City: Bengaluru

The power of consistent campaigning and pursuing a movement to its logical conclusion can be seen in Dattatraya T Devare's and his team's efforts. Since 2007, Devare, trustee of Bangalore Environment Trust (BET), has been working to preserve trees in the city, as part of which he filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking amendments to the Karnataka Tree Preservation Act, 1976. This eventually translated into path-breaking legal amendments to preserve Bengaluru's trees. "When I moved from Pune to Bangalore in 1986, I remember the city was very green," says Devare, "But it began losing its trees due to development…

With the world’s attention on the FIFA Football World Cup being hosted in Qatar, one tends to wonder what Bengaluru has to offer budding sportspersons in terms of quality sports training facilities. Unfortunately, such exploration offers little hope that athletes from the state, especially women, can make waves on the international sports arena. Cricket in Bengaluru can boast of world class names like Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and others, but what about other sports? What kind of sports policies and infrastructure are available for training and development of athletes more interested in games such as badminton or football, or even…

When I go for my daily run in the mornings I always carry a bottle of water in my hand. As I run around the periphery of Kaggadasapura Lake, my lungs heaving and me struggling on, I see several individuals joining me with similar bottles in hand.The bottles are intended for different purposes though: one to quench thirst and the other for open defecation. Unlike me, however, these individuals are not trying to attain the higher needs of life, such as running for fitness in the morning. They are here to fulfil the basic needs of a human being: answering…

Some Bengaluru-based startups are innovating on solutions to develop efficient batteries for electric vehicles or recycle used batteries to reduce the carbon footprint of these batteries.Electric vehicle adoption is increasing in India and in Karnataka. Key components of electric vehicles are lithium-ion batteries, which are currently mostly imported.Several of these companies claim that due to the paucity of organised markets for recycling and conventional methods, recycling of batteries remains a concern for the environment and public health. As the popularity of electric vehicles (EVs) grows in India, there are concerns about the environmental impacts of the waste they could leave…

SEC seeks to speed up BBMP polls The SEC (State Election Commission) filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the government to issue a fresh notification to fix the reservation for the BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) wards immediately. The SEC alleged to the courts that the state government is seeking three more months to issue a notification, so that it can delay the BBMP elections beyond May 2023. The Assembly polls are due before May, so if the election schedule is declared, then the BBMP elections would get postponed indefinitely. The hearing on the state application…

As we look forward to observing World Disability Day on December 3rd, it is pertinent to question whether Bengaluru is satisfactorily accessible, in terms of public spaces, buildings, mobility, public transport, for persons with disabilities or if there is a lot left to be desired. “The most difficult thing is accessibility to resources and information for people living with disabilities,” says Parinitha P, a resident of Bengaluru and a Person with Disability (PwD). Disabled-friendly infrastructure - only on paper The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPWDA) notified the Harmonised Guidelines and Space Standards for Barrier Free Built Environment for…

If you could time travel to the 1800s, how would Bengaluru's lakes and water channels look? This passage from the ‘Deccan Traverses’ by Dilip da Cunha and Anuradha Mathur gives us an idea. ‘The sugarcane and rice crops looked most flourishing in the low wet land under the great tanks, which have all the appearance of natural lakes. Many of these have been most skilfully constructed, giving proof that the natives knew something of engineering, long before English rule and public works were thought of.’ The passage, referring to Bellandur Bund, is from a letter written in 1868 by Mrs…

While Bengaluru's tree-lined streets are getting fewer and fewer, it is becoming evident that the concrete infrastructure has come at a price. Several reports have attested to the decreasing green cover in urban areas. According to the State of Forest Report 2021, only 3.91% of Karnataka's geographical area has tree cover. The data also revealed that between 2011 and 2021, Bengaluru lost almost 12.9 square kilometres of moderately dense forest. "Tree cutting is presented as inevitable or as a fait accompli for any road or metro project. More often than not, how the road should progress is decided first and…

In the first part of The Secret Life of Bengaluru’s Lakes, the history of the city’s lakes and how they are connected were explored. In the second part, the author looks at the future of lakes and how protecting lakes could improve our transit experience. Uses and Users of Lakes There is a lot more going on in our lakes today than we are aware of. Here is a short video that highlights some of the activities in some of our lakes. Read more: In pictures: Backyard birding at Kaikondrahalli and Kasavanahalli lakes The future of lakes Our relationship with…

Coldest November day in a decade The minimum temperature of 13.9 degrees celsius, on November 21st, was the lowest reported in November in a decade, said the IMD (India Meteorological Department). At HAL airport station the temperature was reported to be 12.5 degrees celsius, while at Bengaluru International Airport station, it was recorded to be 14.7 degrees celsius. The maximum temperature on November 21st was 25.2 degrees celsius. It was on November 21, 2012, that the temperature plummeted to 13.3 degrees celsius, but the all-time low record was 9.6 degrees celsius on November 15, 1967. Source: The Indian Express Read…