City: Bengaluru

In the last few days, cholera cases have been reported from across the city, and there are fears about a large-scale outbreak. Let us quickly understand certain basics of the disease, how it affects us, what we can do to safeguard our health and life, and be an agent of change to control the spread of the disease. Let us look at the facts first. Every year, cholera infects 1.3 to 4 million people globally, and claims the lives of 21,000 to 1.43 lakh people, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). What makes it so virulent as to turn into…

On March 2, women from several walks of life assembled at Jayanagar’s Kittur Rani Chennamma stadium and used their art to oppose sexual violence against women and gendered minorities. Organised by several women’s and civil rights organisations, the ‘Aman Chowk’ or Peace Square meet, was in line with One Billion Rising (OBR), a UN campaign aimed at stifling sexual violence against women. There were workshops, dance and musical performances, poetry recitals, conversations and artwork. Amid exhibitions depicting women rising against injustice, there was an 'aman ki razi' or harmony quilt that was being meticulously stitched by women. This was followed…

The Honourable National Green Tribunal (NGT) of India, constituted under the NGT Act of 2010, bases all its directions and judgements on three basic tenets: Sustainable development Precautionary principle Polluter pays These tenets are considered the bedrock of jurisprudence in cases relating to the environment. I have absolutely no quarrel with any of these guiding principles. I have a question, however, on how the Hon. NGT defines and decides who the real polluter is, in case of dysfunctional sewage treatment plants (STPs) in apartments. Based on NGT's directions, the State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has been issuing notices to apartments for running…

Recently the State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) slapped heavy fines on multiple apartments in the city. The reason: "STP is not running properly", "treated sewage does not meet some quality parameters". Some apartments have rightly questioned KSPCB's sampling method, the inordinate delay in sending test reports, and the fact that the apartments' own monthly tests (conducted at NABL-accredited labs) had never shown any problem with the treated water quality. While these objections are valid, the ugly truth is that many STPs may really be unable to treat sewage fully. In a previous article, I explored why this happens, and how some reforms…

More H1N1 cases, suspected corona cases Two positive cases of H1N1 or swine flu were detected at the city office of the e-commerce giant Amazon. Sources said that, as a precaution, the company is sanitising its offices, but none of the workspaces have been shutdown. Another swine flu case was reported on Wednesday at Mercedes Benz Research and Development India on their Brigade Tech Gardens Campus, Whitefield. The office was sanitised, evacuated and shut down for two days. Five persons, who travelled from COVID-19 affected countries and showed symptoms, have been admitted to hospitals in Bengaluru, Udupi and Bidar since…

The delimitation of BBMP wards is being initiated ahead of the civic polls scheduled this year. On March 2, the Urban Development Department (UDD) notified the draft BBMP delimitation proposal in the gazette. With delimitation, ward boundaries will be redrawn so that the population of each ward will be nearly equal, at 42,645 on average. Objections/suggestions to this notification, can be submitted, along with with reasons, in writing to the Deputy Commissioner, Bengaluru Urban District, Bengaluru, by 16 March 2020. The idea behind delimitation is to reduce the huge disparity in population among wards. Currently the population in outer wards…

The draft proposal for BBMP ward delimitation has been notified in the gazette. The idea is to improve services and fund allocation in the newly-added areas of BBMP, but this can't be achieved through the current proposal. Why delimitation? According to the 74th Constitutional Amendment, urban local bodies (ULBs) with population of more than three lakh were mandated to constitute wards and ward committees. Wards and ward committees provide a mechanism for participatory democracy at the grassroots level and ensure services and resources are allocated on an equitable basis for good quality of life to citizens. To ensure equitable services and…

Today, a large number of apartment complexes, malls and tech parks in Bengaluru have their own STPs (Sewage Treatment Plants). If an STP is working properly, its treated water would look just like tap water - clear, without any odour. In addition, it must meet the specifications set by the State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB). If the treated water looks dark brown, or stinks, the STP owner knows that the STP has some trouble. But even if the treated water looks clear and odour-free, it may still not meet specifications; and the owner may not be even aware that his STP…

Dear BBMP, How are you doing? Hope all is well with you. Things haven't been going so great with me for a month now, as I have been bedridden after being injured on a faulty footpath. But that's another conversation for another time. I write to you today because of a tweet by the BBMP Commissioner that caught my eye about a week ago. B H Anil Kumar tweeted that the Palike had identified 35 junctions in the city for "beautification" to raise the standards of Bengaluru. The Mayor of Bengaluru, Gautam Kumar, then elucidated that the idea was to…

Steps to rejuvenate Bellandur lake at a cost of Rs 245 crore could begin soon. BDA, the custodian of the lake, had floated a tender for the project in January this year. The lowest bidder now awaits approval from the BDA Commissioner to begin work. From the starting date, the contractor will get 18 months to carry out the works. Besides mammoth works such as de-watering and de-silting of the lake, authorities have revealed plans to also have a children’s play area, an enclosure for immersion of idols during festivals, facilities for water sports, a gymnasium and an amphitheatre. BDA’s…