City: Bengaluru

This is an excerpt introducing the book Nature in the City: Bengaluru in the past, present and future, written by Harini Nagendra, a Professor of Sustainability at Azim Premji University, Bengaluru, India. The book is scheduled to be released on June 10th, 2016, at 6.30 pm at Alliance Francaise, Bengaluru. My office is in the peri-urban fringe of Bengaluru. From a place that was fairly rural, in ecology, lifestyle and livelihoods, this area has transformed almost literally in front of my eyes in the past decade into a mess of congested traffic, garbage dumps, slums cheek by jowl with apartment blocks,…

June 5th is just around the corner — it’s that time of the year when you hear the word ‘environment’ often. The World Environment Day (WED) is here again. While the environment activists and citizens are ready to commemorate the environment day by planting saplings, cleaning the neighbourhood and by organising awareness programmes, let’s be aware that this year’s environment day is dedicated to the vulnerable wildlife population. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has designated WED 2016 as a fight against illegal trade in wildlife. Therefore, the 2016 WED theme is “Go Wild for Life - Zero tolerance for…

Fig. 3.5.1: East View of Bangalore in 1792 AD by Robert Hyde Colebrooke, British Library, Shelfmark - WD4461 Courtesy: Yashaswini Sharma Were there waterways inside Lal Bagh once upon a time? How did the famous garden get the unique design? How did the famous glass house came to be in it? This chapter from a book on Bangalore's early history — Bangalore - the early city - AD 1537-1799, authored by Yashaswini Sharma, an architect from Bengaluru, to be released on June 4, 2016, at the British Council, Bangalore, provides some insights. Exclusive images collected from archives make it an…

One doesn’t have to visit distant forests or wildlife sanctuaries in order to find the beauties of Nature… a visit to the local park will do just as well. Here’s what I did on a recent morning visit to Lalbagh. First of all, I soaked in the morning sun, and the freshness of the air. I then walked along the lake, and I found these Black-crowned Night Herons, looking, hopefully, for a fish breakfast. There were so many flowers still blooming, even though Bengaluru has been at its hottest. Here are the Gulmohar blooms, setting the park afire. Here are…

This week’s highlight: Decoding illegal hoardings in Bengaluru A huge advertisement hoarding erected on a rajakaluve in Koramangala. Pic: Akshatha M Ever wondered why the hoardings that are not licensed are not removed in Bengaluru? It's because the BBMP has no proper policy for removal of hoardings. The terms are different each time, which is why the removal of illegal hoardings has become impossible. Here's the story on the enforcement mafia. Also read: Advertising hoardings worth crores actually get no revenues to BBMP. Data: Part I of Mathai’s reports on illegal hoardings in BBMP, obtained via RTI. Fee hike in…

What do you generally do when it rains? Curl up on a chair with your favourite book and watch the tiny droplets trickle down the window? Or are you fighting a battle to not reach into your pocket to find that lighter to light a cigarette? Well, if you’re the second kind, we’re here to tell you why you should kick the butt for good this World No Tobacco Day. What’s your reason? “I’m a social smoker”, says Venkat (name changed on request), a 23-year old college student. Smoking gives you a sensation, this becomes addictive”, adds Ashwin Aravind, another…

Click to view reports. Mathai’s 1st report on BBMP Advertisement issues Mathai’s 2nd report on BBMP Advertisement issues Mathai’s 3rd report on BBMP Advertisement issues Mathai’s 4th report on BBMP Advertisement issues

In 2012, a private unaided school attached to CBSE board was newly opened in an area in Bengaluru where most of the IT employees live. Since the school was new, its tuition fee was comparatively nominal. Its annual fee was Rs 45,000 per student. In a parent’s words, three factors were attractive:  the board affiliation of the school(CBSE, ICSE), school infrastructure/quality of education and more importantly, the affordability. For a parent, four years ago a tuition fee of Rs 45,000 seemed affordable, but little did he know that the school fee would almost double in the years to come. This…

Urban mobility is one of the toughest challenges that cities face. Being able to get around urban areas quickly, conveniently and with little environmental impact is critical particularly in large cities. With a rapidly growing population, the mobility problems of Bangalore are only increasing. The National Urban Transport Policy aims at promoting Integrated Land Use Planning, Bus Rapid Transit, Non-motorised Transport etc. Implementation of these policy measures calls for innovative urban transport planning and adoption of modern and smart technologies. SCIF is conducting a workshop to discuss the challenges presented by the ever-increasing demand for mobility in Bangalore. The workshop…

This is the second, no, the third time I have had problems with invaders of the pedestrian pavements in Bengaluru. And this time I have had the most painful experience which I blame solely on the cops for not controlling. I have a huge and painful gash on the front of my shin where there is hardly any flesh and what makes it worse is I am a chronic diabetic. Digging on the other side of Richmond Road. Pic: Mariane D Nazarath Three scooter-borne jay riders were racing down Hayes Road on the wrong side of the road while I…