Environment

Another evening, another Ganesha procession passing by to get to the Mallathahalli tank. It has been more than a month since the Ganesha festival, but the sounds of passing processions—typically a tractor with a massive Ganesha, surrounded by hooting teenage boys, drums in front and more boys (younger and teens) dancing around it—is still not unusual. One of the perks of living close to a lake, I guess. If there are still idols being dumped in the lake, wonder what the situation would have been over the month. The area for dumping is a small pond cut out from the…

Horamavu Parisara Abhivruddhi Samiti (HPAS), formerly called Save Horamavu Lakes, is joining hands with Janaagraha and BBMP to clean Horamavu! The Cleaning drive will be rolled out in several locations. VOLUNTEERS are needed this Saturday, 24th Oct at 8 a.m. in front of Homebuzz. Please register by clicking here, and filling out the form. Please join this effort in large numbers. For more information check the Facebook page here or email save-horamavu-lakes@googlegroups.com. 

Sushant Potdar, an intern with BIOME Trust did a study on the Open Wells in the Yamalur Watershed. The complete report can be seen below and is also available here. The study seems very relevant, especially at a time when borewells deeper than 1000 feet fail and there is no access to water supplied by the BWSSB in this area. Sushant documents 21 wells that have still not been closed. There are many more in the area that are worth documenting and retaining. All wells are privately owned and hence the maintenance of the well becomes a challenge. What is…

Renuka School is right next to Kaikondrahalli Lake (Off Sarjapura Road). Their deep borewells stopped yielding water quite some time back and they relied on tankers for water. About 2 years back they dug an open well about 15 feet deep, struck water and started using that water for keeping toilets clean. The water was just about sufficient in quantity and not of great quality for washing vessels (mid-day meals). BIOME then implemented a RWH system which also recharges their well. Having seen the potential of the shallow aquifer, they have dug 2 more shallow wells in the past 2…

Counsels of Mantri Developers have tendered an unconditional apology in the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Tuesday, October 6th, 2015, with regard to the contempt case filed against them. Namma Bengaluru Foundation and Forward Foundation had filed the contempt case in the NGT after an expert committee member was reportedly stopped from entering Mantri Developers site at Agara in Bengaluru for inspection and his GPS device was snatched. According to the order posted on the NGT website, legal Advisor of Mantri Developers Bhubnendra tendered an unconditional apology. Mantri Developers Managing Director Sushil Mantri who was present in the court, along…

Bellandur Lake has been frothing again, and in a big way. Read a report here. This time, several people are trying to find a long term solution. An online petition has got more that 15,000 signatures. You can lend your support too, on Change.org here.   The former Panchayath leader of Bellandur, Mr. Jagannath, has called for a citizen's meeting to discuss concrete steps to save the lake. He has seen the lake when it was thriving and will tell everyone about the history of the lake, the problems, the fight in court some years ago, and the resulting Lok…

We witness a beautiful aerial stream of butterflies between March and May, and once again between September and November. These butterflies are not, like other wildlife, only to be found in the forests; you can often see them floating around you, and past you, as you walk in the city.  The most common butterflies that migrate twice a year are the Blue Tiger, and the Common Crow. The Common Crow is a dark brown, almost black butterfly; but the Blue Tiger is a blue jewel!  You can see them clustering on some plants even in uncultivated fields. The butterflies migrate…

Buildings being razed down at the demolition drive at Sarakki Lake. Pic: Rahul Ravi It all started a couple of years back. Some NGOs like People's Campaign for Right to Water ( PCRW) and Sarakki Lake Area Improvement Trust (SLAIT) had begun to worry seriously about Sarakki lake. The severe pollution caused by ingress of sewage from nearby houses and apartment blocks, and the shrinking size of the once-pristine standalone lake because of the rampant encroachment by unscrupulous elements was the cause for concern. Construction debris and garbage dumped into the lake reduced the size of Sarakki lake, which covered…

PNLIT is happy and thankful to be honoured with the "Prakrti Mitra Award", instituted jointly by BNM Institute of Technology, Bangalore and Heritage, a non-profit NGO. The award was received on behalf of PNLIT by trustee Nupur Jain, former trustee Prasanna Vynatheya and volunteer Divya Shetty, at a function held at the BNM Institute of Technology campus during the institute’s Srishti Sambhrama Festival on 23rd September 2015.   A beautiful citation was given to PNLIT: "In recognition of the exemplary service rendered to the community, and to the Nation, extending itself to protecting, preserving, and promoting the cause of the Environment…

Cubbon Park is one of the last lung spaces left in the city, where one can find fresh air and green area. Pic: Shree D N Disappearing lakes, chopped trees and encroachment of open spaces are the unfortunate reality of today’s Bengaluru. This means, in a few decades, Cubbon Park may well be among the last vestiges of greenery in the city. However, given the frenetic pace of ‘development’ and the varying combinations of unethical nexuses that thrive in Bengaluru, who knows, one day, as Bimal Desai, who waged a 20-year legal war against the authorities to protect the park,…