Articles by News Desk

Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has instructed Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) not to let sewage into the lakes, drains, rivers and wells of Bengaluru, in the backdrop of numerous complaints from the public. The letter to BWSSB had been issued on March 30, 2014. However, a press note from KSPCB says that as nothing was done so far, KSPCB is releasing the matter to the notice of the media. The press release issued by the KSPCB says that KSPCB Chairman Vaman Acharya has instructed the BWSSB not to let municipal waste to the water sources. Houses,…

People's Campaign for Right to water- Karnataka (PCRW-K) is a campaign pushing for a water democracy that protects water as a common property resource and provides safe, sufficient and clean water for all. The campaign also works on protection of lakes, water bodies in Karnataka and conserving water resources as commons. This is a press note from the Campaign, produced as it is. The campaign works to make the state responsible to facilitate people’s participation in nurturing lakes as commons and has repeatedly registered complaints, had series of discussions with the Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka and various concerned departments…

What do you do when you see a garbage dump near your home or slabs misplaced from the footpath drains, and don’t see any civic agency going anything to solve the problem? Just go out and do it yourself! This is the motto behind a Bangalorean movement called The Ugly Indian. Citizens inspired by The Ugly Indian movement working to fix a drain. Pic: The Ugly Indian The Ugly Indian is an apolitical, anonymous group of citizens who feel strongly about the visible filth in Indian cities. The movement, aimed at solving problems at public spaces with direct action and…

On a day when no one predicted fast timings, Geoffrey Kamworoor-Kipsang obliterated the six-year-old course record with an excellent 27:44 clocking, while Lucy Kabuu led a Kenyan podium sweep in the women’s race, also with a brilliant new time of 31:48, in the 7th edition of TCS World 10K Bangalore. Pacemaker Daniel Salel, a silver medalist in 10000m at Delhi Commonwealth Games four years ago, led the runners through the first half of the race in 13:57.   Defending champion Alex Oloitiptip and his Kenyan teammate Kamworor were in the lead group, as was Ethiopian Kinde Atanaw.  Incidentally the Ethiopian has the fastest…

Participate in a workshop on Ward Committee Roles and Responsibilities for a Greener, Cleaner, Safer, Water secure and Healthy Bengaluru. Date: Thursday 22nd May 2014 Time: 10.00 am – 4.00 pm Venue: Environment Support Group – Training Centre, 1575, Intermediate Ring Road, Banashankari 2nd Stage, Bangalore 560070 Why this workshop: Bengaluru is increasingly becoming an unaffordable and difficult city to live in.  Never ending traffic congestion, expensive public transportation, garbage lying everywhere, no water in taps, borewells running dry, lakes getting polluted (even disappearing overnight), heat, noise and air pollution everywhere, rampant tree felling has become a feature of every neighbourhood.  Women, children and senior citizens…

Residents staying in HSR Layout Sector-2 around Somasundarpalya, Haralukunte Village and Parangipalya in South Bengaluru have been dealing with foul and unbearable smell emanating from the waste composting plant belonging to Karnataka Compost Development Corporation (KCDC) located 2 km away. Some residents claim that the smell reached them even 3 kms away, though of course with less intensity. At a meeting on Sunday, April 27th, 2014, with the KCDC officials, the Bommanahalli zone BBMP Joint Commissioner Muniraju and his team, and SWM expert Almitra Patel, BBMP Solid Waste Management Chief Engineer Yatish Kumar and others, the residents vented their grievances…

Chennai-based Dr Ruffles is extremely popular with children. His treatment has helped several non-verbal children with autism to speak up, aided those with attention deficit disorder and other learning disabilities to improve their performance in school, and even resolved complex behavioural issues in many of his little patients. Quite incredibly, though, the good doctor has accomplished all this without so much as uttering a single word or writing out a prescription. Indeed, he has become the hugely successful therapist he is by simply being himself – a non-judgmental, attentive and very affectionate dog! Ruffles is the resident ‘doctor’ at the…

It is everyone's dream to own a home and live in it. In rapidly urbanising Indian cities, especially Bangalore, without the right homework, chasing that dream can result in far more stress than expected. A range of documents is needed at various stages to proceed with a property deal. Regulations, rules, documents, and a maze of procedures can stump you or complicate matters if you are not well prepared. Many of us are unfamiliar with what is required until we actually face such a situation. We are also prone to commit mistakes if we do not ask the right questions…

A mail from Leo Saldanha, Convenor of Environment Support Group, says: As you are aware, we have challenged the widening of roads in Bangalore by BBMP as being illegal. This matter is being heard by the High Court this week. When we filed the PIL in 2008, BBMP had proposed to widen 91 roads, a list they later expanded to include as many as 216 roads. When the PIL is heard on Friday (25th April), we will have to file a memo about the status of road widening on the original list of 91 roads.  As these are spread across…

File pic. Courtesy: Jayakrishnan On 21st April 2014, the Counsels of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) placed before the Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court D H Waghela and Justice B V Nagarathna a compilation of tree planting activities in Bangalore. The document claims that during the years 2007-2013, the forest wing of the BBMP has planted 10,75,388 trees in the city and that on an average (across 6 years) 63.5% of the saplings have survived. The document was supplied as part of the suo moto proceedings initiated by the High Court in Writ Petition 7288/2011, responding to concerns over…