RTI activist wins battle, faces factory workers’ ire.

DNA:Bangalore:Merlin Francis:Monday, February 13, 2012.

It took three years, 20 queries under the Right to Information (RTI) Act and 13 appeals to the Karnataka Information Commission (KIC) for a woman to get an illegal factory in residential area shut.

Manjula, about 30-year-old, cannot walk without her mother’s support as she is paralysed up to her waist. However, this did not stop her from taking a stand against an illegal handloom factory that came up near her home. Based on her complaints, the factory’s power supply was cut on Saturday.

She said she began complaining to the BBMP and the pollution control board three years ago but her repeated attempts yielded no result.

Last year, a friend of hers told her about the RTI. Not bogged down by her disability, and empowered with the RTI, she filed 20 applications and 13 appeals to the KIC. It opened a can of worms.

The factory was being given four times the electricity it was eligible for. There were a few other glaring irregularities too, such as under whom it was registered, the number of labourers and it did not have a no-objection certificate from the fire department or the pollution control board, even though it was located bang in the middle of a residential area.

Manjula said even though she brought all these anomalies to the notice of various officials concerned, no action was taken against the factory.

The BBMP even issued a letter, saying the factory’s licence had been cancelled and power supply should be stopped. According to the letter, whose copy is with DNA, the cancellation came into effect on November 11, 2011. But the factory’s operations continued.

She said it was only when she complained directly to the managing director of Bescom, and after a series of emails and a direct appointment, that she was taken seriously by the officials. On Saturday, Bescom officials cut the power supply to the factory.

But now, Manjula and her family members are afraid of stepping out of their house. She said as soon as the factory’s power supply was cut, about 40 workers surrounded their house and hurled abuses at them. She said when her mother went out of the house, one of the workers tried to hit her. Manjula called police and a sub-inspector was sent to the spot; he dispersed the crowd. However, Manjula and her family got no assurance of protection.