CITIZEN JOURNALISM

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…

This road is one where construction has no end. Governments after governments keep on adding projects on this road, thus forcing the road to never-ending construction works. For example, now,  the Government of Karnataka has announced an Elevated Light Rail System connecting JP Nagar to Hebbal. There is also a plan to build an elevated light rail line from Magadi Road Toll Gate to Peripheral Ring Road as part of this project. The execution of this project could take some time given that the construction of the signal free corridor is still underway on the stretch between JP Nagar and…

Anyone who has been following the campaign for suburban rails in Bengaluru would know that Government of Karnataka’s (GOK) proposal for implementing a suburban rail system in Bengaluru is pending since 2013. Meanwhile, recently, Indian Railways has circulated a draft policy on Suburban Rail System to all the state governments. In last three years, we have seen three railway ministers, out of which two were from Karnataka - Mallikarjun Kharge and D V Sadananda Gowda. Including the present railway minister,  Suresh Prabhu, all had agreed that suburban rail is an important project for solving some of the Bengaluru traffic issues.…

In the last week of September, residents of BCCHS Layout, close to Kanakapura road in Bengaluru, noticed illegal dumping of garbage by unknown people on BDA land and Gomala land, while on their way to Chamundeswari Temple at Hurakalu Gudda very close to the Anjanapura BDA Layout, II Block at Lal Bahadur Shastrinagar. They soon found out that the dumping had been systematic: for several years on end, garbage had been dumped at these sites and covered with debris, while the neighbourhood assumed that the land was being levelled by its owner. Over time, as the stench got unbearable, residents…

Citizens for Bengaluru, the collective that led the #SteelFlyoverBeda requests all Bengalureans to join the rail yatra from Cantonment to Whitefield on Saturday at 9AM to create awareness about local trains and demand Government to prioritise the suburban rail system that has been pending for decades. Prakash Belawadi, member of CfB said: "Bengaluru is over-polluted and unless we act now we will lose our city. Traffic is our biggest concern and mass public transport has to be the top priority and not flyovers. We request the presence of all city legislators, MLAs, MPs, Corporators to join us in the rail…

This is a story of how a 140-family community became waste-sensitive and is continuing to be so. Sobha Quartz is a residential apartment complex in Bellandur, Bengaluru. I live here. ‘KasaMuktha Bellandur’, a citizen initiative for solid waste management, has made all the changes possible here. Mine is a very responsible community of 140 families, who follow the 2Bin1Bag method of segregation. Door-to-door campaigning have helped us help convince defaulting residents to segregate and monitor the compliance of community members. We send regular emails and updates to keep up their motivation and interest. Our team consists of passionate and like-minded women and men (many include working professionals) who are trying to make…

A moth that looks like a tiny bird! India does not have Hummingbirds, those tiny creatures of the light and air that so delight those living or visiting abroad, especially the western coast of America. Our smallest birds are our Sunbirds and Flowerpeckers. However, even in urban gardens, one may find oneself looking at something that seems remarkably like a Hummingbird, and yet seems different. In India, this probably means that one is looking at a Hummingbird Hawk Moth! The scientific name for this small creature is Macroglossum stellatarum. They belong to the family called “Sphingidae”. Pic: Deepa Mohan In…

“I want to make Chennai the Detroit of Asia.” That is what the late Jayalalithaa told me during an interview in the 1990s during her first term as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Chennai (or Madras as it was then) had already had a history of automobile industry, with the presence of Standard Motors in the suburb of Perungalathur and Hindustan Motors in nearby Thiruvallur. Of course, at the time that she made her assertion, Standard Motors was already dead, but Hindustan Motors, the makers of the old warhorse Ambassador cars, was still alive and kicking. So were Ashok…

One of the very beautiful tiny insects that will often catch your attention is a needle-like creature that you see close to the edge of ponds and lakes, which seem to float magically in the air before settling, lightly, on a blade of grass. This slelnder, exquisite creature is the Damselfly. Damselflies, like Dragonflies, belong to the order Odonata, and are technically called Odonates. If you are interested in a more detailed name, they belong to the sub-order called Zygoptera. How does one distinguish between Dragonflies and Damselflies? The former have their wings open at right angles to their bodies…

Bengaluru's bruhath problem with sewage is notoriously well known, with pictures of foaming lakes and fish kills attracting global media attention. But what is less well known is the fact that this city has the highest number of apartment-scale sewage treatment plants (STPs) in the country. With over 2000 small-scale STPs housed in apartment complexes alone, along with an equally substantial number in commercial complexes, Bengaluru could well be called the 'city of STPs'. The primary driver of this ‘revolution’ of small-scale STPs in the city is the 2004 KSPCB order mandating all new residential complexes with more than 50…