Environment

On 13th April, a sunny Monday, we (PNLIT trustees) saw water entering Puttenahalli Lake from the rainwater diversion channel at the lake entrance near the Brigade Millennium arch. It was so little that we thought it to be the usual wash from the adjacent MLR Convention Centre.    However, a couple of days later when we found it increasing in volume and forming a black stinking mass in front of the diversion channel at the lake bed, we immediately informed BWSSB and BBMP. BWSSB's Junior Engineer, Mr. Nagaraj came to inspect the spot. He said that the sewage drain connected to…

World over, April 22nd is celebrated as Earth Day. The day, first celebrated in 1970, was a call to get the public talking about the environment in America. As the Earth Day website calls out, “It marks the anniversary of what many consider the birth of the modern environmental movement.” It is now celebrated in close to 200 countries, where it not only serves as a reminder for us to gauge how the environment is coping with change, but also what we as individuals and groups can do to ensure that the situation does not worsen. Though Earth Day is…

In the recent past Bangalore has transformed from ‘garden city’ to ‘garbage city’. The waste issues of Bangalore have now become a national issue. And a major contributor for the same is ‘plastic bags’. Even though single-use plastic has been banned by the government, it is still sold by shopkeepers and used by people. To do our bit to solve this major cause of pollution, we the children from SJR Verity on Sarjapur Road volunteered along with a few adults, and started an ‘Anti-plastic awareness campaign’ during our summer break. The anti-plastic awareness campaign kicks off. Pic: Sonika Jindal We…

If you are a frequent visitor to Lalbagh, you may have seen the various animals and birds that have made it home. Along with an abundance of dogs, squirrels and birds, you’ll also find monkeys! And if you happen to take a stroll on the trail that leads to the lake from the main gate, in all likelihood, as you near the staircase, you will bump into some of the simians, and a gentleman named Shivshankar. For the past year and a half, he has been feeding the monkeys at Lalbagh. A Maharashtrian by birth and a resident of Andhra…

Over the past 15 years the population of the city has increased more than 2.5 times, from 4 million to close to 10 million, the per capita garbage generation on an average has doubled, from 0.25kg/capita to 0.50kg/capita, and the composition and fabric of garbage has drastically changed, from about 80% compostable organic waste and a great part of the 20% being recyclable, to less than 60% compostable and a great part of the 40% being rejects, that will have to be landfilled because they are mixed waste. This article has been made possible thanks to support from Aruna Green…

Madiwala Kere played host to the third Lake Day celebrations on Saturday April 11th. It was organised by Namma Bengaluru Foundation in association with Snehadhara Foundation, BB76 and United Way. The event encouraged people to connect with their surroundings, explore and participate in preserving it, and become a stakeholder in keeping it alive. With talks on biodiversity and sustainable living, demos on organic gardening and water testing, bird watching, sketching, cycling, music and dance, it truly was a day to celebrate the abundance in nature. Here's a glimpse of the Lake Day celebrations at Madiwala in pictures.  My3leaves on their…

Cycle Days that are periodically organised in different parts of Bangalore are so much fun! Cycle Day is an open streets event conducted by Bengaluru Coalition of Open Streets (BCOS) with support from local partners and organizations like Bangalore Police (Traffic and Law&Order), BBMP and others. The area around Allalasandra Lake, Yelahanka that hosted Cycle Day on 12th April 2015 saw a few thousand citizens take to the streets on their bicycles (and feet!). Among them were the local Yelahanka MLA Yelahanka MLA Mr S.R. Vishwanath, BBMP Ward 4 Corporator Mr Muniraju, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board Directors Mr Kaveriappa and…

It was the summer of 2014 when my family had planned a 3-day trip out of Bengaluru. Everyone was almost done with packing when we realised that we needed to find somebody to water the plants. Unfortunately, we could not find anybody who was free to pitch in. It was then that a bulb lit up over my father’s head and it was decided that we would set up a simple drip irrigation system that would water our plants. In less than four hours, the required materials were bought and we took off for our holiday, confident that our plants…

Another ‘Cycle Day’ is being organized by Yelahanka United Environment Association (YUVA) in partnership with Directorate of Urban Land Transport, UDD, Government of Karnataka in Yelahanka New Town on Sunday, 12th April 2014, 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. The venue is the area next to Allalasandra Lake. Entry is free for all.   The morning will commence with a cycle rally around Allalasandra Lake and the main roads of Yelahanka New Town (around 6.5 km). Around 3000 cyclists, local citizens, Yelahanka MLA, Corporators are expected to participate in this edition of Cycle Day. The students of IEEE Bangalore Section will be the volunteers.   Free…

The focus at Neralu this year was on Trees & Public spaces - including ashwath kattes, neighbourhood parks and streets. Alongside that, MapUnity developed an online platform where people could upload the location of their neighbourhood kattes, with photographs and a story. Please do log on to: Mapping the Ashwath katte if you have something to share about your own neighbourhood katte or one you’ve seen elsewhere. We hope that as we all share our stories about the Ashwath kattes we have seen and help to map them, we may uncover yet another story about the city of Bangalore - a story about its trees, its culture and…