Environment

Here’s a video I took, of some remarkable ‘fishers’ that we are able to see, even in urban lakes such as Madiwala or Lalbagh, in the winter. These are Spot-billed Pelicans which are local travellers. There are some long-distance travellers, too. These are Bar-headed Geese landing at Hadinaru Kere, near Nanjangud, Karnataka, in August 2015; they come all the way from Mongolia! Here’s one, which was tagged in Mongolia (yes, I received a reply from the scientists there when I emailed them, it was quite a thrill). This winter, we had another lone, and surprise visitor. The Demoiselle Crane was a lone bird that I spotted in a lake…

For 11,595 lake encroachers in Bengaluru Urban and Rural districts, February 29th is the deadline. They can submit their grievances or objections in response to the notices served to them by revenue officials, on encroachment. Though this date may be extended for a few more days, not much time is left for those who wish to communicate their version to the committees headed by tahsildars of respective taluks. This also gives a chance to those who have information on encroachments to share it with the committee. A 11-member Committee of the Legislative Assembly headed by K B Koliwad, Ranebennur MLA…

Yelahanka United Environment Association (YUVA), along with BESCOM, is organising LED bulbs distribution at highly concessional rates at Allalasandra Lake in Yelahanka New Town, on Saturday 23rd Jan and Sunday 24th Jan 2016 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. LED bulbs of 9 watts will be sold at Rs 100 per bulb. The number of bulbs per person will be restricted. Please carry address proof/ ID proof to avail the offer. Carry bags will not be given, so please cary your own. Free replacement warranty for 3 years on every bulb.  

Hello all! After a two-week hiatus, I'm finally back at the old stand and churning out blogs again. I've had my pre-board exams for the past two weeks, so between studying for them and wishing I didn't have to, I've not had time for much else. However, the exams are finally over, so I can get back to blogging at regular intervals.  I'm sure many of you have been wondering what happened to the Thousand Smiling Faces project which I wrote about two weeks ago. The happy children with their paper crowns. Pic: Ritvik Mandyam I'm happy to report that…

Madiwala Lake will host the second Kere Habba of 2016 on 23rd Jan. The first Kere Habba was held earlier in January at Kaikondrahalli Lake and can be read about here. The schedule for the habba, starting at 7:00 a.m.,is as follows: 07:00 - Bird Watching07:30 - Yoga by the Lake08:00 - Cycling08:30 - Clay Modeling09:00 - Drawing/Sketching (only drawing sheets will be provided; participant to carry their own art materials)09:30 - Tree naming/Treasure Hunt10:00 - Local Craft10:30 - Talk by the LDA11:00 - Street Play For more details about Madiwala Kere Habba 2016, please contact: call 9845193233 | 9845073071 | 8861768806  email: madformadiwala@googlegroups.com | nbf@namma-bengaluru.orgfacebook: BetterB76 | nammabengalurufoundation It may be noted that…

  If the litter on Bangalore’s streets bothers you, here is your chance to do your bit towards a more beautiful Bangalore. During the Lal Bagh Flower show, litter reaches unimaginable proportions. Join a drive aimed at increasing awareness that litter must be thrown ONLY in dustbins, with the simple objective of reducing litterers on Bangalore’s roads, most of whom are unaware littering is not acceptable.  Some more details about where this initiative fits in: Our logo says it all! Our first drive towards making Bengaluru litter-free kicks off at Lal Bagh, Fri January 15th (clean-up: 2.30 pm to 6…

We regularly moan about the lost lakes of Bangalore and reminisce about how the city used to be, even as "official" agencies have been identified as major encroachers in the recently released Legislative Assembly Committee report (headed by Koliwadi). While many of the lakes that have been sacrificed to development cannot be got back, an all out effort should save the ones that remain. Like the effort at Munnekolala Lake.  One of the early posts on this blog in 2013 was about the restoration of Munnekolala Lake, that can be read here. More than two years on, it was a…

When three women - a flautist, a violinist and a vainika - got together to give a Carnatic concert a couple of years ago it was the beginning of a new journey. The venu-violin-veena concert team of Vani Manjunath, Prema Vivek and Shubha Santosh has been making waves in the Bangalore concert circuit. Here's what they shared about their team dynamics and musical journey. How was this idea of forming such a team conceived? How did it develop? The concept of forming an all-women concert team was the brain child of mridanga vidwan H.S.Sudhindra of Bengalooru. The motivation for this…

The first part of this series looked at how Bengaluru expanded it self over the years, and how it has affected urban flood scenario in the city. This part explores how the surface water bodies have diminished and its effect on the flood scenario of Bengaluru city. By now you would know that Majestic bus station was a lake once - Dharmambudhi lake. And that Bengaluru was a land of lakes once. What changed this, and why? In a city like Bengaluru, lakes assume special importance. They provide lung space, groundwater recharge, biodiversity and recreational activities like boating and fishing.…

Over the past few years, we've done many things to raise funds for PNLIT, and we've realised that fund-raising is quite a challenge. To a social-cause fund-raiser who may knock on your door, the most disheartening experience is when you express regret and shut the door. Donations apart, we have often found it difficult to get people to part with Rs 220 for a PNLIT calendar, or even Rs 30, in exchange for a PNLIT wristband.     However, there are many generous souls out there, generous both in terms of time and monetary support, who share our dreams, who believe…