Environment

With Ganesha Habba right around the corner, preparations to celebrate the festival are in full swing. Traditionally, the idol would be sculpted out of earth from river banks. After worshipping divinity in this earth icon, it was returned back to the earth by immersing it in a nearby water body. This represented the cycle of nature, from creation to dissolution. However, with the advent of Plaster of Paris (POP), things changed. Idols are now made of materials that are detrimental to the environment. POP idols should never be immersed in water; it is insoluble in water and releases a host…

Independence Day flag hoisting is traditionally held in schools, parade grounds, community centres and other public places. At mutlistoried apartment complexes too, this has become an event on the cultural calendar. This year, it was a pleasant surprise to see pictures of flag hoisting done at two lakes - Devarabisanahalli Lake in Bellandur ward in south-east Bangalore, and Vibutipura Lake in LB Shastri Nagar near HAL Airport. As reported on the Devarabisanahalli Lake's Facebook group, the flag hoisting at 7:30 a.m. had a good turnout with some of the candidates for the forthcoming municipal elections also making appearances. And the day ended…

"Lakes are essential to every city. They provide means of entertainment, they help local economies and they're beautiful to look at. But many times, human activities destroy lakes, spoil the ecosystems and make them unbearable." Harshvardhan Sanghi's under-six-minute documentary that his mother Suman posted on Facebook caught my attention. This Std XII student of Greenwood High International School lives close to Varthur Lake, one of the large, polluted lakes of Bangalore. Eager to help the ongoing efforts to get the authorities/ community to do something for the lake, Harshvardhan made this short film. He talks about the reasons for degredation and the…

On Sunday, 16th August 2015, 7:00 a.m. onwards, MAPSAS is organising a bird walk at Kasavanahalli Lake, Harlur (off Sarjapur Main Road). To know where exactly Kasavanahalli Lake is located see here. You can get regular updates about the lake from its new Facebook page here. A view of Kasavanahalli Lake, as posted on its Facebook page Sumanth Madhav, of the Gerry Martin Project, an avid and entertaining speaker will be conducting the walk. Open to all ages, but note that there will be a bit of walking to do. Young children are bound to enjoy it. Go prepared with comfortable shoes, water bottles…

Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Bangalore in association with Bangalore-based NGO Saahas, organised its flagship event called ‘Walk-a-Thon’ for creating awareness about Zero Waste on August 9th at LalBagh Botanical Garden. The walk was organised to raise cognizance and sensitise people about this issue which has been plaguing our society for far too long and needs to be addressed immediately. The event was organised by Udyam, the social responsibility cell, in association with Rang, the cultural committee of NMIMS. The day started with a corporate event at the institute, where the guest speakers and participants from the NGO came…

On the occasion of Independence Day on 15th August, Yelahanka United Environment Assocation (YUVA) along with Karnataka Amateur Rowing Association (KARA), an affiliate of Rowing Federation of India (RFI) is organizing Karnataka's first Inter-lake Rowing Championship, at the splendid rejuvenated 44-acre Allalasandra Lake in Yelahanka New Town.  Young rowers in action  More than ten children from schools located in the Yelahanka area have won medals in various National Rowing Championships. These young boys and girls travel all the way from North Bangalore to Ulsoor Lake which is over 35 kms away for practice early every morning.    KARA and RFI have been promoting the…

Websites? I mean, the homes of those that make homes of silk… that is, spiders. We’ve all seen spider webs around us: in the house, in the garden...and indeed, so synonymous is clearing spiders’ homes with our idea of keeping house well, that even when we talk about clearing our minds, we say, “let’s clear the cobwebs”. However, a closer look at these “websites” show they are marvels of engineering, strength and resilience. Spiders spin webs out of the silk that they produce, which passes out of their spinnerets. But the actual “architecture” of spider webs can vary very widely.…

Pic: Subha Priya On June 29th 2015, a performance audit on Conservation and Ecological Restoration of Lakes under the jurisdiction of Lake Development Authority (LDA) and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in Karnataka by the CAG of India was tabled in the Assembly. The report brought into focus many of the ignored facts about lakes in the city and the state. This 75-page-long performance audit covering the period 2009 to 2014 highlights the deterioration in ecological health of lakes as well as issues among the institutions of management and governance of lakes. This audit scrutiny covers 56 lakes selected by adopting…

The India Biodiversity Portal is organising an invasive species campaign through the month of August 2015: Spotting Alien Invasive Species or SPAIS. India Biodiversity Portal (IBP) is an online, open-access repository of information on India’s biodiversity. It has already conducted several campaigns involving citizens in documenting, contributing and sharing biodiversity information from diverse parts of the country. With the SPAIS campaign, IBP and its partners aim to create awareness about, and to map the occurrences of, a set of widespread invasive species in India. The campaign will be conducted online at: http://indiabiodiversity.org/group/spotting_alien_invasive_species/show.  What are alien species? Alien species are sometimes…

‘Cycle Day’ was organized by Yelahanka United Environment Association (YUVA) in partnership with Directorate of Urban Land Transport, Government of Karnataka, BCOS, Praja RAAG, EMBARQ and ESAF with support from Bangalore Police (Traffic and Law & Order) and BBMP in Yelahanka on 2nd August 2015, from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. This Cycle Day was dedicated to the memory of Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Cyclists observed two minutes silence as mark of respect to the late President of India before the start of the cycle rally. Dr Kalam has a residence in Kendriya Vihar Apartment which overlooks the Yelahanka Lake. The cycling route was around…