Blogs

Bellandur Buzz… Issue #11June 5th 2014 Shared fortnightly by the citizen group bellandur-forum@googlegroups.comKaikondrahalli Lake apporach road spotfix with The Ugly IndianThe main entrance of Kaikondrahalli lake used to be a mess of stagnating water, trash and construction debris dumped on the footpath and at the corner of the street. But no more! A bunch of residents with their kids descended quietly at the lake on a bright saturday morning. Greater part of the morning was spent in clearing trash, levelling mounds of dirt and painting the sidewalk. Monsieur dirt was vanqushed and Madame filth was cleared, leaving the volunteers drained…

I found three street vendors selling honey "fresh from the hive"....they had large pieces of the hive on their two-wheelers, and promised to filter the "honey" through and put it in old mineral water bottles for those who wanted to buy it. The rate quoted was Rs.300 per kilo.     I took a taste of the honey, and it was suspiciously like jaggery syrup. I realized that these vendors were probably pouring the jaggery syrup over the hives and then selling it as "fresh" honey. Beware of such street vendors. Buy your honey from accredited outlets or buy good…

On the occasion of World Environment Day, United Way of Bengaluru along with the Uttarahalli Magakere Walkers' Association and BBMP is organising a Tree Planting Drive at Uttarahalli Lake on Thursday, June 5, 2014 between 9:30am and 12:30pm. Uttarahalli Lake in South Bangalore is spread over about 15 acres, and is being maintained by United Way of Bengaluru, with the support of local groups and corporates. More about the efforts at Uttarahalli Lake can be found here.   300 saplings will be planted at the lake by about 200 corporate volunteers and several community members. Ingersoll Rand, which has been supporting…

5th June is celebrated as World Environment Day every year.   This year, the trust MAPSAS (Mahadevapura Parisara Samrakshane Mattu Abhivrudhi Samiti, working at several lakes in East Bangalore) along with Say Trees, will be planting more than 400 indigenous tree saplings at Kasavanahalli Lake. Approval of the BBMP who is the custodian of the lake has been received.   Kasavanahalli Lake, Haralur, is about 22 acres, and is the first lake upstream of Kaikondrahalli Lake, off Sarjapur Road.     About 100-120 volunteers from four corporates (3M, AIG, EMC, San Engineering) are expected. Members of the public are invited to volunteer…

  When I returned from Delhi by the Karnataka Exp (train no. 12628) on the 30th of May, 2014, I left behind the cordless headset that I use for my laptop, packed in a brown cardboard box, probably between the bedsheets on my berth (Bogey H-1, Coupe "G", Berth21, A/C 1st Class). I realized this only when I was unpacking at home, and after wasting a little time trying to locate a number where I could file a report, I went back to the City Railway Station. Mr Manjunath, the Addl Station Manager, was quite helpful, and directed me to…

Placemaking is an approach to the design and management of public spaces that draws upon the strengths and aspirations of the local community. Whereas ‘space’ is a physical entity, a ‘place’ is imbued with memories and evolves as people interact with each other socially and culturally in the public realm. It is a term that Architects and Urban Planners in the western countries began to use in the 1970s to describe the process of creating parks, plazas and streets that could attract people. In India, the street was already a vibrant place with a family celebrating a wedding; the temple deities…

Join your fellow citizens of India at "India Clean Sweep, 8 June 2014" at Yelahanka Puttenahalli Lake. 'India Clean Sweep' is an initiative by Chennai Trekking Club, to save our waters and other natural spaces from garbage and plastic. In association with Yelahanka Puttenahalli Lake and Bird Conservation Trust, Citizens Forum Yelahanka New Town, Prayukti and The Hindu, the event in Yelahanka is intended to to drive home a strong message to save our natural inheritance. For more details, contact Balaji Mohan +91 8123262526 / Rakshit +91 9916173814.  

It was very nice indeed to use the new escalator in use at the City Railway Station, yesterday. This escalator is on the side opposite the underground passage, and takes visitors up to the overbridge spanning all the platforms.   Several escalators are also under construction at some of the platforms. Though large pieces of luggage cannot be taken on them, strolleys and smaller bags can be comfortably taken. This will ease the lot of several visitors and passengers at the station.   There are also lifts at the underground passage area, but at least one of them was not…

Over the last ten days, there has been much excitement among the residents of the Lower Ambalipura Lake area. This 7-acre water body, off Sarjarpur Main Road, is home to several species of birds through the year, but Painted Storks, one of Bangalore's water birds, have been only ocassionally spotted here, singly or in pairs. A Painted Stork at Lower Ambalipura Lake, March 2014, Pic: Sacha Greenwood On 22nd May, five Painted Storks were spotted together. Five Painted Storks at Lower Ambalipura Lake, 22nd May 2014, Pic: Rajesh Rao It didn't take long for the good word to spread (regarding the…

The past 4 days (from Saturday onward) have seen a disruption in the services of HasiruDala, owing to another protest at Karnataka Composting Development Corporation, KCDC (our destination for wet waste). The city is in strife, with the order to close the Mandur landfill site, and internal challenges at KCDC. The KCDC muddle has resulted in the waste smelling in the wee hours of morning and night, and is causing hassles for the peripheral residents. However, the only possible way out is in improving the systems at KCDC, and this is being pushed for in every possible manner. In the…