a […]

Pharmacists capitalize on their customers’ ignorance of the ban on fixed drug combinations In March 2016, the Union ministry of health and family welfare banned the sale of at least 344 fixed drug combinations. As per the notification, “On the basis of recommendations of an expert committee, the central government is satisfied that it is […]

Huge difference in prices of domestic & commercial cylinders leads to illegal use of the former in eateries Illegal diversion of subsidized LPG cylinders to eateries is causing a supply crunch in many areas of Bengaluru. “I have a Bharat Gas connection. They always make fake promises, saying that they will deliver the cylinder within […]

Civic bodies get them to do filthy jobs, but deny compensation when they are taken ill or die In its reply to an RTI application in April 2017, the ministry of social justice and empowerment claimed that 239 of the 726 reported manual scavengers in Karnataka had been rehabilitated under a self-employment scheme during the […]

Touts in the vicinity of RTOs make it easy for people to get licence irrespective of whether they know driving or not Do not know driving but want a licence? Sweat not, you can still get one. As per rules and regulations of the Regional Transport Office, to obtain a driving licence (DL), one has […]