Environment

Can't find a clean public toilet? Consider using a vacant plot. Civic sense? What on earth is that?  Vacant plots in our city are considered as nothing but garbage dump yards.  And if they are under litigation, they are ignored by the concerned parties for obvious reasons. The civic authorities don’t seem to care, and irresponsible citizens and commercial establishments like hotels and pubs begin disposing their waste in these sites in the wee hours of the night or early mornings; sometimes even in broad daylight. This empty plot has become a garbage dump over the years. Pic: Praveen S…

Inviting nature lovers to plant 300 saplings at Kasavanahalli Lake.  This is the fourteenth lake where SayTrees will be doing tree plantation. Join this vibrant tree-planting group in its effort to increase the green cover of Bangalore and also save our lakes.  Date : 21st November 2015 Time : 8:30 A.M. Venue : Kasavanahalli Lake, Harlur Road Contact : Durgesh @ 9008659007   Please register at: http://bit.ly/1WYZNx1    

Update from People's Campaign for Right to Water-Karnataka <cawpka@gmail.com> 24th Nov 2015 The National Law School of India University & The People’s campaign for Right to Water invites you to a brain storming on   EVOLVING ROBUST LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE SAFEGUARDS FOR SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF WATER BODIES  10 AM to 1 PM 26 November 2015at the National Law School of India University, Nagarbhavi Bangalore The discussants includeShri. Ranjan Chatterjee IAS, Expert Member of National Green TribunalProf. Ramesh, NLSIUProf. Sairam Bhat, NLSIUShri. Ramacharya Puranik, Deputy Director, LDAShri. Rajendran Prabhakar, PCRW – Karnataka The brain storming is being held to collectively and urgently address the issue of the…

Temperature is dipping down to 16 degrees. Gone are the days when the sun scorched at 40 degrees - 22 degree is the hottest part of the day now. The weather almost makes it feel like old-time Bangalore. Gloomy sky. Drizzles throughout the day and night. Heavy downpour by the time you leave office. Water logs, traffic jams. This is the typical rainy season in Bengaluru, though rains gave us a miss during the South West monsoon in May - June. This November, the incessant rain that soaked Bengalureans has broken the all-time record. As on November 19th morning, the…

The wise woman at Lalbagh. Pic: Ashok Kumar S This happened one sunny Saturday afternoon in Lalbagh. It was all green everywhere. Trees swayed all around me, a gentle breeze blew, birds chirped, squirrels ran down trees and grasshoppers hopped on the green grass. I saw an old woman squatting down on a less-walked road in the park, plastic cover in hand, looking down at something. At first, I thought she was picking up tamarind, as there are a number of tamarind trees in the garden. I tilted my head and looked above to check if there was a tamarind…

A couple of weeks ago, towards the end of October 2015, many concerned residents started observing raw sewage entering Ibbluru park at Sarjapura Road - ORR Ibbluru junction. It was not clear what was driving this. There had been unseasonal rains prior to this too, but it had not led to any adverse effects on the park. What triggered this destructive course of events? To understand it better, it is necessary to understand the chain of events that took place in the last five years. Local residents fondly recollect, seeing a beautiful quiet lake at Ibbluru up until 2009 -…

I had been on the fence with menstrual cups for a few months and felt like a failure every time the time of the month arrived. But at last, I’ve been able to make the switch. And I’m so proud. :) Menstrual cups: an eco-friendly alternative for sustainable mentruation. Pic: Frank Krueger, Wikimedia Commons* There’s a growing mountain of menstrual waste, which is toxic for our environment. It was something I was contributing to every month in a major way and I hated that. It didn't help that none of the people I know use reusable cloth pads or menstrual…

Heap of plastic burnt at one of the illegal garbage burning sites in Seegehalli. Pic: BWRCA's FB page The State Ministry of Forest, Environment and Ecology has invited objections / suggestions from public on the draft notification for plastic ban in the State. The government issued draft notifications on October 28 that seeks to ban various plastic based products. The draft notification proposes to prohibit the manufacture, supply, store, transport, sale and distribution of plastic carry bags, banners, buntings, flex, plastic plates, plastic cups and plastic sheets, irrespective of thickness. However, the draft notification gives exemption to manufacturing plastic carry…

Smart technology can only be as smart as the people who use it, otherwise it only ends up as another fancy gadget in the house! As S Vishwanath, a water expert says, Smart cities is the mantra of our times with a 100 slated to roll out in India. Ideological debates rage over how to define ‘smart’ and whether technology is what makes for ‘smart.’ Barring the debate, a peculiar way though would be to say that smart people make smart cities. And technology can indeed play an important role to aid people in making ‘smart’ informed decisions, especially about responsible…

A snapshot from the rally. Pic: Beedhi Vyaparigala Okkuta Two hundred street vendors of HSR Layout Street Vendors’ Union and representatives of the Bruhat Bengaluru Beedi Vyapari Sanghatanegala Okkuta (A Federation of Street Vendor Unions in Bangalore) took part in a rally in HSR Layout to raise awareness on waste management and proper disposal of waste. The ‘Swacchata Andolana’ was an initiative of the Union and the Federation (with support from the BBMP). In addition to disbursing material on waste management awareness, they are cleared three blackspots in the area, i.e. a garbage dump on 27th main, one at Agara…