Environment

How many times have you asked for directions in namma Bengaluru and ended up going in circles? Whether it's the roadside vendor or the autorickshaw driver taking you for a ride, we have all been in that spot, lost in a city that we have called home! Coming to your rescue, are location-based services on your mobile phone, the Internet or even maps for that matter. Have they made it easier to commute through this clogging city? Yes and no. With a population of over five million, Bangalore is a fast growing city. And in a city this big, finding…

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While most of us voice visible concern when trees are cut indiscriminately, what are we doing about trees crying out for help, as a result of sheer neglect and apathy ? Just look at these pictures*. The next time we have strong winds in the city or heavy rains, some of these trees will just snap horizontal and keel over. So let's not go overboard only about trees being cut. Let's look around for trees that have their days numbered. I don't know if official machinery can kick in here, but I'm sure we can look around in our own…

A wonderful bird is the pelican,His mouth can hold more than his belly can,He can hold in his beak,Enough food for a week!I'm damned if I know how the hell he can!- Dixon Lanier MerrittIf you have visited the Lalbagh lately, you would have seen a lot of people standing around the lake, cheering the presence of huge white birds or excited lens men clicking them. These magnificent birds are pelicans, one of the largest flying aquatic birds on the planet. Pelican at Hebbal Lake (pic: Saurabh Mittal) The pelican is known for its huge wing span and massive frame.…

The most awaited park of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagar Palike (BBMP), the Freedom Park, opened to the public in November 2008, even as a number of facilities inside are still not functional. This, over-20 acre park, built on the former Central Jail premises on Seshadri Road is mainly constructed for arranging rallies, dharnas and protests and, therefore, not affecting the flow of traffic on such occasions. Garden area inside Freedom Park ( pic: Architects Mathew and Ghosh )The Freedom Park, now a vital green lung space in fast-concretising Bengaluru, has a long history to it. The plans for the park…

Bangalore, one the fastest growing cities in India, has been known as the Garden City. The city boasts of congenial climate that birds thrive in. Three hundred or more varieties of birds have been identified around Bangalore and its peripheries. With exponential growth of the IT hub of India, the city has seen rapid changes and this has affected its bird population. Some birds have shifted their nesting areas, some have become mere visitors and some have found a place on the endangered species list. In this series on 'Birds of Bangalore', we will talk about some of the birds…

Vijay Cavale was lunching with his boss and a Chinese client at a 5 star restaurant in Bangalore when the conversation veered towards money and motivation. The Chinese contended that man would go to any lengths for money, and Vijay laughed. But the former threw a challenge at him: “The Chinese offered 10 dollars for every salute I made, standing at the door of the restaurant, to any person who walked through” says he. Vijay laughed at him, but the man kept increasing the stake, and when it came to 1000 dollars, Vijay actually started considering the possibility, he says:…

I've been taking a closer look at "No Smoking" signs in town from a designer's perspective. Yes, there is a need to be loud and clear - at least till the message sinks in, and people don't look for an ashtray the moment they walk into a restaurant. Sign at Coffee Day near Lavelle Road And if they are going to be big and bold, can't they be a little more interesting? Some of the signs I've seen are so bold, that they come close to rapping you on the knuckles. So, if you run a business that requires you…

In a Lok Adalat hearing on 19th November 2008, at the High Court of Karnataka, Justice K L Manjunath pointedly asked Yellapa Reddy, chairman of the committee overseeing Bengaluru’s road widening project to listen to the petitioners' complaints on widespread tree cutting. The Adalat took exception to Reddy’s standpoint which appeared to one of merely representing local government officials’ views instead of striking a balance between citizens and officials. As reported earlier in Citizen Matters, a writ petition was filed by NGOs Environment Support Group and CIVIC a few months ago against the tree cutting undertaken by the Bruhat Bangalore…

In the earlier parts of this series we have seen as to how in a layout context, the Resident Welfare Association (RWA) is the body that is aware of the issues that the residents face, can engage with the residents to identify appropriate solutions, can build consensus on issues/resolutions and enable the implementation of measures to ensure issue resolution. We have also discussed the relevance of Rainwater Harvesting (RWH) in the layout context, and dealt with FAQ’s on the same. In this article we will see how the RWA can play the role of a 'Resource Manager' for water, assuming…