GENRE: Solutions

Do you have shoes that don’t fit anymore, books that are gathering dust, or clothes you no longer use? Do you want to get the stuff out of your house, but don’t want it to end up in the trash? Luckily, there are organisations in Bengaluru that can help you deal with just this. These organisations have passionate volunteers who collect donations, and ensure that these reach deserving people. This saves resources, and helps bridge the gap between surplus and shortage. You could also connect with these organisations, and become a volunteer yourself. Waste not, want not Goonj is an…

This February, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) published the Draft Bengaluru Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Policy. On inviting public suggestions and objections on the draft policy, BMRCL got just 32 responses. To put this number in perspective, Bengaluru’s total population is approximately 120 lakh, of which the working population is around 55 lakh (46 percent). Adding to this, the 5-19 age group which also needs to commute, would peg commuter numbers in the city at an estimated 77 lakhs (about 64 percent of the total population). But, only 28 lakh use public transportation. Obviously, the commuter numbers are…

Across Bengaluru, apartments have been popping up like mushrooms over the years. This poses several challenges to the city, including waste management. Though BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) has introduced many rules that require apartments to manage their own waste, not all apartments follow these. Some apartments face practical difficulties such as lack of space or the heavy investment needed to install a composting unit. The poor management of waste affects not just apartment residents, but all citizens. But the solution could be quite simple. Back in the olden days, people used to segregate and compost their wet waste - mainly…

A short walk in any part of Bengaluru will reveal that any available surface space has been turned into parking space for cars and motorcycles - be it footpaths, area by the curb along roads, or vacant plots. Last October, the head of Bengaluru Traffic Police warned that the iconic Cubbon Park in the heart of the city was turning into a parking lot. But motorists around the city invariably complain about the difficulty in finding space for parking. Does that mean enough parking space isn’t available? Proposal for paid parking This March, the Kumaraswamy government approved the Draft Management…

Bengaluru's waste problem is worsening by the day. According the to city's draft Master Plan (RMP 2031), over 10,500 tonnes of waste will be generated everyday within BBMP limits, by 2031. But each of us can easily reduce waste if we purchase consciously. This was the concept behind a flea market organised by the volunteer group Second to None, in collaboration with Citizen Matters, last Saturday. Second to None is an online community that helps connect citizens across Bengaluru to buy and sell used, recycled and upcycled products. They also organise flea markets where you can buy these products in…

Four months after the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) initiated serious action on waste reduction and management in the city, the civic body is beginning to see the results. According to statistics obtained from Chennai Corporation, the daily average of garbage collected in Chennai has fallen from 5098 Metric Tonnes (MT) in March to 4493 MT in June, a reduction of 605 MT. In other words, Chennai Corporation is stopping an average of 18000 MT of waste from reaching the already burdened landfills of Perungudi and Kodungaiyur every month. Roadmap to reduction Here are the five steps being followed by Chennai Corporation…

Everyone has a role to play in reducing the amount of waste Bengaluru generates. But when bigger entities like businesses commit themselves to the cause, the impact may be greater. Take Bengaluru’s teenage-led initiative to reduce water use in restaurants. Garvita Gulhati, a 19-year-old student, had started the 'Why Waste?' campaign in July 2015, calling on restaurants to only half-fill water glasses and to ask customers if they needed water at all. The campaign has reached out to over one lakh restaurants by partnering with organisations like the National Restaurant Association of India. 'Why Waste?' estimates they've saved two lakh…

Vishwanath Srikantaiah, popularly known as the 'Rainman', has been in the news recently for his ambitious project to build one million recharge wells in Bengaluru. Given the dire situation we find ourselves in vis-à-vis water, the initiative could not have come at a better time. While Vishwanath has been the face of this project, a tiny community has been helping with the groundwork - the Bovi community who are the traditional well-diggers of Bengaluru. Our guest on Citizens Live this week is Ramakrishna Bovi, who has been working with Vishwanath to recharge Bengaluru's groundwater. So why is this important? While…

Bengaluru has found a love for microbreweries that brew their own beer on small scales, thanks to the influx of well-traveled young tech workers. Known as the pub capital of India, the city now has an estimated 60-plus micro breweries. What you may not know, is the amount of water needed to brew a pint of beer in these craft breweries. On average, it takes seven litres of water to brew a litre of beer. That number becomes many times higher when you factor in the entire water footprint of beer, including water required to grow the grain and water…

It's a pleasant dawn in early June; however, 52-year-old Zareena is fidgety and keeps checking the time. It's just 6.30 am. Before long, a teenage boy opens a gate and hordes of people make their way through it to the massive well at Easwari Nagar of Zamin Pallavaram. In a firm voice, Muthu, the caretaker of the well asks people to follow the queue according to their token number. Zareena’s number is sixteen, which means she has to wait for all the fifteen members to get their share of water. The tokens are distributed on lottery basis every Sunday, and…