City: Bengaluru

Nearly every citizen of Bangalore has heard of the current state of two of Bangalore’s biggest lakes - the Varthur and Bellandur lakes. The main reasons for the pollution of these lakes are the untreated sewage and industrial effluents that are constantly flowing into the lake.  Map source: All you need to know about Bellandur lake and its problems. Though we all know that these lakes are in bad shape, many of us may not be aware of the extent of  pollution. Check these shocking pictures. VARTHUR LAKE   The froth that we usually see at the top surface of…

Orion Mall. Pic: Shree D N Around August 2016, as BBMP began its storm water drain encroachment clearance work following flooding in various parts of the city, a case involving a high profile encroacher came to light. The alleged encroacher was Brigade Group. A survey report submitted by the Land Records Joint Director to the Commissioner of Survey, Settlement and Land Records on September 2nd, estimated that the Brigade Gateway that houses Orion Mall in Yeshwanthpur was constructed on 3.4 acre of B Kharab land which was meant for a storm water drain (SWD). In the concluding words of his…

On Dec. 23, 2016, I conducted a “Walk-n-Talk” for the residents of the campus at Indian Institute of Managament, Bangalore (IIMB). Pic: Deepa Mohan Prof Shainesh, who is the Dean of Administration, and a keen birder himself, opened up the campus for two bird census events in Feb and Nov 2016, and he wanted to ensure that the residents on the campus also got to know more about the flora and avifauna in the place where they live. Group before setting off for the walk. Pic: Deepa Mohan Dr. Selvarajan Rajeswaran, who is doing a doctoral program at IIMB, was…

Listen to Chetan, where he speaks about his understanding of gender and sexuality, on being a heterosexual and living his life in an hetero normative society, transphobia in films, need for queer literature in India, the need to support the rights of the LGBTQIA community... these are his inspiration to be a supporter of the community.    

We couldn’t help sharing this curated list of stories we published in 2016 - so here we are, with special year-end edition of the newsletter! These are the stories that make us what we are; these are the stories you would love to indulge in, to get a 360 degree view of an issue. Let us know which one you liked the best! The messed-up storm water drain encroachment clearance drive 2016 saw unprecedented action by the revenue department, where many buildings encroaching storm water drains were razed down. Many of these buildings had authorised plan sanction from BBMP. How…

Maheshwari talks about how she got into collecting waste hair, picking up waste hair from streets and also by going house to house, bartering for waste hair with small household items and also offering money. She and her fellow workers buy hair by weight, collecting small quantities and over time, sell in bulk. Did you know that grey hair have a lesser rate than black hair? Maheshwari also upcycles waste hair by making wigs from this collected hair.

Bangalore / Namma Bengaluru has many famous landmarks. KR Market, also known as City Market, is one of them. Did you know KR Market is one of Asia’s largest flower markets? It is also one of the largest in Bangalore that has sale of fresh produce. The flip side to this is that tonnes of waste is generated every day. Unfortunately, there is no proper system for disposal of waste. Fruit and vegetable vendors throw rotten or reject produce onto the street or on top of existing heaps of garbage around their stalls. Every new mayor makes an effort to…

Photo: Billy Bob Bain (via Flickr) When Rafik (name changed), a young man in his thirties, came up with an innovative business model for advertising in Bengaluru, the first hurdle came in the form of lack of clarity over rules governing this kind of advertising. The business idea was simple: to introduce outdoor mobile billboard advertising, that is, to use private or commercial vehicles for advertising a product or service through stickers or billboards. Unsure of  the rules and guidelines pertaining to this business model, Rafik first visited the advertising section at the BBMP office, enquiring about the procedure to…

At a public awareness programme organized by the BWSSB in November 2016, an irate apartment RWA Member asked the BWSSB official present, "What is the point in setting up an STP when we're already connected to the sewerage network? Treated sewage is going to mix with our neighbouring locality's raw sewage in your drains which you will treat in a large STP. What is the point of all of this?” Over the years, Bengaluru city has not only grown horizontally—to areas outside the sewerage network—but also vertically: previously sewered areas are seeing a manifold jump in sewage generated per acre…

In a fun and fascinating session at the Bengaluru Literature Festival on Saturday afternoon (17 December 2016), Roopa Pai, Bengaluru-based bestselling author of The Gita for Children, convinced kids (and their parents) of the importance of the Bhagawad Gita even in today’s modern world - explaining how it was a math puzzle book, a weight loss book and the oldest self-help book in the world! She briefly ran through the story of the Mahabharata. Through her narrative, she made children laugh out loud by combining humour and references to daily life experiences. The session was highly interactive. Enthusiastic children listened…