The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Reporter's Diary

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Oct 03, 2006
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Reporter's Diary

Tankers take over

Water tankers rule the streets of the K.R. Puram City Municipal Council. The tankers attached to tractors often take up the width of the narrow roads, reducing traffic to a crawl. But imagine the plight of the road-user when the tanker halts at a house to fill a sump or two. The chaos that results is enough to ruin a motorist's day. With water shortage being the rule, residents not blessed with individual borewells have to rely on the water tankers. Powering their way through the narrow, pot-holed apologies for roads, these tankers are quite a sight. Some car drivers, who spot a tanker taking a turn, are wise enough to avoid that road.

Moving gesture

Over 150 Dalit families from and around the city and 100 non-Dalit families assembled at the Indian Heritage Academy here on Monday, for a unique occasion: a "Pada Vandanam" by Padmabhushan Prof. N.S. Ramaswamy to 50 Dalits, anointing them with chandan and flowers as a mark of respect. The ritual was the sprinkling of holy water and flowers on the head and feet, and anointing the Dalits with chandan and kumkum. Prof. Ramaswamy said it was a practice initiated by Mahatma Gandhi, which was now being revived.

Lane riddles

A lot of controversy has been generated over the separate "autorickshaw lanes" on several roads. For those on cars who need to take a left turn, say from Cubbon Road to Cunningham Road, it is a nightmare. They just have to keep glancing at their side mirrors to make sure there is no autorickshaw hurtling towards them on their lane. In the absence of medians, most autorickshaw lanes are demarcated by barricades of the type used for crowd control during VIP visits.

K. SATYAMURTY AND RASHEED KAPPAN

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