Pollution

KCDC plant located on the banks of Somasundarapalya lake in HSR Layout, is causing pollution much to the discomfort of residents. Pic: Anis Pandela A Facebook page created by a group of HSR Layout residents reads “Right to Breathe - Control KCDC from becoming life threatening.” This page aims at garnering public support for a protest that the residents have planned to stage in front of Karnataka Compost Development Corporation (KCDC) unit at Somasundarapalya on October 31st. Protests are not new for the residents of Somasundarapalya, Mangammanapalya and HSR Layout. They had staged at least three protests last year alone,…

The nightmare of our lakes is fast approaching. Yes, this is the time of year that every lake that has water in it would actually be wishing it was dry enough to turn away devotees of Lord Ganesha. Every year during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival, thousands of idols that do not dissolve/ with hazardous paint and paraphenalia (not environmentally friendly) find their way to lakes and immersion tanks, creating tons of garbage after the festival.   This year, in order to encourage people to use clay Ganesha idols, MAPSAS will be doing two events at Kaikondarahalli Lake on Sunday, 13th…

Ganesha Chaturthi is still several weeks away (in mid-September), but sales of Ganesha idols have already begun. If you are accustomed to one of those colourful idols of the lord that more often than not end up polluting our lakes and waterbodies, this year you can do it differently. Look out for an ecofriendly Ganesha - one that will dissolve easily in water, and without toxic paints and non-recyclable paraphernalia.   There are many places in Bangalore from where eco-Ganeshas can be ordered and bought. You can look up old collated lists on these links - 2013, 2014.  Ashwini Prasad,…

The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) is organising Parisara Habba on 5th and 6th June 2015, 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, at Sri Kanteerva Indoor Stadium (Rajaram Mohan Roy Rd). Look out for a stall on lakes at the event. World Environment Day (WED) is celebrated every year on the 5th June, and has become one of the main vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates positive action for the environment. Through WED, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) enables everyone to realise not only the responsibility to care for the Earth, but also reminds them about their individual power to become agents of change. Parisara Habba or “Festival…

PNLIT is delighted to announce that a long cherished dream of seeing our neighbourhood Puttenahalli Lake brim with water will soon be a reality! The Chairman, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, Dr. Vaman Acharya will be formally inaugurating the pipeline to supply surplus treated water from the Sewage Treatment Plant of South City apartments (Arekere Mico Layout) to the Puttenahalli Lake tomorrow, Sunday 17th May at 10:00 a.m.  After the pipeline was laid, a trial to check for any leakages was done earlier this month, and it seems that all is fine. We are truly grateful to the South City Management Committee…

SEZ project on Agara-Bellandur lake bed. Pic: Pavithra Ashok Kumar The National Green Tribunal (NGT) issued a historic judgment on May 7th, 2015, on the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) project by Mantri Tech Zone Pvt Ltd and another project by Core Mind Software and Services Ltd. Both the projects were being constructed on the catchment area of Agara and Bellandur lakes. The highlight of the verdict was the Tribunal slapping a penalty of Rs 117.35 crore and Rs 22.5 crore to Mantri and Core Mind respectively, for commencing the project before obtaining Environmental Clearance. The Tribunal has also formed an…

Smoke emanates from the garbage dumping site on an early morning. Pic: BWRCA's FB page Even after a month of the residents of Kadugodi near Whitefield writing a complaint to Karnataka Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) about the indiscriminate large scale burning of garbage in surrounding villages, the issue remains unsolved. Workers continue to burn low value plastic and other garbage in open fields at Khajisonenahalli, Seegehalli and Katamnallur Cross near Kadugodi on the outskirts of Bengaluru. Rampant burning of waste has become a cause of concern to the residents of the area who are forced to breathe polluted air and…

One of the major problems with Bangalore lakes is sewage inflow - either secretly or openly. The various citizen groups working to save their neighbourhood lakes have repeatedly approached BWSSB and KSPCB, the agencies in charge of handling Bangalore's sewage and monitoring pollution, but if recent feedback is an indication, the agencies do not care. Arakere Lake (in South Bangalore) rejuvenation work was started by BDA in Feb 2014 and supposed to be completed by Feb 2015. Arbind Gupta who is an active member of the Arekere Lake team ANIT says that while work is still in progress, no effort seems…

Licence for operating a sewage treatment plant can now be renewed once in five years. Pic: Satarupa Sen Bhattacharya Now, apartment management committees don’t have to trudge to the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) once in every two years, to renew their licence to operate sewage treatment plants (STPs). Industries have to renew their licence to operate only once in five years. This is the result of the KSPCB’s recent decision to eliminate extra paperwork and make the processes user-friendly. In a move perceived to be industry-friendly, the KSPCB has decided to extend the minimum consent period for operation…

Clean air is in short supply near Kadugodi area in Whitefield, where apartments and villas cost crores of rupees. Reason: indiscriminate burning of low value plastic in open fields. If you walk through the narrow road in Khajisonenahalli near Kadugodi in Northeast Bengaluru, you will be greeted with heaps of garbage and smoke emanating by the side of the road. Dry waste of all types, including plastic materials, clothes, mattresses, chappals is piled up, and a few workers were seen manually segregating waste, on the day this reporter visited the spot. Smoke emanates from the segregation site. Pic: Akshatha M…