Pampa award for poet KS Nissar Ahmed

Bengaluru, Apr 26: Two businessmen brothers, Tajammul Pasha and Muzammil Pasha, in Karnataka's Kolar district have set out to help people in need amid the lockdown over the COVID-19 pandemic by selling their land for Rs 25 lakh.

On seeing daily wage labourers and their families in Kolar suffer during the lockdown, the brothers said they decided to sell their land and use the money to buy essentials and food grain for a large number of poor people.

The brothers also bought oil and cereals with the money. Then they set up a tent next to their house and started a community kitchen to make food for labourers and homeless people.

"Our parents died early. When we shifted to our maternal grandmother's place at  Kolar, people from communities, Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims helped us survive without any religious bias," said Tajammul Pasha, visibly emotional.

The Pasha brothers are into banana cultivation and real estate. Tajammul was five and his sibling Muzammil was three when they lost their parents. They had to move from Chickbalapor to Kollar, where their grandmother lived.

"We were brought up in poverty. We survived because of the support of people of all communities and religions. We have signed the society agreement bond and handed it over to our friend who purchased our site and gave the money," the brothers said.

Once the lockdown ends and the land registrar's office opens, the remaining steps to transfer the land will be completed, they said.

So far the two brothers have supplied food grain, oil, sugar and other essentials to over 3,000 families. They have also given hand sanitizers and masks to the poor.

The Kolar administration has issued passes to their volunteers so that they can help in this difficult time.

The number of coronavirus cases in India has increased to 24,506, including 775 deaths, the Home Ministry said today, adding that 1,429 cases and 57 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.

Amid a countrywide lockdown to check the spread of the highly contagious illness, which began on March 25, the government last night issued an order to allow neighbourhood shops to remain open with conditions; malls across India continue to remain shut.

Bengaluru, May 18: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Monday said that people from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala and Tamil Nadu will not be allowed in the state till May 31.

"We have decided not to allow entry of people from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala and Tamil Nadu till May 31," Yediyurappa said after a meeting with state ministers and senior government officers to discuss the guidelines issued by the Centre regarding the fourth phase of nationwide lockdown.

"State road transport corporation buses in Karnataka and private buses will run. Strict lockdown measures in containment zones and economic activities will be permitted in other areas. Sundays will be total lockdown across the state. Home quarantine will be strengthened," he added.

The Chief Minister further said that all shops will be allowed to open and all trains running within the state will be permitted.

The central government on Sunday extended the ongoing COVID-19 induced nationwide lockdown till May 31, but with a set of new relaxations commencing from Monday. The Union Home Ministry has also given powers to States/UTs demarcate areas in Green, Orange and Red zones, which will allow them to start activities except in containment zones.

According to the guidelines, "all other activities will be permitted except those which are specifically prohibited under these guidelines. However, in containment zones, only essential activities shall be allowed, as mentioned earlier."

Bengaluru, Jan 6: Cab aggregators are once again in news for the wrong reasons after an Ola cab driver misbehaved with a 34-year-old woman passenger and even threatened to kill her when she raised an alarm.

But what followed was worse. The woman, a software engineer, immediately called the Ola emergency number following which they asked her to check if the driver was drunk. She later pressed the emergency button on the Ola app but received a message asking her to dial 100. After the aggregator failed to help her, she said she was lucky to be saved by the public.

Reacting to the incident, an Ola spokesperson said, “We regret the unfortunate incident and have immediately terminated the driver-partner from the platform upon receiving the complaint.”

Shruthi G (name changed), an employee at a software company at Bagmane Tech Park in Mahadevapura, booked an Ola cab after her work in the evening of January 3. She booked pick-up stops at two locations as she had to pick her four-year-old daughter from the day-care centre, which is 2 km away from her house.

However, around 6.22 pm, when the cab reached Malleshpalya near Kids Castle, the driver did not stop the vehicle. He asked her to get down at the last drop location. She told him to stop and tried to open the doors but he locked the doors, insisting that she sit in the car. When she resisted, he held her hands and abused her; he even threatened to kill her if she raised an alarm.

The victim said she pressed the emergency button on the app twice but only got a message advising her to call the police.

When she called the Ola emergency number, the person at the other end asked about her condition and to check whether the driver was drunk. They called back after one-and-a-half hours when she was filing a complaint at the police station.

“Ola did not make any efforts to reach out to the police or do anything to track my location and help me in that situation,” she said.

The victim called 100 and the staffer at the control room asked her which area she was in. Since she was familiar with the area, Shruthi was able to give her location.

“First they told me that the area comes under Baiyappanahalli. Later, they said it comes under HAL. Finally, they figured out the location. It took 20 minutes for the police to reach the spot,” she said.

What saved Shruti was her sheer instinct and luck. Alone in the cab, she started raising an alarm. Luckily, commuters in the other vehicles next to the cab noticed her screaming for help and stopped the driver.

“If this is the kind of security Ola provides its customer, it is very questionable,” she said. “If we have to really call the police during an emergency then why they put out the number and emergency button, it’s a waste of time during that crucial situation. If they directly told us to dial 100 during an emergency, it will save time. Lakhs of commuters take Ola cabs thinking it is safe but they have no mechanism to check their drivers and track their customers in danger.”

Baiyappanahalli police said the accused Bhimashankar Malged was arrested and remanded in judicial custody following the complaint.