City: Bengaluru

Every summer, Bengaluru’s water crisis makes headlines; tanker prices soar, lakes dry up, and citizens protest encroachments, fish kills, and sewage inflows. While lakes and tanks often dominate the conversation, there’s another hidden system that quietly shapes the city’s water story: stormwater drains (SWDs). These drains are more than just channels; they are the veins of a valley city. Bengaluru sits on a central ridgeline that naturally divides its water flow into two directions: Eastward: draining into the Dakshina Pinakini (Ponnaiyar) River. Westward: draining into the Cauvery Basin via the Vrishabhavathi River. Ironically, what citizens often see as footpaths or…

Krishna Ramesh, a farmer from Kachamaranahalli village, 21 km from the centre of Bengaluru, has lived under the shadow of a land acquisition notice since 2007. His five acres, the only land he owns, are among 2,558 acres notified for the Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) project, now rebranded as the Bengaluru Business Corridor. The land sustains his family, yielding over ₹1 lakh a month. If the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA), the project’s planning authority, proceeds with the acquisition, Krishna, who is also the General Secretary of PRR Raitha and Niveshannadharara Sangha, will be left landless—his livelihood dismantled, his future uprooted.…

The Karnataka government has notified the draft Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA) rules — over three years after the BMLTA Act came into being — and has invited suggestions/objections by February 2nd, 2026.   The BMLTA was meant to be a unified transport body to regulate, monitor, develop and plan urban mobility in Bengaluru. The government had failed to constitute the Authority within the statutory timeline of six months. Now, the much-delayed draft rules propose to strip away all forms of transparency and accountability! One controversial clause (Rule 24) proposes to grant deemed approval to projects initiated between 2022…

As people gain awareness of mental health, many have started using apps that offer advice and support. This growth is driven by the increased use of smartphones and easy access to the internet. However, many people still believe that mental health care is expensive, which deters them from seeking professional help, despite the availability of trained experts at government hospitals and through helplines and district mental health programmes. Because of this, users may turn to digital platforms for mental health support. But, how reliable are these apps? A systematic review of 350 mental health applications by the Indian Council of…

Across Bengaluru, it is common to see abandoned photos and idols of deities left under sacred trees, near parks, or outside temples. Does this sight disturb you? It bothered us deeply to see these divine symbols—once the centre of our homes—left to become soiled, discoloured, and neglected. What is even more distressing is that most of these items eventually end up in landfills. We felt that this needed to change. Such items deserve a respectful farewell, and the needless waste of valuable resources must come to an end. So, what's the solution? The journey Our journey began with a pilot…

Urban flooding is no longer a seasonal surprise but a predictable outcome of poor stormwater drainage planning, construction, and maintenance. While crores are spent on building and upgrading stormwater drain networks, there is often little transparency or citizen oversight in how these assets are managed. This masterclass sits at the intersection of these two trajectories: a legacy of infrastructural stress and neglect, and a growing urgency to rethink how urban water systems function and are governed. Drawing from Bengaluru’s context and global examples, the session introduces how cities around the world are rethinking the fundamentals of stormwater management to adapt…

The KEB Junction on 27th Main Road in HSR Layout highlights a typical urban planning failure. The junction prioritises vehicle movement over pedestrians. Resident Sachin Pandith, along with the HSR Community Task Force, has been working to address these issues and make the area safer. According to Sachin, residents have been engaging with officials and filing complaints for more than five years, yet nothing has changed. Encroached footpaths, unclear signage, and unsafe pedestrian crossings have created a hostile environment for walkers. In addition, the poorly located bus stop leaves little space for buses to halt, often turning the stretch into…

Bengaluru is racing to bridge the gap between first-mile and last-mile connectivity in public transport, but for people with disabilities, the journey is riddled with obstacles. Inaccessible bus stops and terminals in the city keep them excluded. “I have been travelling on muscle memory alone. There are no supportive facilities or infrastructure in bus stops or terminals,” says Mohan Kumar, a visually-impaired person who has been commuting in Bengaluru buses since 2012.  The exclusion starts at the bus stop. “Even if buses are inclusive, it is nearly impossible to reach the bus stops in Bengaluru due to poor design and…

The Cantonment Railway Colony was declared Bengaluru’s second Biodiversity Heritage Site in September 2025—a rare victory for citizens who had protested against large-scale tree felling for a proposed commercial development. Over 15,000 citizens stood tall against the tree felling, and following months of protests, the government declared the site a Biodiversity Heritage Site. However, just three months later, on December 6, the state government withdrew the notification. The reversal has once again put nearly 370 heritage trees in the colony at risk. A threat for citizen participation The colony houses around 370 mature and heritage trees belonging to around 50…

Saul Kere, a lake off Sarjapur Road, was once a thriving habitat for birds. “When I started birding regularly in  2019, I had observed nearly 180 species of birds here,” Bijoy Venugopal, a birder and environmentalist, recalls. “Even during our latest bird walk on December 7th, we recorded 67 species of birds, more than what you would see at some bird sanctuaries.” However, the number of birds has declined, mainly due to effluent inflow. E-bird, a public data forum, has a record of 213 bird species in Saul Kere. That is the richness of the biodiversity of the Saul Kere…