Articles by News Desk

Drastic cut in drinking water supply With the major reservoirs that are a source of drinking water to the city going dry, Chennai Metrowater has already cut supply of drinking water by half. The city gets 850 mld a day which is cut to 450 mld to 480 mld per day. The main source of water now are veeranam water supply project, desalination plants at Nemili & Minjur, agricultural wells and metrowater owned wells. The four lakes that supply water to the city have a storage level that is just 10% of their capacity. Meanwhile, Metrowater is also planning to set…

Like every year, Lalbagh is hosting flower show this year as well. The theme is Mahatma Gandhi's 150th Birth Anniversary. Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Ltd has introduced return journey paper tickets for a flat price of Rs 30. One can travel from Lalbagh Metro station to any other stations at this fare, between 10 am to 8 pm, on January 25th, 26th and 27th. The tickets will be available at all metro stations between 8 am to 6 pm. The press note from BMRCL explains it: Like every year, our reader Srinivasan Subramaniam has shared the photos from the flower…

Bengalureans will get a chance to showcase their love for the city this Valentines Day. The Bengaluru Civic Fest organised by IChangeMyCity (an initiative of Janaagraha) along with the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) will be held on the 14th of February at Freedom Park from 10 am to 8 pm. The festival will be a platform where various civil society organisations and groups discuss their work, government agencies communicate their work with citizens and school children will discuss their participation with local governments. The festival will see the presence of BBMP mayor and Corporators. Sapna Kareem, coordinator, Civic Participation, Janaagraha,…

'NGT buffer zone will raze 95% of the city' National Green Tribunal's order of adherence to buffer zones for lakes and drains will see 95% of Bengaluru razed, as most buildings are in the vicinity of lakes and tertiary drains, said Uday Holla, Advocate General of Karnataka, in a written submission at the Supreme Court last week. Earlier the Supreme Court had also expressed reservations on the rights of the National Green Tribunal, a statutory body, to change the 30-metre buffer zone around lakes in Bengaluru to 75 metres. Citizen Matters had earlier written about the problem in detail. Source:…

Delhi civic bodies fined for pollution The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has fined three of Delhi's civic bodies Rs 1 Crore each for failure to comply with norms pertaining to pollution, including the inaction on burning of waste in the open, dumping of garbage and functioning of illegal plastic industries in residential areas. The East, South and North Delhi Municipal Corporations have come under fire for the increased pollution. The CPCB imposed a fine of Rs 1 Crore each as compensation for damage caused to the environment. The civic bodies are expected to pay the fine before January 31st.…

Aavin plans buy back of milk sachets With the single use plastic ban being implemented widely and in earnest, several establishments have already moved to eco-friendly alternatives. Though milk was exempted from the ban list, Aavin has taken proactive initiatives, among which is a plan to buy back the used milk covers through its offices. Aavin distributes close to 40 lakh milk packets in the city. Among other initiatives, Aavin switched over to stainless steel tumblers and ceramic cups to serve hot milk at its parlours. It will also replace the plastic straws that come with its flavoured milk cartons with…

City transport scene The European Investment Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank have agreed to lend €500 million and €300 million respectively to the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) to execute the Gottigere-Nagawara line under Phase II of the project. A proposal to realign the Metro line to the airport through Hebbal junction was approved by the Karnataka cabinet.  The state cabinet also approved the proposal for four suburban railway corridors that will have 81 stations, on a total route length of 160.50km. TenderSURE work is set to begin on K.G. Road in Gandhinagar and Margosa Road in Malleswaram and…

National Clean Air Program covering 102 cities launched The union government has launched a comprehensive programme to tackle the growing menace of air pollution in Indian cities through the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP). The programme will cover 102 cities in total, with the aim to reduce the concentration of PM2.5 and PM10 levels by 20 to 30 percent by the year 2024. The overlay for the first two years is Rs 300 crore. The NCAP will cover cities that have shown air quality that is consistently poorer than the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. The programme will be brought…

Campaign for a smokeless Bhogi The celebration of the harvest festival brings with it a spike in air pollution across the city. The air quality index (AQI)  data from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board confirms the rise in particulate matter during this period. The Chennai Corporation has begun an awareness campaigns for a smokeless Bhogi. The campaign conducted by the TNPCB  and health department officials is aimed at sensitising residents, RWAs, students, etc on the hazards of burning certain items like rubber and plastics. The Environment department of the TN Government is also lending its weight to the campaign. The…

From vehicular emissions to garbage burning, to dust on the streets and industrial smoke, there are many facets to air pollution in Bengaluru. Karnataka government allocated Rs 96 crores in last budget to monitor air pollution across the state in its budget for the first time in 2018, but the progress of work remains unknown. This winter season where the temperature has dipped up to 6 degrees in some areas, has shown that the quality of city's air is declining and much needs to be done to improve it. A recent report published by Climate Trends has shown Bengaluru to be…