Environment

I H Sekar, a fisherman and environmentalist living near Pallikaranai marsh land in Chennai, is awaiting judgement for a case he filed a year back, to protect the marsh from yet another encroachment. This is the third case that he has filed so far on the marsh. This time the encroachment has been by the government itself, to build an RTO office which will be a dump yard for vehicles. The Pallikaranai marsh used to be spread across 6000 hectares some 50 years back, but only 600-odd hectares remain now. It’s the biggest remaining wetland in Chennai, where destruction of…

Her enthusiasm for meeting people is equalled only by her indignation at the pathetic state of the infrastructure all over the city - the roads that get relaid without being milled, the storm water drains that are overflowing because someone let their sewage water into it, the bio-toilet that everyone pees around, but no one goes inside to their job, the lovely Besant nagar beach where everyone loves to stomp around but no one stops to give a thought to the teeming marine life in the sand... she can go on and on.. But no, she is not a pessimist,…

Bengaluru represents the future of many urban challenges and opportunities. The city is experiencing rapid economic growth, great inequality between rich and poor, and a limited capacity to secure an ecological support for the resource needs of the growing population. With these challenges in mind, I have focused my doctoral research on the question: What is the role of the residents in such a city? A well-known and defining challenge for Bangalore concerns water, both in terms of a drinkable supply and in safely disposing of the sewage produced. In a recent scientific paper published in Sustainability Science, “Against the…

Google Earth image from 2000 that shows a realistic view of elevation and valley in Kodichikkanahalli area. Recent actions by the government to clear the drainage encroachments in the IT city have proved to be a tough incident both for the administration and to the individuals. Though people getting their plans approved or Khata documents can be attributed to the dark side of the administration as well as of the individual dweller, there are certain genuine innocent cases that are heart-breaking. In the city considered to be IT capital of the country, where a normal cab driver reaches a completely…

I am here to apologize to all the Indians, the Kannadigas I’ve met in the last three weeks. Immediately upon meeting you, you either spoke to me in English, with the assumption that of course I wouldn’t be familiar with your language. Or, you asked if I spoke Hindi, and when you learned I didn’t, you jumped right into English with no apparent judgement. India, I am grateful for your linguistic abilities and I am sorry for my linguistic limitations.   I studied French for several years, but I am only fluent in English. Meanwhile, every single person I’ve met…

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2997308-Karuna-Order-Asp.html

On Saturday, 16-July-2016, Horamavu Parisara Abhivruddhi Samiti (HPAS) organised an intensive day-long lake cleaning and beautification event at the Horamavu Agara Kere. More than 100 people participated in the event. In addition to local residents, students from Mount Carmel College’s Eco Club enthusiastically joined in picking up litter strewn around the lake, segregating waste, removing weeds from the lake’s fence, levelling the ground where needed, planting tree saplings, and making the place aesthetically pleasing enough to dissuade people from littering and dirtying the place in future. This 50-acre lake in north-east Bengaluru has been a prime location for local residents to toss their…

“We were planning a trap for a tiger, waited for it and later realised that it was sitting atop a tree behind, watching us intently all the while.” You may think this is a wildlife expert recounting his experience in the deep jungles. Not exactly. Dr Sujay, a senior vet at Bannerghata Biological Park, popularly known as the Bannerghata Zoo, has some fascinating stories of the animals in his care. Bannerghatta zoo. Pic: Saravana Bharathi The Bannerghata National Park became an independent establishment in 2002. It includes the Zoo, Animal Safari, Butterfly Park and Rescue Center. The Bannerghata zoo is a popular weekend…

Pic: Shubha Ramachandran Often times we (BIOME) are asked to compare the prices of recharge wells quoted by various well diggers. After speaking with the clients, we realise that they maybe comparing apples to oranges. Apples to oranges – since the well is not a standardised product but requires and includes several components and activities. Each well digger has his own vision of the well and related costs. Hence this blog post will throw some light on the components and activites that go into the making of a recharge well. And here we are not speaking of quality of activities…