Articles by Sankar C G

Slumdwellers here have been facing acute water shortage for the past three months. The two bore wells in the slum are sufficient to satisfy the water needs of the people. But the motor which pumps water stopped working and this broke water supply.“We have to travel three kilometers daily for getting water from Austin town. We take bath only once in a week due to the water shortage. Some time we may not get water that force us to buy water for higher prices,” said Habeeb A S, a local resident. Ejipura slum, wairting for new housing since 2004. Pic:…

More than 100 granite factories and 10 quarries located in Jigani industrial area in Bannerghatta adversely affects the health of residents in five villages in the surrounding areas.Around ten thousand people are living in the villages of Kallabalu, Mahanthalingapura, Krishna doddi, Poojigana Palya, Ellammana doddi and in Bellar Bande suffer from respiratory disorders and other allergies due to dust from these granite factories. A quarry in Mahathalingappura, one of the ten quarries in Bannerghatta which cause respiratory disorder to the people. Pic: Sankar C G "The granite factories are located in Jigani industrial area and the quarries are near to…

Over hundred families in Aatmajyothi Nagar in Nayandahalli are drinking toxic water, with nearly 12 times the acceptable nitrate levels, from borewells. "The permissible limit of nitrates per litre of water is 45 milligram. But in the underground water in Nayandahalli, the nitrate level is 554 milligrams per liter, which is very high. It can cause various health hazards," said M V Shashirekha, water researcher and former official of the mines and geology department. Pic: Sankar C G There is a further shortage of safe drinking water due to delay in the completion of the Cauvery Fourth Stage Second Phase…

It is illegal to run a hospital or a clinic without first registering with Health Ministry and Bengaluru has around 15,000 private medical establishments that are running without registration. This essentially flouts the Karnataka Private Medical Establishment Act 2009. Pic: Sankar C G But the doctors who run these clinics seem to be unaware of the process. "I have not registered my clinic anywhere because I didn't know about it. I don't have any kind of certificates from medical waste management, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board or BBMP," says Dr. Asha D. Patil of Santhi clinic in Kengeri.KPME Act 2009…

Gollahalli lake in Electronic city has lost 2.11 acres to an illegally built road. Despite orders, the road still stands intact thanks to the timely call by the then Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa. Road that encroaches on the Gollahalli lake. Pic: Sankar C G The then Tehsildar Mallikarjuna ordered the road to be dismantled in 2010. The road, which covers about one-fourth of the 9.2-acre Golahalli Lake, is still in use today.  According to the records obtained through RTI, survey number 15 is a lakebed and it belongs to the government. However, a road was constructed in 2007. The…

Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike's Rs 600 million garbage segregation plant at Subbarayanpalya, an interior village in Kumbalgudu, which should have been completed by the end of 2011, is still at the tender stage. The area is near Rajarajeshwari Nagar in SW Bengaluru. Sixty-five trucks reportedly visit this site daily to dump waste from Bangalore. Pic: Sankar C G As per information from the BBMP website, the tender process for the 750 metric-tons-per-day plant should have been wound up before April 10, 2011."It was in 2009 that BBMP thought of implementing a new automated garbage plant, similar to the one in…