Environment

PNLIT is happy to inform you that we are one of the winners of Earth Day Network-India's शहर GREEN करो - It’s Our Turn to Lead Contest. The result was announced today. The other winners are from Kozhikode, Mumbai, Srinagar, Varanasi and can be seen on the Earth Day Network-India Facebook page here. Details about PNLIT's entry can be seen on the Green Cities India Facebook page here. To commemorate the 45th anniversary of Earth Day (celebrated on 22nd April) this year, Earth Day Network-India, in February, had called for entries from 45 cities on how to make their cities "Swachh" and "Green". Each of…

SEZ project on Agara-Bellandur lake bed. Pic: Pavithra Ashok Kumar The National Green Tribunal (NGT) issued a historic judgment on May 7th, 2015, on the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) project by Mantri Tech Zone Pvt Ltd and another project by Core Mind Software and Services Ltd. Both the projects were being constructed on the catchment area of Agara and Bellandur lakes. The highlight of the verdict was the Tribunal slapping a penalty of Rs 117.35 crore and Rs 22.5 crore to Mantri and Core Mind respectively, for commencing the project before obtaining Environmental Clearance. The Tribunal has also formed an…

RMV Clusters residents participating in a spot fix. Pic: Renuka Mani This is a story of how active residential complexes are basically left to fend for themselves in light of the gross mismanagement of garbage by BBMP, and sometimes callous attitude of the officials, leading to utter failure of the entire GMS (Garbage Management System). RMV Clusters Phase 2, Lottegollahalli, Ward-8, Kodigehalli, comprises about 240 residential units/ flats. We, the residents have taken an active interest in garbage management and have been trying to find solutions to their issues for the last 2.5 years. We, as active and concerned citizenry,…

The land abutting Sankey lake where an apartment from Mantri Developers is proposed to come up. Pic courtesy: Google Earth No one will miss the pristine forest area abutting Sankey Tank in Malleshwaram, just next to Aranya Bhavan, the State Forest Department building. The cool water in the lake and the woods nearby make the place a walkers’ paradise, with the chirping birds and thriving vegetation. This sight, it looks like will not last longer, with the Karnataka Government losing its appeal in the High Court against the land transaction and the owner of the land ready with a development…

Lather flowing onto the road near Varthur lake. Pic: Murali Govindraju On Wednesday April 29th, Bengaluru made national headlines once again. The reason: rising pollution in Bengaluru’s lakes, a proof for which was the snow-white effervescence seen in Varthur lake. Despite it being a weekday, many young kids, working professionals and old residents of Whitefield-Varthur area turned up near Varthur lake where large volumes of white lather had risen from the lake. After the rains in Bengaluru over the last couple of days, many lakes have started carrying huge volumes of snowy froth. This froth which would have otherwise been…

Here's the report submitted by the Lake Devlelopment Authority to the High Court of Karnataka, on the status of Agara and Bellandur lakes.     //  Related ArticlesHC pushes for restoration and rejuvenation of Agara and Bellandur lakes

On April 24th, 40 children from the Sarjapur road area, along with volunteers from Kasa Mukta Bellandur (KMB), took to the streets to educate eatery joint owners about the hazards of serving food in disposable plates, encouraging them to adopt eco-friendly alternatives instead.  Pic: SujathaPic: SujathaPic: Sujatha‹ › $(document).ready(function(){ $('.carousel .carousel-inner .item').first().attr('class', 'active item');}); Everyone is aware about the impact of the usage of plastic and the kind of imbalance it is causes. Indeed, pollution of the environment by chemicals leached from plastics into air and water is an emerging area of concern. The convenience of using plastics and disposable items…

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…