PRESS RELEASE

With the surge in COVID cases, Karnataka government recently announced that asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic patients need not get admitted to hospitals and may only need to go into home isolation. On July 4, the Department of Health and Family Welfare issued guidelines on home isolation. Following are these guidelines, specifying which categories of patients are eligible, and the protocols for their isolation and release. The persons who have tested COVID positive shall be permitted to be in "home isolation" on meeting the following conditions: Only those who are asymptomatic or mild symptomatic shall be allowed to be in isolation…

Since the last few weeks, Bengalureans have been in a state of panic and confusion. COVID-positive patients are unsure where to go, those who are symptomatic are frantically trying to find a bed in case they get serious, while attenders of seriously-ill patients are desperately trying to find hospitals which will admit and treat emergencies. We, at the social welfare organisation Naavu Bharatheeyaru, demand an urgent meeting to see how best the government and civil society can work together to minimise the distress that people are currently facing.  In a letter to Chief Minsiter B S Yediyurappa, we have identified…

The clampdown on all non-essential activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a significant decline in air pollution levels in major cities across India. Researchers from Respirer Living Sciences and Carbon Copy have analysed average air quality during all four lockdown phases in India as well as concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3), and Benzene during individual phases for Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru, as part of their on-going National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) Tracker project to monitor the implementation of the NCAP. Four cities witness clean air From March 25 to…

Students from across educational institutions in the country have sent a comprehensive letter to the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) condemning the passing of the EIA Notification 2020, which, in its current form, they perceive as destructive for the ecology and the people of India. In an initiative spearheaded by an environmental group of Ashoka University (headed by Anjali Dalmia, 20, from Pune), these youth (aged 17-28) have requested that it be deferred, rewritten as per recommendations by experts, and released once health and survival are not a critical issue. Following is the complete draft of the…

Thousands of trees around Bengaluru will be cut for the road-widening project. Pic credit: APU report The Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL) proposes to start widening and construction of roads surrounding Bengaluru. Newspaper reports estimate that 8,561 trees will be cut over 152.03 km of road length, but official numbers have not been released. The project's public-available feasibility reports fail to provide information on its environmental or ecological impacts. In this context, we at Azim Premji University, conducted an independent rapid EIA (environmental impact assessment) of this road-widening project based on rapid field visits between February 29 and March 6.…

An analysis of air quality data has shown that air pollution (measured as PM2.5) was reduced by an average of 28% in Bengaluru during COVID-19 lockdown. The analysis was done by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), using data collected by Bengaluru’s Healthy Air Coalition. Additional analysis of satellite data confirms this downward trend. The Healthy Air Coalition had set up a network of 30 air quality monitors across the city (in places frequented by groups most at risk from air pollution) to provide publicly-accessible data on air pollution. The Coalition has spent 12 months collecting data…

In the first two weeks of May, a survey of over 2500 domestic workers in Bengaluru was conducted by us at Domestic Workers Rights Union (DWRU), Bruhat Bangalore Gruhakarmika Sangha (BBGS), and Manegelasa Kaarmikara Union. Some of the most startling findings from the survey are below: 2084 (about 87%) of the workers were told not to come for work since the lockdown in March, and were not sure if and when they would be called to work again. 341 workers in the areas surveyed by BBGS, and 150 workers in the areas surveyed by Manegelasa Kaarmikara Union, lost their jobs entirely…

The Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs has recommended holistic planning for pedestrian friendly market spaces in various cities and municipal areas in the country in consultation with stake holders. The advisory issued by Shri Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to all states/cities/municipal corporations has also suggested the million plus cities to select at least three market places for pedestrianisation & non-million plus cities to select at least one market area for pedestrianisation in market places. The following steps have been suggested for adopting pedestrianisation in market places 1. Selection of Market Location – Million Plus…

A report titled ‘Choking in the Garden City’ released by Sensing Local and Healthy Energy Initiative India, has analysed 24-hour air samples of PM 2.5 from different parts of the city. The authors of the report highlight that the main objective of the study was to understand the source contributors to air pollution at a local level, how they differ from one place to another based on land use, road hierarchies and other variables, and to highlight health effects due to specific elements present in the air.  Apart from PM 2.5, elevated levels of heavy metals such as manganese, nickel,…

Women workers will be among those worst-affected by the Karnataka government’s notification that allows factories to increase work hours to 10 per day, or 60 per week. In a survey conducted jointly by us at the Alternative Law  Forum and the Garments Mahila Karmikara Munnade between May 16 and 18, 65% of workers said they won't and can't work for longer hours. Given that an overwhelming segment of the workforce in garment industries are women, extending their work hours will likely result in thousands of women dropping out of the workforce or being asked to leave if they can't work…