PRESS RELEASE

Are you fed up with buying plastic-laden things and looking to change? Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group (CAG), an NGO based in Chennai, will shortly be launching an app, Go Zero Waste, that seeks to list shops across Tamil Nadu and even India, where you can shop plastic-free. This app will serve as a resource for those citizens keen to break free from the convention and habit of using plastic, and help them find local shops that avoid plastic packaging.  As the first step to sharing this invaluable resource, CAG is crowdsourcing information on the shops through this form…

The school education department has announced that September 1 could be the tentative date when schools reopen across Tamil Nadu. Following this, the Department of Public Health has issued a set of detailed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for school reopening, covering the various precautions and safety measures to be taken by school to prevent spread of COVID-19. General guidelines for school reopening SoPs along with IEC materials to be shared to school management.Sanitizers/soap with water to be made available by the concerned authorities .Schools (Government,Government aided and Private) have to open the campuses in phases, with such activities where they can easily adhere to social…

For the fourth year in a row, air quality across Chennai City has been consistently poor, said researchers at Healthy Energy Initiative (India). On average, 24-hour samples collected from 20 locations across Chennai City in February-March 2021 exceeded the Indian 24-hour National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for PM2.5 of 60 µg/m3 by 1.1 to 3.8 times. This study analysed the 24-hr air samples heavy metals in addition to for PM2.5. Locations sampled for the study included neighbourhoods that are industrial, commercial and residential in nature. The results of the study indicate that there is a need for the Chennai Corporation…

International Forum for Environment, Sustainability and Technology (iFOREST), has released two reports on baseline studies of solid and plastic waste in Haridwar and Rishikesh. Both of these are Ganga cities, and understanding their waste generation and management practices are significant for Ganga rejuvenation. At the same time, the Delhi-based environmental organization, has come out with an India-specific methodology for developing solid and plastic waste inventory for Indian cities. Presenting the city reports, Chandra Bhushan, CEO of iFOREST said “One of the major challenges we faced was absence of any specific methodology to develop an inventory. This study provided us an…

A new report from Greenpeace India reveals that a year after initial nationwide lockdowns due to Covid-19, NO2 (Nitrogen Dioxide ) pollution has increased in all eight most populous state capitals studied highlighting worsening air quality. Among Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Jaipur and Lucknow, Delhi saw the most dramatic increase between April 2020 and April 2021. Chennai stood at second position with an increase of 94% between April 2020 and April 2021. NO2 in Chennai NO2 is a dangerous air pollutant that is released when fuel is burned, as in most motor vehicles, power generation, and industrial processes.…

Monsoons are here and who doesn’t have happy memories of the fragrance of the first rain bringing along with it the much-needed relief from the weary heat of the Bengaluru summer. But then, along with memories, rains also bring inconveniences like localised flooding in urban areas and increased commute time!  In recent years, we see many Bengalureans struggling to access water during the summers. And one wonders where all the excess water from the rains disappeared.  Data shows that Bengaluru typically receives the highest rains in the months of August, September, and October. With August not too far away, now…

On May 20, Karnataka government announced COVID lockdown relief of Rs 2,000 for domestic workers under its Seva Sindhu scheme. But due to the tedious application process, only a tiny fraction of workers have been able to even apply online for the relief. As per a report in the Times of India, Karnataka is estimated to have 10 lakh domestic workers, but as of June 23, only 1.4 lakh of them had applied on the Seva Sindhu portal. There were only 23,552 applications from Bengaluru Urban district. To apply, domestic workers had to upload their passport size photo, BPL ration…

What are the many types of birds, animals and insects that you can see in Bengaluru? What are those beautiful trees, shrubs or weeds that grow here? And oh, those flowers that bloom in our neighbourhood parks and avenue trees!  From the beautiful bee-eater to the humble purslane, there are many captivating life forms to spot and admire just outside our own homes! White Cheeked Barbet. Pic: Deepa Mohan Citizen Matters is organising a contest on “Biodiversity in my Backyard”, in partnership with Mongabay India, an environment and conservation magazine, and apartment management software platform ADDA. We invite students of grades 9-12 residing…

Solid waste management is the gordian knot of urban issues deeply embedded in the larger contexts of consumerism, informal livelihoods, urban ecology, public health, and the political economy of urban development. The question of managing urban waste involves legal, political, economic and social challenges spanning urban infrastructure, technical and human capacities, workers’ safety and welfare, cooperation with local government and citizens, planning, public health, climate change preparedness and sustainable development. Vidhi’s documentary ‘Garbage Matters’ highlights the mounting problem of disposal of municipal waste in Delhi, the implementation of Solid Waste Management Rules 2016, and various judicial interventions on the issue.…

In 2018, the NGO Bangalore Environment Trust (BET) filed a PIL (WP 17841 of 2018) in the High Court of Karnataka, considering the city’s deteriorating green cover. The PIL sought to implement the provisions of the Karnataka Preservation of Trees Act 1976 (‘Trees Act’). This article is a brief summary of the current status of the PIL. The petitioners’ prayers to the court were as follows: The Tree authority and the Tree Officer should do their duties diligently as per Tree Act.A comprehensive Tree Census should be carried out.A public notice should be issued when the Tree Officer gets an…