City: Bengaluru

In Part 1 of this series, we saw that tree transplantation is an arduous process, and could fail if not done properly. Transplantation is now becoming popular in Bengaluru for Metro and road widening projects, but how cost-effective is this? How expensive is the process, and do the trees really make it? We explore this in Part 2 of the series. Cost of tree transplantation: Thousands to lakhs The cost of tree transplantation depends on several factors - the tree's trunk size and perimeter, the number of trees to be transplanted, the distance between the old and new sites, and…

On May 20, Karnataka government announced COVID lockdown relief of Rs 2,000 for domestic workers under its Seva Sindhu scheme. But due to the tedious application process, only a tiny fraction of workers have been able to even apply online for the relief. As per a report in the Times of India, Karnataka is estimated to have 10 lakh domestic workers, but as of June 23, only 1.4 lakh of them had applied on the Seva Sindhu portal. There were only 23,552 applications from Bengaluru Urban district. To apply, domestic workers had to upload their passport size photo, BPL ration…

They run into multiple pages. The “lockdown relaxation” notifications that greet citizens of Karnataka every week or other. But even with this prodigious verbiage, they fail to impart any clarity on what is sought to be conveyed. This lack of clarity can be observed in local WhatsApp groups being full of questions like “But does this mean I can’t do this ?” in the days following publication of the notification. Graphic credit: Anirudh Koushik (Click to view full image) The problems in these notifications can be divided into four main categories: The "Spock" category ("Illogical, Captain!" for Star Trek fans)The…

In part 1 of this story, we saw the economic impact on informal waste workers’ livelihood and the entire informal recycling sector due to the lockdown. We now see what policy changes have been proposed in the waste recycling sector and what action Bengaluru has taken on the ground. Let’s start with understanding the informal waste recycling sector -- this Indian ecosystem is quite unique . A formal study on Recycling Hubs showed Bengaluru’s informal recycling value chains crisscross the formal and informal segments of the economy at many different levels. Recycling sector - Value chain. Graphic source: Valuing Urban…

Second COVID wave subsiding As the second wave subsides and hundreds of COVID beds in government facilities fall vacant, medical staff and students are anxious to switch to non-COVID duties, especially at the Bangalore Medical College and Research Centre (BMCRI), the largest government facility for COVID treatment in the city. The number of daily cases has seen a dramatic 97% decline since the second wave peaked in April. But, the number of ICU cases has been less quick to fall. Over a seven-day period from June 20 to 27, the number of ICU cases declined by 28% from 518 to…

With Metro rail coming up along many stretches, Bengaluru is set to lose a large number of trees. But many trees have also been marked for transplantation. BMRCL (Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd) has been giving work orders to contractors to transplant these trees. Currently, BMRCL is the only agency undertaking tree transplantation in Bengaluru, says BBMP Tree Officer H S Ranganatha Swamy. In Bengaluru, as in other Indian cities, government agencies had rejected the idea of transplantation for years, citing high costs and low survival rates. In fact, when 10 trees were transplanted from the first Metro stretch in…

“April-May is the peak period for us to collect a lot of newspapers and books; unfortunately, we were unable to procure any kind of waste," says Muniswamy, a  scrap dealer from  HSR Layout. With his shop shut, he had no income, yet he had to continue paying rent for the premises. Muniswamy’s experience reflects the story of countless informal waste workers across Bengaluru, after the pandemic led to multiple lockdowns, disrupting livelihoods.  Maheshwari collects waste hair by picking from streets, and also goes house-to-house  buying hair from individuals, and sells in bulk. She says, “With the lock down, I couldn’t…

What are the many types of birds, animals and insects that you can see in Bengaluru? What are those beautiful trees, shrubs or weeds that grow here? And oh, those flowers that bloom in our neighbourhood parks and avenue trees!  From the beautiful bee-eater to the humble purslane, there are many captivating life forms to spot and admire just outside our own homes! White Cheeked Barbet. Pic: Deepa Mohan Citizen Matters is organising a contest on “Biodiversity in my Backyard”, in partnership with Mongabay India, an environment and conservation magazine, and apartment management software platform ADDA. We invite students of grades 9-12 residing…

‘Stay safe’ is now a stock phrase. Everyone uses it when signing off an email, chat or conversation. Yet another term that has gained currency is ‘bubble’. A bubble is a safe environment where social networks follow a shared set of norms to keep everyone there safe. The pandemic has led to heightened safety concerns, and in turn created awareness around behaviours that can likely protect us from COVID. It is time we did the same with fire safety! A culture of safety is one that is cultivated daily, and only strengthened during an emergency. At a recent webinar conducted…

During the first week of June 2021, the daily bulletin from the Department of Health and Family Welfare(DHFW), Karnataka, was still reporting 300+ COVID deaths per day for Bengaluru Urban district. The corresponding daily positives was around 3500-4000. The general feeling was that the worst was over and things had eased up. But these numbers suggested otherwise, a fatality rate of close to 10%! A closer look at the "DOD" (Date of Death) column of Annexure-2 of the bulletins, however, showed that a lot of these 300+ COVID deaths were being back-counted from May, and some even from April. For…