Bellandur Buzz Issue # 29
Date: 12 February 2015.
This fortnightly newsletter is published by the citizen group bellandur.forum@googlegroups.com
Neralu tree walk
Several days back, a nature walk was organized in HSR layout as part of the Neralu – Bengaluru Tree festival. http://neralu.in/ The walk was led by Ajit Ampalakkad. The participants met in front of MK Retail, 17th Cross at 7.30 am. The walk was about learning to love the subtle way nature lives around us – silent but still buzzing with activity. As the walk progressed, the participants began to view the nuances of nature differently: they realized the symbiotic relationship ants have with trees and saw the birds nesting.
As they walked through the empty roads, they saw about 27 types of trees such as the African Tulip, Pride of India, All-Spice Tree, just to mention a few. The children were thrilled to watch praying mantises and the wasps coming out of the banyan tree.
Some people were surprised to find that the banyan tree in the park was more than 60 years old, when HSR layout did not even exist. All the participants enjoyed the nature walk, and expressed hope that there would be more in the future.
Neralu – Bangalore tree walk at HSR Layout
Article & Pic Courtesy: Sivakumar
Bellandur Devasthana inauguration
Pic Courtesy Rajeev Rajagopalan. The grand Bellandur temple is open to all.
The newly constructed Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple in Bellandur Village, on the banks of the Bellandur Lake was inaugurated last week. There were formal rituals and pujas preceding the inauguration, which was accompanied by concerts by well-known musicians, including Balamurali Krishna (vocal), Shashank (Flute), Unnikrishnan (vocal) & Rajesh (mandolin), Kadri Gopalnath (saxophone) and Kanyakumari (violin).
Thousands of people also partook of the free meals. The event was eco-friendly and waste was segregated into wet and recyclable plastic water tumblers. Sambhrani (benzoin resin) smoke was used to drive away mosquitoes. Pictures can be viewed here. https://www.facebook.com/groups/Bellandurforum/permalink/1548952875365505/
The temple is now open to the public. For details on pooja timings please check http://bellandurdevasthana.com/index.html
Update courtesy: Meera K.
Golden Woods Kids Join hands with Swachh Bharat.
Cleanliness begins at your home and in your community. That is exactly what some kids from Golden Woods villa community showed all on a Saturday. inspired by the Swachh Bharat initiative, the kids went on a mission to clean up the community space with vigour. They planned the execution, designed posters and spread awareness door to door. The message that these young kids carried was if everyone decides to do the same our county will be Swachh in no time! Thank you kids we get your message loud and clear.
Golden Enclave kids go on a cleaning spree
Article & Pic courtesy: Amit Goyal
Connecting back the lake chain
The Rajkaluves between all the lakes in the Parapana Agrahara – Soul Kere Chain, of which Kaikondarahalli Lake is a part, need to be connected in order for these lakes to thrive. MAPSAS has been pushing for this for years with various authorities but has yet not been able to get the various authorities to come up with a combined plan to execute the work on the ground. The members of MAPSAS finally approached the Upalokayuktha for help, and on Saturday, February 7th, the Tahsildar along with several relevant officials went to survey two Rajkaluves connecting Kaikondarahalli Lake — the one to Soul Kere and the one from Kasavanahalli Lake. The officials have taken up the task of marking the Rajkaluves on the ground and they have promised that work on digging trenches connecting the lakes will begin soon.
The work will take time to complete, of course, but this is a huge step forward. A big thank you to the Upalokayuktha for taking the request of the citizens to the officials and coordinating this effort.
Getting the officials together is a Herculean task!
Update courtesy: MAPSAS
Write to us: thebellandurbuzz@gmail.com
This article was co-edited by Ritesh Chitalia.