Thiruvananthapuram Uber Incident Update: Suspended Driver Recounts His Version of the Events

Yesterday we reported about an Uber driver who got suspended because he refused to drop a customer at their destination. The said customer, Devu Sukumar had also posted the same on her social media page. After getting in touch with Devu, we had also spoken with General Manager, of Uber in Kerala, Nitin Nair who said appropriate action will be taken in this regard and suspended the driver in question.

Her husband tried to convince him that their house is located within their serviceable area, is what the post read. It went on to say how the driver argued with them, while they made it clear to them that they wouldn’t be paying him extra. On reaching Pappanamcode junction, he stopped the car and asked them to get out, even as they tried to make him understand the difficulty in traveling with a baby, five bags and two women in the dead of the night. Eventually, they had no option but to walk

Today, we got in touch with the driver, Rajesh, who told us his version of the events. According to the driver, he had already indicated to the family that their house isn’t within the limits and that he will not go beyond Papanamcode junction. He even suggested that they cancel the booking and book another Uber if this wasn’t fine with them.

Life, People

By Sumitra Nair

April 26, 2017

Uber Driver Refuses to Drop Customer to Destination, Gets Suspended

While utilizing a certain service, we expect to be fully catered to. But that’s not what Devu Sukumar from Trivandrum experienced. On the night of 23^rd April, when she and her family hailed an Uber cab to their home at Papanamcode, the cab driver refused to drop them at their house, which is 500 meters away from their home.

Devu and her husband tried to reason with the driver as the hour was late (11 pm) and they were travelling with a child and had several bags as they were returning from a long journey. According to Devu, who works in the IT sector, “My husband tried to convince him that our house is located within their serviceable area. Probably with intentions to get more money from us, he was very rude with my husband and started arguing. (He was aware that we had no other option but to take his ride). From our responses, we made it clear that we wouldn’t be paying him extra. On reaching Pappanamcode junction, he stopped the car and asked us to get out. We tried to make him understand the difficulty in traveling with a baby, five bags and two women dead in the night but the driver was very adamant. He not only denied us the service we paid for but left us in a horrible situation. We had no option but to get out and walk.”

Distressed, she lodged a complain against the driver in the help section of the application’s site. Even after two days, when she didn’t get a satisfactory reply from the company officials in the form or an apology or a refund, she posted about it on her social media page. “I am seriously questioning safety in Uber rides. I have heard of similar experiences by other people, but the shock when something actually happens to you is traumatic. The driver’s confidence and the unfair response from Uber are clear indication that these guys can do whatever they please, take advantage of the riders and not be questioned. We have so many people who have late night work shifts who solely depend on Uber to reach home safe. Even companies have tied up with them to provide safe and convenient travel for their employees (my company included). After my experience, I am dreading this arrangement. I have lost complete faith in the safety of their cab services. I am notifying my concerns to my company as well for the benefit of my colleagues,” the post read.

Daily, Life

By Sumitra Nair

April 25, 2017

Parking Violation turns into a Messy Affair

Deepu Divakar clearly didn’t expect a parking violation ticket when he went to see off a relative at the Trivandrum railway station last Wednesday morning. So, he was surprised when he was slapped with one when there was no ‘No Parking’ board on sight. Also, he found that the CRPF bus hadn’t got an offensive parking sticker on it.

Deepu who parked at Power House road near the back entrance of the railway station questioned the police official on the rationality of the ticket. Deepu asked the sub-inspector, who was standing beside, what offence he had committed. When the sub-inspector said it was a no-parking area, Deepu pointed out that a no-parking board was not displayed there to which the inspector said that there’s no ‘Parking’ board on the street either. When he asked as to what action was being taken against the CRPF bus parked just behind his car, the policeman simply argued that the matter will be taken up with CRPF authorities and pasted an ‘offensive parking’ sticker on the bus.

“I had parked my vehicle from 9.20 to 9.45 am. And when I asked what offence I had committed, he said he was doing his duty as instructed by his superiors and he had been told to get any vehicles parked there removed. As crowd gathered and I refused to move my vehicle, they bought in a crane to tow away my car. The car was taken to a junction, while I was being penalised for obstructive parking. They also charged me INR 600 as towing charges whereas the towing damaged the bonnet of my car, ruined the condenser and the chassis, says Deepu.”

Law, People

By Sumitra Nair

April 22, 2017

Restaurant Review: The Asian Kitchen is a Great Choice for Authentic Asian Flavours

Couple of weeks ago, it was my husband’s birthday and I was looking for a great place to take him out for a quiet dinner. I was looking for a new type of cuisine as we both are fond of trying out new flavours. And when Asian Kitchen popped as an option on Zomato, I thought, why not. I didn’t think there was any need for reservations as it was a weekday night. So we sauntered in casually by 9 for a laid back dinner. I was impressed by the word go and so was the birthday boy! Located at the Cochin Club near Parade Grounds, the place is truly a hidden gem.

The colonial inspired place decorated with pretty lanterns is perfect for a date night with your special someone. The ambience and music puts you in the mood for some really sumptuous Asian fare. The place was almost empty except for a two other tables that were occupied. Which was a shame as the food was simply superb! So, it almost felt as though we had the place all to ourselves, which is also thanks to the knowledgeable, attentive, staff.

We started with a Japanese soya paste soup or miso soup and an assorted platter of dim sums. Now, while miso makes for a great base for a broth, the dried fish is an acquired taste, especially if you are like me and don’t prefer dry fish- the flavour and saltiness is a tad too strong for me! My husband surprisingly enjoyed it- surprising is the term here, since he usually doesn’t favour seafood.

Entertainment, Food

By Sumitra Nair

April 21, 2017

Will Onset of Generic Medicines Ensure Quality Control?

In the light of new schemes being introduced, Prime Minister Narendra Modi indicated that there could soon be a legal framework wherein doctors will have to prescribe generic medicines. He also hinted on starting the Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Janaushadi Pariyojana so that cheaper medicines are available for those who need them. As of February this year, 762 Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras are functioning in over 26 states/union territories.

The PM went on to talk about how doctors wrote prescription in a way that people don’t understand what is written and have to buy them from private medical stores at a higher price. He said prescribing generic drugs will give the poor access to medicines which are cheaper but equivalent to their branded counterparts.

He hopes that with the legal framework making prescription of generic drugs mandatory, the patient will be able to buy only generic medicine, which puts the decision on him, not to buy other branded medicine and the doctor too, will have to prescribe in a way where his/ her hand writing is clear.

Health, Politics

By Sumitra Nair

April 20, 2017

Petrol Pumps to be Shut every Sunday, Tale of Two Arguments?

From the second week of May, you might need to fuel up your tanks on Saturdays if you live in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra and Haryana. Nearly 20000 fuel outlets in these States will remain closed for 24 hours on Sundays, starting from May 14^th.

This decision has been taken by the Consortium of Indian Petroleum dealers on the basis of two arguments. One being, fuel station owners adhering to PM’s ‘Man Ki Baat’ address where he urged the nation to use less fuel. And so, petrol pump owners decided to shut down once a week to reduce harm done to the environment. The second being that petrol pump owners want their dealer margins increased. According to them, the petrol and diesel business is not as profitable any more as it was in the past.

But these arguments don’t really make sense for a common man as any vehicle owner including a taxi driver would fill up their fuel tanks a day before if they know that petrol pumps will be shut the next day. When demonetisation was announced, the dealers protested because they did not want to be charged the merchant discount rate (MDR). But as the number of credit/ debit card users increased, the percent of MDR claimed was higher than the margins on fuel prices.

Economy, Politics

By Sumitra Nair

April 18, 2017

Will Electricity Tariff Hike Encourage Citizens to Consume Less?

Effective today, the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission announced a price hike of 10- 30 paise per unit for those consuming less than 250 units per month and 40- 50 paise hike per unit, for those who consume above 250 units. The KSEB hadn’t made no such demand for a hike in tariff.

The hike comes despite Kerala joining the UDAY scheme which hadn’t envisioned a hike in 2017-2018. According to a tripartite agreement signed between the Union Power Ministry, the state government and KSEB limited, a five percent hike was to take place only in 2019.

The last power tariff hike took place in 2014. The farming sector suffering the brunt of the drought situation, Low tension (LT) and high tension (HT) categories who already pay more than 120 per cent of the average cost of supply and those falling under Below Poverty Line and consuming less than 40 units a month have also been spared from a hike in tariff.

Politics, RTI

By Sumitra Nair

April 17, 2017

Should Declining Girl Child Population in Kerala Send off Alarm Bells?

For its reputation as a progressive state, here’s some good and bad news regarding the state’s population. While overall population growth in the State has remained stagnant or even declined- which means more and more people are using contraceptives, planning better and opting for smaller families, the ratio of girls to boys in the age group of 0-6 is 964 to 1000 as per the last census.

There has been a decline in the ratio of girl children especially in Malappuram region and in Trissur. However, it isn’t clear as to whether the result is due to selective abortion or due to smaller size of families.

As per a survey by the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), in rural areas, it is 960, whereas in urban areas is 958. The overall sex ratio of the state has gone down from 964 per 1000 males in 2011 to 961. However, it isn’t clear if it is due to female foeticide despite legal restrictions or family planning. The district of Thrissur is under scrutiny as the sex ratio is comparatively the lowest at 950.

Life, Politics

By Sumitra Nair

April 16, 2017

Vibe the Music School Wants its Students to be Performance Ready

Want to go out there and perform or know someone who is talented in music and could benefit from some performance guidance? VIBE, the music conservatory is the place to be. Founded by John Thomas, the drummer for Motherjane and David Joseph, his teacher. The school that believes in the ideology, “Tone is music’, also has Suresh John and Ani Varghese as directors.

John Thomas tell us more about wanting to introduce students to the music industry and getting them performance ready.

“There are few such music schools in India- none really in Kochi,” he starts by saying. “When youngsters learn music, they don’t get to know anything about the music industry- nothing about how to get started, make yourself head or learn to perform on stage.” Plus, the teacher-student duo who founded the music conservatory very much felt the need to try and give one on one attention to students of music. “Very few music institutes explore aspects like recording while teaching instruments. Also the idea is to create a shared experience of sorts between artists for better understanding of music.”

Culture, Entertainment

By Sumitra Nair

April 14, 2017

Tijo Varghese, who has been a Practising Magician Since the Age of Ten

What do you ask when you first meet a magician? Since this was the first time I was speaking to a magician, I too, wasn’t sure of what to ask a magician. Having started with magic tricks at the age of ten, Tijo Varghese has now entered the India Book of Records for performing blindfolded for an hour and performing continuously for two hours- the longest magic performance.

The journey for Tijo or Thaiparambil Thomas began when he was ten and a magician performed in his school. He was so taken by the act that he begged the magician to teach him a few tricks but the magician brushed him off saying magic tricks are a well-kept secret. He then met another magician, Magician Jammu who agreed to teach the ten-year old a few magic tricks. He also got training from Magician Johnson.

His first gig was at a “Birthday party for my father’s client’s son. I was ten years old then and I started with simple tricks like vanishing flowers, etc.,” Tijo says. “With time and with practice, I graduated to performing at clubs and various other events and started with complicated tricks like illusions and mentalism,” he adds.

Entertainment, People

By Sumitra Nair

April 13, 2017

Malayalam Made Compulsory in Schools, a Welcome Decision

Yesterday, the government announced that all education institutions in Kerala will now have to compulsorily teach Malayalam until Class 10. Governor P. Sathasivam on Tuesday signed an ordinance to this effect. The law is applicable to all institutions under CBSE and ICSE boards from the next academic session.

And while students coming to Kerala from other states or countries to study will be exempted, the government can impose a penalty of INR 5000 if schools put a restriction on students speaking Malayalam on school premises. The government also has the right to cancel NOC of schools that violate this. Earlier, the Congress government too, tried to make Malayalam compulsory even at higher secondary level, but didn’t go ahead with the plan as it would face practical difficulties in implementing.

The decision comes after the government made use of Malayalam compulsory as the official language in government offices from May 1, in lieu of it being mandatory to know Malayalam to get government jobs in Kerala. This comes after a prolonged campaign to protect the vernacular language by literary critics, writers, among others. Schools are not allowed to even impose an indirect ban on speaking Malayalam in campuses by putting up notices on the display board.

Culture, Politics

By Sumitra Nair

April 12, 2017

Pensioners, Daily Wage Labourers Suffer as ATMs Run Dry of Cash

This Vishu, don’t be surprised if your grandparents ask you to share your Paytm or Rupay account details for kaineetam as ATMs run dry. But, it isn’t just the festivities (Vishu and Easter) that are being affected by the cash crunch, daily labourers, pensioners and other low income groups who depend on cash transactions are facing a hard time to get by because of the cash crunch.

This crisis comes months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi demonetised INR 500 and INR 1000 notes triggering a severe paucity of cash across the country. This caused several people to stand hours in queues in front of ATMs for money. The Kerala Finance Minister, TM Thomas Issac confirmed that the crisis indeed has hit the state’s treasury, causing a shortage to disburse salaries and pensions. The main cause for this shortage being RBI not providing enough notes.

This problem even caused an agitation at the SBI Kainatty branch in Wayanad when customers couldn’t withdraw money from the ATM. According to sources, banks have been discreetly told not to replenish ATMs.

People, Politics

By Sumitra Nair