Articles by Mohit M Rao

Urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) is gaining popularity in Indian metropolises to encourage climate action and sustainable development. Though the climate mitigation of UPA may be overstated, an IIT-Madras study found that UPA “can play a small, but not insignificant role” in augmenting carbon stock and bringing down land surface temperatures in cities. However, researchers say UPA has other benefits that make it critical for urban planning, such as promoting individual and community well-being, increasing urban food security and creating green jobs. Every few weeks, 53-year-old agricultural entomologist Rajendra Hegde addresses a large gathering in Bengaluru, where he puts forth…

Each time a survey, however small or flawed it is, places Bengaluru on top of its list, you can be rest assured that the government will paste full-page advertisements in papers, of its leaders claiming credit for it. Wonder why there is complete silence when Bengaluru became the city with the most active COVID cases not just in India, but across the world. After all, the political establishment has perhaps contributed more to Bengaluru’s horrifying COVID scenario than it has in the city being ‘the most liveable’, ‘most dynamic’ or for being the start-up capital.  At crematoria, at hospitals, in…

It was only last week that work hours returned to “normal” for Sajida, an Accredited Social Health Worker (ASHA), also known as Community Health Worker, who lives in Mahalakshmi Layout.   As with all ASHA workers, she was part of the critical front line; keeping her ears to the ground and eyes peeled for any sign of Covid-19 and its spread in her locality. Since March, when the city recorded its first coronavirus case, Sajida has worked up to 16 hours a day, surveying neighbourhoods and tracing contacts of those who tested positive.  Although Covid-19 cases and positivity rates have…

[In Part 1 of this series, we saw how Bengaluru's lakes used to provide food and livelihoods to communities living around them, and how this has been lost over time. In this part, we explore solutions to the problem.] The afforestation and tree planting schemes around Bengaluru's lakes do not seem to believe livelihood is a priority. For example, the banks of Kalkere lake now sport a variety of exotic species including palm trees, instead of honge and tamarind trees that local residents once depended on. Even lake rejuvenation often has been for recreational value, with the lake bed scooped out…

It had been over 25 years since Neelamma N Reddy went scouring for greens in Varthur lake.   The lake was a veritable buffet of greens and fish for her. She’d find over 30 varieties of fish and small crabs that could be scooped up from its banks. “Then, there were 4-5 types of greens we’d pick up. Some herbs, like Bassale soppu (Malabar Spinach) were used to treat constipation or piles. The banks had guava, coconut and jamun trees from which children used to collect fruits,” she says.  Bengaluru’s growth turned Varthur into a part of the city’s Information Technology…

Part 1 of this series looked at the scale at which farm produce is traded through the APMC (Agricultural Produce Market Committee) system in Bengaluru. In this part, we explore how the APMC operates, and how successful the system has been. Yeshwanthpur APMC yard, spread across 85 acres, is one of the largest market places for farmers and buyers across the country. It is commission agents who play a key role in facilitating trade between farmers and buyers here, especially in case of perishable vegetables like onions and potatoes. The agents receive farmers’ produce, which is then auctioned in their…

Yeshwanthpur APMC yard is one of the biggest markets for onions in South India. Pic: Mohit M Rao In September end, M Dasappa loaded the onions harvested on three acres of his farm in Seegehatti in Chitradurga district, and headed towards the APMC yard in Yeshwanthpur in Bengaluru. There is a foreboding of disappointment in the trip this time around - he normally produces 300 quintals of onions; this time, heavy rains had led to losses and he is selling only 220 quintals. At the APMC (Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee) yard, the truck unloads the bags of gleaming onions. Byaravishwara…

Three decades ago, 65-year-old Jayamma had an opportunity to buy a small plot of land at Hosahalli, on the fringes of Bengaluru, where she worked as a tailor in a small garment shop. The area reminded her of her village back in Holenarsipura in Hassan district: a clump of thatched-roof houses, fields of ragi and rice, and small ponds locally called gokattes and kuntes.  Much of the peri-urban life in Hosahalli revolved around the small water bodies: herders brought cattle to the banks, homemakers washed clothes, farmers cultivated lands near its outlets, children used it for their bath or a…

Flanked by the Outer Ring Road, where unceasing traffic spews noxious fumes, and a concreted canal where heaps of plastic float amid sewage, the Hennur Lake Biodiversity Park is an incongruous speck of green in a wide swath of concrete. And for a few slender loris individuals, it is an unlikely home. As implausible as it may seem, gray slender lorises (Loris lydekkerianus) have clung to life while the city’s concrete-scape has cornered them into this 34-acre park. At least 4-5 individuals of the beady-eyed, small, elusive primate species has been spotted in the canopies of the park. Surveys conducted between…

For weeks, thousands of migrant workers who had started on their arduous journeys back home, trudged past Devanahalli cross. The sight, Mukkham Ila says, made her weep. “We can understand the hunger and desperation. They just wanted to go home. We couldn’t bear to see them hungry,” she says.   Some time in the first week of May, Mukkham asked her son to buy wheat, vegetables and groceries. The family’s income from a mutton shop and from daily-wage labour had been hit by the lockdown. Still, they managed to spare over Rs. 2,500. "We wanted to feed at least 80…