JP Nagar

Metro Phase II work takes off, with KIADB starting the land acquisition process. File pic. Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board  (KIADB) conducted the first hearing for the owners of properties to be acquired for alignment of Metro Phase II on 4 September, 2013. The properties notified were for Ragigudda and Silk Board stations, on RV Road- Bommasandra line. Metro is all geared up to start the Phase-II work by January 2014. To achieve this target, the process of identification of properties was already initiated by KIADB officers deputed to the Metro, in the last few weeks. In the first hearing,…

Bhargavi Rao addresses the gathering on Puttenahalli lake premises. Pic: Nikita Malusare. Cracked footpaths; unattended garbage on the street; destruction of roads due to delayed Metro work; high water prices - all these have left Bangalore in chaos. With the sun peeking out from clouds every few seconds and cold wind sending shrivels in the body, many Bangaloreans joined the discussion on Puttenahalli Lake premises, on the issues that concern a Bangalorean, but are ignored as the city tries to catch up with development.   Born and brought up amid the greenery of Bangalore, Bhargavi S Rao, Trustee, Environment Support…

If we think that with fencing the lake area to prevent further encroachment, planting trees and bushes and nurturing them, eliminating sewage, and getting more rain water into the lake, we have saved the lake, we're in for a surprise. That is just the beginning!     It was last August when a gentle green carpet started spreading itself over the dormant waters of Puttenahalli Lake. PNLIT trustees brought this to the notice of a few experts who said it could be a form of algae, and that the best way to get rid of it was to get more clean water…

Without much fanfare but certainly with a great deal of hope today afternoon we released the Salvinia weevil in two spots at the lake still infested with Salvinia Molesta. Salvinia weevils from Thrissur Releasing the weevils, 3rd June 2013 From the time Dr. Subramanya, UAS, Bangalore identified it last September, this invasive fern has been the bane of our lake. When the water level receded to mere puddles, the Salvinia began to dry in large tracts. We got it removed manually through BBMP's workers. Very many resident volunteers living around the lake pitched in strongly on several weekends. When it seemed…

The heavy rains on 31st May - 1st June helped raise the water level in several parts of Puttenahalli Lake by upto about 16 inches. With this about 65-75% of the lake bed is under water. We're waiting for a few more similar downpours to bring the level higher.  The Lake, 1st June 2013 (Pic: Usha Rajagopalan)The rains also cooled the place making the gardening weekend thoroughly enjoyable for all the volunteers. Over the two mornings, starting at 7 a.m., about 50 people coming from various parts of the city, helped in digging pits, planting shrubs, cleaning (plastics and other litter)…

Several of the visitors to the lake, have marveled at how the level has gone up in just two or three days of pre-monsoon showers. The reason of course is that the rain has been heavy this year and more because, for the first time, some of the surface run off from the Brigade Millennium road is getting diverted into the lake through the new conduit. The story doesn't end here.Visitors would have seen the enormous iron frame that was getting assembled on the ground between the security cabin and the gazebo. Thick iron rods have been placed over the…

The Managing Director of BESCOM, Mr Manivannan, has been spearheading a movement on FaceBook, to bring various facets of this hitherto opaque Government organization to the public. Various initiatives have been launched, and the latest is his attempt to describe how electricity makes it into our homes from where it is generated. Here is the process, in his own words: HOW does electricity, generated at the Raichur Thermal Power Plant (RTPS) come to your home in Bangalore? It's interesting and important to know how electricity reaches your home. It may explain you why the supply is cut off at times,…

Based on a total station survey done by Enzen Global in Aug. 2011, PNLIT got the BBMP to install a  new diversion channel (DC) to harvest surface run off from the Brigade Millennium road into the lake. After some unavoidable delays, complicated government procedures, worker issues, etc. the major DC was finally completed a month ago.The intermittent drizzle over the past couple of weeks indicated that the DC could work but we were not sure just how well it would till the downpour last night. Glimpses of the lake lit by lightning last night were exciting, raising our hope that…

My friend Sravana Dasary posted this: That's a great way to document the fact that her family's voted! Each of us needs to vote, to take an active part in our own governance...to ensure that the nasties and the goons don't reign over us. So...what does YOUR finger say? Have you voted? I hope you have! ⊕

People who participate in community gardening have a significantly lower body mass index (BMI), as well as lower odds of being overweight, than their non-gardening neighbours and siblings. This is according to a study by Dr Cathleen Zick (Professor of Family and Consumer Studies) and her colleagues from the University of Utah, USA, published on April 18, 2013 in the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH). The study concluded that "Community gardens may be a valuable element of land use diversity that merits consideration by public health officials who want to identify neighborhood features that promote health." More details of…