Environment

In quite a few of my previous blogs (I don’t remember if those blogs were here or at Funny Side Up), I’ve referred to conversations with auto and cab drivers. Generally, these have been in the context of something entirely unrelated, and I’ve only mentioned them to illustrate a point. Of late, though, I’ve come to realize that having conversations with the chap conveying me from point A to point B (or, should the need arise, points C and D as well) is quite a lot of fun. I’ve been talking to drivers for quite a while. Our old driver…

In July 2005, when 900 mm of monsoonal rains hammered Mumbai for a 24-hour period and wreaked havoc on the city’s infrastructure and housing, political leaders in Karnataka reassured us that Bengaluru was immune to flooding given its inland location some 3,000 ft above sea-level on the Deccan Plateau. Those assurances proved foolhardy. In October that year, over half of Bengaluru’s road network was inundated and thousands of homes and commercial establishments damaged following four days of unusually strong monsoonal rainfall. Floods in Bengaluru during October 2005, in Bommanahalli area. Pic: Champaka Rajagopal Ten years later, Chennai continues to reel…

Our Puttenahalli lake is a little world in itself, of the best kind because it includes birds, butterflies, trees, flowers and more. Showcasing these is our calendar for the new year, "Life at Puttenahalli Lake."  Take a sneak peek at the gorgeous photos taken by experienced photographers who are also from our neighbourhood. Each of these photos shows the miracle that is Nature. We are printing a limited number of copies. If you would like to have a copy or two, or more, please place your order in advance.    Calendar details Format - Desk top  Size - 5.7" x…

Smitha, a resident of Malleshwaram, has put her wet and dry waste together in the plastic as usual near the gate. After a while, the calling bell rings. She opens the door to see the garbage autowallah who takes away the waste silently everyday. Today is however different. He tells her, “Amma, please segregate waste, don’t put wet and dry waste together. We have been instructed to tell people this, and there will be fine if you put mixed waste together.” Everyday he does the segregation himself using his own hands, but hereafter it is the residents themselves who have…

People find it easy and cheap to use plastic carry bags. Pic: Shree D N Smitha is a homemaker in Malleshwaram, Bengaluru. Every time her husband gets vegetables from the market in lightweight white plastic carry bag, she saves it carefully. Everyday she puts one such plastic carry bag into the wastebin in her kitchen. She ties the carry bag with the wet and dry waste neatly and puts it for disposal everyday, for the BBMP garbage auto to take it away. Smitha doesn’t care about what happens to this carry bag later—that it might end up in an animal’s stomach…

Wildlife surrounds us, and one doesn’t have to go anywhere except to the nearest patch of greenery to observe it. Last week, I’d been to Lalbagh, and observed the wonder of the Weaver Ants . The scientific name for these ants (not that we need to bother much about it!) is Oecophylla. Weaver ants, especially the worker ants, make their nests by creating an 'ant-silk'... Workers construct nests by weaving together leaves using larvalsilk. But this time, it was unusual to see the ants covering the fruit of the Soursop tree (Annona muricata) for their nests! Perhaps the ants were finding…

The excitement around the upcoming Bangalore Literary Festival has been marred by controversy. Writers threatening to boycott the festival and founding director Vikram Sampath stepping down has raised many questions in the minds of Bangaloreans. The good news first. Thanks to social media, citizens across the country are weighing in with their opinions on a variety of issues. The bad news is the tone and tenor of many of these discussions leaves much to be desired. Ironically, many commenters have been intolerant in the ongoing debate about intolerance in our nation. Some of this has coloured the discussion around the…

The ‘I Change Indiranagar’ initiative has been formed by the residents to raise a collective voice against various issues plaguing Indiranagar, issues that have converted Indiranagar from a peaceful neighbourhood to an uncontrolled illegal commercial area, flowing with sewage and garbage strewn. We wish to invite you to a peaceful protest against encroachment of a public playground. The background of the issue can be read here: Public playground in Indira Nagar converted to private cricket camp? A peaceful demonstration has been planned by the residents of Indiranagar 1st Stage to reclaim the playground on November 28th 3.30 pm at the playground. We…

Whenever there is a thought about banning plastic, the solution offered is to recycle the waste. But, to what extent can the plastic be recycled and reused? What happens to the plastic that is recycled for the tenth time and cannot be recycled again? Is there a solution at sight? Yes, solutions are not too hard to practice. There are a few people to prove this. First is the story of Khan brothers. In 1996, when there was a growing demand for the ban on plastic carry bags in Karnataka, two plastic manufacturers from Bengaluru—Rasool Khan and Ahmed Khan—began to…

BBMP Council on 25 February 2015, suo moto, passed a resolution,  wherein Startling Line Sports were granted permission ONLY to develop a cricket pitch in the BBMP playground located in Indiranagar 1st Stage, at their expense; for free usage of general public and students of nearby schools and colleges. There was no mention of subsequent maintenance of the playground in the resolution. The cricket pitch was developed by Starting Line and is being used for their own commercial usage. The public property, in clear violation of The Karnataka Parks, Play-fields and Open Spaces (Preservation and Regulation) Act, 1985, is beingused by…