City: Bengaluru

  High Court of Karnataka (HC) asked Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike to be careful while choosing the lowest bidders while awarding tenders for biomining at Mandur, as many of them have failed in the past. On June 18 2014, HC Green Bench Division comprising of Justice N Kumar and B V Nagarathna passed a series of orders in the SWM PIL filed in 2012 after the villagers of Mavallipura  and Mandur stopped dumping of garbage. HC accepted the suggestions of  the Expert Committee on Solid Waste Management made on June 13, 2014, to adopt the method of biomining to clear…

Current scenario of water availability in Bangalore seems to be grim with ground water almost over and tanker mafia twisting our arms. Last year’s indication of dry weather prompted our apartment to find out an easy way of collecting rainwater as a proper rainwater harvesting system was not made initially. Zephyr Block of Suncity Apartments, Ibblur, thought of using the flat roofs of the building to collect rainwater. Roof rainwater pipes were attached to a main big pipe and then to a small tank. The initial water collected in the small tank and after a while the clean water starts…

  How efficient are the organisations working in the government sector, in Bangalore specifically? How easy is it for an individual to get something done - perhaps get a driving license or apply for an electricity connection? If we have to go by what some of our readers have had to say, it looks as if it is not at all easy. Why, sometimes even information is hard to come by. Time and again, we hear from our readers who share their woes about the city. Someone is fleeced on a BMTC bus, another has to make multiple trips to…

Bengaluru has trees that flower through the year. Many a time one wonders how they can be a part of that whole system. How easy is it to plant trees and watch it grow? What are the requirements from departments involved? How are plant species selected? How did other citizens and groups go about tree planting? Tree planting is a big step that needs planning and dedication, the Tree Planting Guide simplifies the process and you could add to one of the city’s trees. How do we begin tree planting? Planning is an integral part of tree planting, though the…

Part 1 of Chapter 11: Steal Proofing Part 2 of Chapter 11: Installing garbage bins can be a design challenge for city planners! Part 3 continues... Before and after photo of a spotfix in Banaswadi. Pic: The Ugly Indian X took some photos of the Spot, got them printed at another Spot neighbor, Tru-Images, a digital studio down the road, and created a small portfolio of five photos – one photo of “Before”, one photo of “After” and three photos of “During SpotFixing” (featuring the Wipro employees, the drivers, and Veliyamma). The studio owner was very happy to see the…

Expert Committee on Solid Waste Management submitted to the High Court in Bengaluru that a simple and the only solution to solve Mandur problem effectively was to screen the dump, recover the useful materials and dispose the organic and inert waste, through a process called biomining. On Friday (June 13th 2014) the Green Bench of High Court of Karnataka, comprising Justice B V Nagarathna and Justice N Kumar received the suggestions by the Expert Committee, on how to dispose the existing dump, the measures to be taken by the BBMP among others. A copy of the suggestions ia available with…

Bengaluru has lots of people who want to minimise their waste by preparing their own compost, and growing vegetables from that. Some such people started this wondeful initiative - Oota From Your thota, the organic vegetable gardening fair. The fair is here again. Trees of Bengaluru is pitching in this time. When: Sunday, June 15 Venue: Whitefield Club, Whitefield main road Map: http://goo.gl/2PjU1f Tree walks will be conducted by Trees of Bengaluru. 1)  A season Watch Workshop - 11 AM 2) Tree Walk for kids - 4 PM 3) Tree Walk for adults - 4 PM Here's where you can…

  Alright. We all know lakes are vanishing fast in Bengaluru. Many groups are fighting to save some lakes. However the mission hits the dead end when complaints to stop the encroachment yield no results. We also have heard about a District Lake Committee which is supposed to protect lakes. However, we don’t see this committee active. So what’s wrong? What is this committee supposed to do? In December 2013, the Karnataka High Court passed a revolutionary judgment in response to a PIL filed by Environment Support Group (ESG), directing the State Government to set up Lake Protection Committees to…

  'We never know the worth of water till the well is dry'.                                                                                   - Thomas Fuller, English Historian Bangalore is facing a water crisis like never before. Our lakes are polluted. Several of them have been built over. More than half of the city’s drinking water comes from 150 km away - 35% of this water is lost due…

Today at 6.30pm Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike will interact with Spain on best practices for managing waste. I am not sure which adage passed my mind when I read the latest news report on BBMP and our garbage mess. “Grasping at straws” for seeking help from sister city San Francisco or “Making hay when sun shines” for possibly sending officials to Dubai to study waste management. Wasted BBMP trips on managing waste When Sharadamma was the mayor, a BBMP team led by her had visited Pune. In 2012, a team led by then-deputy S Harish went to Israel to study…