Pollution

Once again it’s that time of the year when we are most prone to looking back and ahead at the same time. Taking stock of the year’s discourse on urbanisation in India, it is evident that some issues have consistently dominated the narrative and been on top of the minds of urban citizens in 2017. These are also issues that we need to sustain focus upon as we move into the new year, since they will continue to play an important role in determining the dynamics and direction of development in the country, and in particular in its cities. As…

Rarely ever would runners anywhere have looked forward to rain as fervently as in the Indian capital over the second week of November. In fact, runners across the country preparing to run the popular Airtel Delhi Half Marathon at the end of the week knew that it was only rain that could save the marquee event that many consider among their most favourite races in the country. In the end the rain gods did oblige, so that on November 19th, thousands of runners participated in the half marathon on what was perhaps the least polluted day in the city in…

Given the current scenario of increasing pollution in Indian cities, it’s quite likely that we shall soon have to breathe from canisters of clean air to avoid chronic respiratory issues. What we’ve been noticing in Delhi is clearly a man-made catastrophe. PM 2.5 levels are at an all-time high and almost 10 times those seen in Beijing. Citizens are seriously considering options to escape the toxic and unacceptably high levels of air pollution in Delhi. But as things stand, not everyone is lucky enough to be able to do so, the burden falling disproportionately on the poor. What is most…

The first ten days of November 2017 has seen a furious and unprecedented level of dialogue and mainstream-media conversation around the topic of air quality, specifically in and about the city of New Delhi. While the situation in the national capital is indeed dire, a large part of that conversation has been aided by citizens, journalists and community activism groups having access to scientifically validated real-time, hourly-updated data of the air quality levels in their neighborhoods and surrounding areas. The conversation around air quality levels for several years primarily involved scientists and researchers from leading Indian institutes and a few…

Bengaluru produces an estimated two lakh tonnes of e-waste annually. But 90% of this goes to landfills or scrap dealers who then sell it to illegal recyclers. bE-Responsible is an initiative for Environmentally Responsible Collection and Recycling of e- waste in Bangalore. We have launched a campaign is to encourage people to drop e-waste at collection points at Bangalore One centres. Twenty-three students of Christ College have volunteered for this drive. This initiative which was started in January 2017 has collected e-waste and reached out to around 40,000 individuals through our campaigns and outreach programs. What has been done thus far:  3…

Vikhyath Mondreti, a class 10 student from Greenwood High International School Bangalore, was part of the winning team in an innovation challenge conducted by the New York Academy of Sciences as part of their Junior Academy program. Through the course of 70 days, students formed virtual teams and worked with STEM (Science-Technology-Engineering-Math) professionals serving as expert mentors. There were 91 teams with participants from 51 countries out of which 3 teams were chosen as winners. These challenges were sponsored by major corporations such as ARM and PepsiCo. Vikhyath’s team won the Biodiversity category in which the participants were required to…

Every day, thousands of residential homes and apartment complexes across suburban Chennai, which are not connected to the underground drainage network of the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB), are at the mercy of the private sewage lorries which remove the sewage water from their septic tanks. The lorry-owners demand anywhere between Rs 750 - 1000 per tanker load. Not satisfied with this, and driven by the sole objective of maximising their profits, they illegally dump the entire raw sewage water from the lorries into open fields, lake beds and storm water drains. The capacity of a tanker…

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India has notified the E-waste [Management] Rules, 2016 which is effect from 01.10.2016. For implementation of these Rules, the Central Pollution Control Board has notified “implementation of guidelines for E-waste Management Rules, 2016”. The Board had issued authorization to 27 collection centers, 42 dismantlers, 24 recyclers and 14 recyclers/dismantlers. To review the implementation of E-waste (Management) Rules, 2016 in the state, meeting was conveyed by the Chairman of the Board on 12.6.2017. The representatives of the Central Pollution Control Board and the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change were…

The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) issued a notification in March 2016, mandating apartment complexes with 20 units or more, to install Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) and dual-piping with retrospective effect. The absurdity of the notification can be summarised with three ‘I’s – it is illegal, impractical and illogical! Tertiary STP. Pic: Vikas Brahmavar Why is it illegal? Firstly, all the enforcement authorities like Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) and Ministry of Environment have directed BWSSB to mandate new apartments with 50 units and more to implement STP with prospective effect. But…

Why are lakes in Bengaluru polluted? Who is accountable? Karnataka government has recently constituted Karnataka Lake Conservation and Development Authority (KLCDA) to oversee the lake conservation. But there are many agencies in the city that are supposed to handle specific issues related to pollution.  But there is a problem. With multiple bodies looking after different systems, there is no accountability for any of them. When the crisis hits, they blame each other and get away, while the lakes emit fire and froth. Here is an explanation of which agency is responsible for what problem, as far as a lake is…