B'luru for Justice & Peace urges MPs to act against city-based firms linked to Israeli arms industry
Bengaluru: Bengaluru for Justice and Peace (BfJP), a civil society collective, has issued an open letter to Members of Parliament demanding urgent action against several Bengaluru-based companies allegedly supplying critical components to Israeli defence firms. The letter calls for increased corporate accountability and urges lawmakers to support an arms embargo on Israel, citing the country’s alleged war crimes in Gaza and other occupied Palestinian territories.
The letter names three major Israeli defence companies, Elbit Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries, and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, as recipients of key defence technologies from nine Indian firms based in Bengaluru.
These local companies include:
Ace Inotec Manufacturing Private Limited (AIMPL)
Alpha Design Technologies Private Limited (ADTPL)
Alpha-Elsec Aerospace Systems
Amphenol Interconnect India Pvt Ltd
Amphetronix Offset Interconnect Solutions Pvt Ltd
DCX Systems Limited
Defsys Solutions Pvt Ltd
Indo-MIM Pvt Ltd
SASMOS HET Technologies Ltd
Wave Mechanics Private Limited
BfJP alleged that these companies are “complicit in the genocide of Palestinians” and are directly enabling Israeli military actions through the transfer of defence-related components and technologies. Many of the firms listed were previously highlighted in a report by Workers in Palestine, a global alliance of trade unions and civil society groups advocating for a boycott of Israel’s military-industrial complex.
“It is in this context that we warn you that India’s long-standing legacy of solidarity with the Palestinian people, rooted in our own anti-colonial struggle, now stands in grave danger of being irreversibly betrayed,” the letter stated.
The group invoked Article 51 of the Indian Constitution, which speaks to the promotion of international peace and security, along with obligations under the Genocide Convention, as legal grounds for action. BfJP called on MPs to uphold these principles by pressuring the government to end defence collaborations with Israel.
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Karnataka govt directs municipal corps to regulate, prohibit pigeon feeding
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government has issued directions to municipal corporations across the state to regulate and prohibit feeding pigeons in public places, citing serious public health concerns.
Deputy Secretary to Government V Lakshmikanth has written to the Urban Development Department requesting it to issue directions to the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) and all municipal corporations to take immediate steps to implement the measures.
In an official note dated December 16 issued by the Health and Family Welfare Department and released to the media on Wednesday, the department said uncontrolled feeding of pigeons in public places has resulted in large congregations of birds, excessive droppings and serious health concerns, particularly respiratory illnesses linked to prolonged exposure to pigeon droppings and feathers such as hypersensitivity pneumonitis and other lung diseases.
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"The commissioner, the Greater Bengaluru Authority and the Commissioners and chief officers of other municipal corporations shall take necessary action to mitigate the causes of dangerous disease spread by pigeon and enforce specified guidelines in their respective jurisdiction," the note said.
According to the department, these include a prohibition on feeding pigeons or causing pigeons to be fed in areas where it may cause nuisance or pose a health hazard to the public. Pigeon feeding shall be permitted only in designated areas in a controlled manner, subject to certain conditions.
"The designated areas may be selected in consultation with stakeholders. The responsibility for upkeep of the designated areas and compliance to the directions shall be taken up by some charitable organisation or an NGO. The feeding in designated areas shall be permitted only for some limited hours in the day," it said.
The note further stated that authorised officers of local authorities shall issue on-the-spot warnings and may impose fines for violation of the order, or lodge complaints to prosecute offenders under Sections 271 (Negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 272 (Malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
It also directed local authorities to conduct public awareness campaigns, including the display of signboards, banners and digital messages, explaining the health hazards associated with pigeon droppings and feathers, the content of the regulatory directions and penalties for violations, and alternative humane methods of bird conservation that do not endanger public health.
