Articles by Rahna Jacob

Accessible through one of the four apartments that surrounds it, Lower Ambalipura lake is a thing of beauty. A short stroll around the lake shows what it has to offer - herbs, fruit-bearing trees, a grassy wetland and the sight of birds inhabiting the island. It is quiet, save for the calls of the birds, and the wind rustling through the leaves of plants that line the walkway. Lower Ambalipura lake is a seven-acre lake in Haralur, surrounded by four apartments- Mantri Flora, Trinity Acres and Woods, SJR Redwood and SJR Park Vista. It is maintained by MAPSAS (Mahadevpura Parisara…

This article is part of a special series: Air Quality in our Cities Bengaluru has thousands of two-stroke auto rickshaws, which have proved to be a bane in the scheme of things where shift to eco-friendly vehicles needs to happen quickly to counter the air pollution crisis the city is facing. And this is taking time, as the government's plans seem to be ineffective. In November 2018, Radio Active 90.4 MHz CR a community radio station did a study of government's plan to phase out 2-stroke autos and move to 4-stroke autos. They held a focus group discussion with auto drivers…

Ananya (name changed) is a resident who lives near  Sarjapur Road. She finds her daily walk along Sarjapur Road an arduous ritual. “Trying to cross these roads, especially during the morning rush hour, is nerve-wracking,” she says. “I’ve come close to being hit by vehicles who don’t slow down so that [pedestrians] can cross, or decide to speed too close where we walk. Once that’s done, I need to pick my way through broken bits of the pavement and open gutters before I reach my bus stop.” Residents and pedestrians on Sarjapur Road look danger in the eye when they…

On December 30, 2018, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) issued a public notice declaring all 198 BBMP wards ‘open defecation free’. It was approved by the BBMP council on December 27, 2018, three days prior to the distribution of the notice. This is a required criterion under Swacch Bharath Mission to be considered for higher ranking in Swacch Sarvekshan Survey 2019 which will begin soon. What is Open Defecation-free area? According to the definition given by Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation in 2015, "ODF is the termination of faecal-oral transmission, defined by a) no visible faeces found…

Right To Education (RTE) helpline (1800 4253 4567) was launched recently by the  Social Welfare Department of Karnataka, which allows one to lodge complaints and get information on the Act. The Executive Director of the Child Rights Trust, Vasudeva Sharma, spoke to RadioActive about how the helpline could be used effectively. Vasudeva Sharma explained that the RTE Act had been introduced way back in 2009 in Karnataka, and a lot of calls used to be received by the Child Rights Trust members on their personal numbers seeking clarifications. Even though there were no instructions available regarding RTE at that time,…

This article is supported by SVP Cities of India Fellowship Laly Randolf, an activist from Kasavanahalli, was holding a small social event, and wanted to rent steel tumblers. She called a plate bank called Hasiru Mithra Cutlery in HSR Layout, and rented what was needed. She wanted to keep the garbage generated as minimal as possible. Garbage dumps are a common sight in Bengaluru. If it is not piled up in empty sites or landfills, it is seen in mounds at street corners. This is not just due to poor management by the authorities in charge, but also because of…