Vidya Iyengar

Chief executive officers andmanaging directors are knownfor building strong organisa-tional structures in their com-panies. However, on Wednesday,some of the city’s corporate big-wigs were lending their helpinghands to build structures for thepoor at Kothur, Rammurthy Na-gar.

This was part of the initiativecalled CEO’s Build undertakenby Habitat for Humanity India,a non-profit organisation thatcollaborated with top companiesto provide shelter for the under-privileged.

“I have set a goal of spendingat least 10% of my time to fur-ther this cause. It gives me greatpleasure to be a part of a teamthat provides good living condi-tions,” Ajay Das, managing di-rector of Timpken, said.

The organisation encouragesits staff to par-ticipate in thisactivity on adaily basis.

“At least five to 10 of our mem-bers try and come here on a dai-ly basis. Not only is it a goodcause, it also teaches our mem-bers to work as a team and, mostimportantly, the dignity oflabour,” he said.

Senior vice-president of YESBank, Anuradha Sarin, re-marked that by taking part insuch activities she was extend-ing her responsibility to the so-ciety. “It is our way of givingback something to the needy,”she said.

“Shelter is a basic require-ment and we provide adequatemeans to the needy to constructtheir homes. We want them tohave a hand-up and not a hand-out. It is a participative pro-gramme, where there is equalcontribution by the providers aswell as the beneficiary,”Johnathan Reckford, chief exec-utive office (CEO) of Habitat forHumanity International, said.

Reckford said that Habitat forHumanity India works towardsself-help housing and upliftingthe economically backward.

“We give an interest-free loan

and all the resources they needto build their house. We wantthem to feel a sense of pride andaccomplishment once theirhouses are built. It is our way ofempowering them,” he said.

The day began with the inau-guration of a house built by theHabitat for Humanity Indiateam.

Begum Taj, who works as a do-mestic help, expressed her grat-itude for the help and support

her family received towardsbuilding their home.

“I am so happy that I have ahouse of my own. It was onlywith the help of these people thatI have a roof over me,” explainedTaj, who will have to pay Rs1,000per month for the next five yearstowards her house.

The Women Build Programthat provides homes for women-headed families was launched onWomen’s Day this year.

“We have taken on a 150-houseproject in different areas of ru-ral Bangalore. As of now, about20 houses are complete. We hopeto achieve our target by nextMarch,” Joseph Mathai, directorof Habitat for Humanity, said.

Corporator P Sukumar, whowas present on the occasion,praised the NGO for its contri-bution in building homes for thehomeless.

Aparajita Ray

The prices of vegetables, fruitsand flowers might shoot up fromThursday as the state prepares tocelebrate Varamahalakshmi fes-tival on Friday. The City Marketon Wednesday saw tremendousincrease in prices of vegetable,fruits and flowers, causing in-convenience to the common man.

The steep increase in pricesis a case of concern as wholesalecost of the items remains prettymuch the same. The supply ofcommodities too is sufficient.The wholesale merchantsblamed the retailers for the in-crease in prices.

“Malls and retailers sell com-modities with cent percent prof-it margins. People panic when afestival approaches and buyfruits and vegetables in hugestocks much before the festival.This increases the demand andhence the prices go up,” said AiazPasha, president, BangaloreFruit Commission Agents Asso-ciation.

More than 400 trucks of applefrom Himachal Pradesh and 500trucks of sweet lemon fromAndhra Pradesh have arrived inthe city’s markets.

The merchants expect thewhole prices of fruits to go downfurther in the coming days.

“Wholesale prices of vegeta-bles have not increased much butthe retailers, HOPCOMS andvendors make the most out of fes-tivals,” alleged RV Gopi, presi-dent, City Market Vegetable Mer-chants Association.

There has also been a notice-able increase in the prices offlower. Lotus which is used forthe festival is being sold at Rs20per bud and roses are now avail-able for Rs60 per kg.

The festival this year falls onekadashi, making it a unique day.Hindus fast on the day ofekadashi. However, priests are di-vided on this year’s practice. “Asthe day is holy so all one needs isto pray the Goddess with devotion.But as it is also ekadashi they willhave to fast. After performing thepuja they can break the fast andcontinue feasting. The choice alsodepends from person to personand family customs,” said She-shadri, one of the chief priests ofTirupati Devasthanam.

At select HOPCOMS storesfruits, flowers and puja items arebeing sold at normal rates.

r_aparajita@dnaindia.net

Brick by brick, they allbuild homes for poorBiz honchos participate in CEO’s Build, an initiative to provide shelter to the underprivileged

Business leaders, helped by volunteers, building homes for the poor at the Habitat for HumanityIndia organised CEO’s Build at Kothur, Rammurthy Nagar —Mohan Kumar BN

HELPINGHANDS

Team DNA

Continuing its drive to end illegal min-ing and transportation of iron ore inthe state, the BS Yeddyurappa govern-ment on Wednesday constituted a spe-cial cell to curb the menace.

The 14-member cell, headed by di-rector of Mines and Geology depart-ment, will keep an eye on the quantumor iron ore produced in the state. It willalso keep vigil on the amount beingutilised by local industries for value ad-dition, the amount exported and theagencies which supply iron ore.

The functioning of the 13 compos-ite check posts set up to monitor move-ment of iron ore-laden lorries will alsocome under the cell’s scanner.

It would also monitor the function-ing of ore stock yards and activate thevigilance teams in various depart-ments assigned to prevent illegal min-ing, according to an official notifica-tion.

The cell will keep vigil on the ille-

gal granite mining apart from illegaliron ore mining which has drawn na-tional attention.

The special cell will meet once a fort-night to review the situation and alsosuggest measures to the governmentthat would lead to eradication of ille-gal mining and exports.

The cell will constitute five teams toundertake survey in illegal mining ar-eas identified by the Lokayukta in itsinterim report. The committee consistsof secretaries from the departmentsof Home, PWD, Revenue, Transportand Ports.

Meanwhile, the miners who havechallenged the ban on the export andtransportation of iron ore have allegedthat the state government’s claims onmining were misleading.

Special cell to keep an eyeon illegal mining in state

Aparajita Ray

The general opinion is that youth payscant regard to traffic rules. But onWednesday, a seminar jointly organisedby Christ University and Bangaloretransport department saw the obedientside of teenagers as most of them ac-cepted their negligence and made apledge to obey traffic rules.

The seminar, which targeted under-graduates, aimed at creating awarenesson road safety. The students were ex-plained the ill effects of rash driving.

Many students of Christ Universitybelong to affluent families and havetheir own two and four wheelers. Thestudents were shown photographs of ac-cidents caused due to violation of traf-fic rules. The shocked students realisedthat callous attitude towards road safe-ty could result in fatal accidents.

Dr Chandra from the mortuary de-partment of MS Ramaiah Medical Col-lege and Hospital, who made the picto-rial presentation, said that the use ofhelmets from 2009 reduced the numberof road accidents by 30%.

“I learnt an important lesson today.

My callousness can ruin my life and alsojeopardise others’ lives,” said Rakesh, a1st year BBM student of the university.

Some students wanted traffic policeto be deputed in front of their college be-tween. “This road is always chaotic. Ourcollege is very strict about timings. Weare often forced to forget road safety,”said Srimonti Guha, a student.

Bhaskar Rao, commissioner, trans-port department, proposed a subway toease students’ problems. “The BBMPand Traffic police should do that and wewould assist them in doing so,” said Rao.

Christ University students realisehazards of traffic rules violation

TRANSPORT DEPT GIVES SAFETY LESSONS TO UNDERGRADUATES

ROAD SAFETY MEASURESRoad safety tips by thetransport department

> Drivers and even pillion ridersshould wear helmets; makeproper use of rear glass

> Cross roads at proper zebracrossings; obey traffic signals;do not skip when red signals

> Do not drink and drive; do nottalk over mobile phone or evenuse ear phones while driving

> Do not carry more than thecapacity of the vehicle mentionedin the Motor Vehicles Act

> Don’t stand on the foot standwhile taking bus as it can poseproblem for the driver

> Start early to reach college ontime and reach home safely

> Always carry driving licence,vehicle’s registration document,pollution certificate etc

Retailers make merry,Varamahalakshmifestival gets pricey

The cell will survey illegalmining areas identified bythe Lokayukta

CONGREGATION FOR A NOBLE CAUSE20 biz leaders arepart of the project— CEO’s Build —an initiative of theHabitat ForHumanity India.

Variouscompanies fromBangalore join the

initiative to buildhouses for theunderprivileged inKothur,RammurthyNagar.

About 20 leadersfrom companiessuch as Timken,

Thomson Reuters,Northern Trust,Birlasoft, YESBank, DellServices,Applied Materialsand CISCO arepart of theinitiative.

Not only is it a goodcause, it alsoteaches ourmembers to work asa team and, mostimportantly, thedignity of labour

Ajay Das, managingdirector, Timpken

Christ University students and NCCcadets at a traffic awareness event onWednesday —Anantha Subramanyam K

PRICES OF VEGETABLESVegetable Wholesale price Retail priceGreen Peas Rs100/kg Rs130/kg

Tomato Rs10/kg Rs20/kg

Beans Rs12/kg Rs22/kg

Carrot Rs25/kg Rs33-35/kg

Brinjal Rs15/kg Rs25/kg

PRICES OF FRUITSFruits Wholesale price Retail priceApple Rs40/kg Rs80-90/kg

Sweet Lemon Rs15/kg Rs45/kg

Papaya Rs 18/kg Rs 35/kg

Banana Rs35/kg Rs55/kg(smaller size)

Pomegranate Rs40/kg Rs70-80/kg

PRICES OF FLOWERSRose: Rs60, also priced Rs80 at some shops, Hibiscus: Rs40

> Labour leaders to find place in legislatureLeaders from the various labourorganisations of the state will get achance to be a part in statelegislature. Chief minister BSYeddyurappa made theannouncement on Wednesday at theinauguration of AlampalliVenkataram Chair on labourresearch of Bangalore University(BU). “We will include one or twoleaders from various labourorganisations in the legislature sothat their needs and problems will bediscussed and solved,’’ saidYeddyurappa. CM also said that thestate government has establishedskill development centres in fourdistricts mainly to irradiate the childlabour menace in the state.Yeddyurappa advised the labourorganisations not to indulge inprotests as it would affect thecountry’s economic growth. Statehigher education minister AravindaLimbavali; BU vice chancellor, Dr NPrabhudev; chairman of KarnatakaLegislative Council, DHShankarmurthy and BU registrarProf RM Ranganath were present atthe function.

> BangaloreOne centreinaugurated in Jayanagar

Transportminister RAshokainaugurated aBangaloreOnecitizen servicecentre at

Jayanagar 4th block on Wednesday.Speaking after the inauguration, hesaid people should utilise thebenefits available from the centre.Byrasandra ward corporator NNagaraj said that people of SICcolony, Tilaknagar, 4th T block, JPNagar, Shakambari Nagar andSarakki would benefit from thecentre. Mayor SK Nataraj, MLAVijayakumar, Chamarajpetcorporator BV Ganesh and otherswere present on the occasion.

> Five dacoits wanted inkidnap cases arrestedThe Amruthahalli police haverecovered a car with the arrest of fivedacoits while they were hatching aplan to break into a house inAmruthahalli on Tuesday. Theaccused, identified as Harsha,Guruprasad, Sagar, Madhukumarand Girish Kumar, were wanted inseveral cases including kidnapping,extortion and several robberies. Thepolice recovered several lethalweapons from the dacoits. The policealso solved a kidnap case with theirarrest.

> Housing project for low-income group launchedValue and Budget HousingCorporation (VBHC) launched itsfirst housing project in Bangalore -Vaibhava, which will be aimed at thelow-income urban customer. Theprices will range from Rs4.5 lakh toRs10 lakh. The VBHC, founded byJerry Rao, former chairperson ofMphasis, PS Jayakumar, formerbanking head of Citibank, and SunilNarayan, real estate specialist, aimsto build one million homes in thenext 10 years in Bangalore, Chennai,Hyderabad and NCR.

BRIEF CASE

Chief minister BS Yeddyurappa atan event at the BangaloreUniversity on Wednesday. MinisterAravind S Limbavali was alsopresent on the occasion —A Veeramani

BANGALORE | THURSDAY, AUGUST 19, 2010

www.dnaindia.com | epaper.dnaindia.com 3TOP NEWS