Environment

The Subramaniam Committee has prepared and submitted its report on amending environment and forest-related laws. The leaked report, a copy of which is with Citizen Matters is uploaded below. It can be recalled that this committee walked out of a public hearing in Vikasa Soudha in Bengaluru last month, when green activists threw many questions about the mandate of the committee and other issues. The main hearing did not take place,though there were many other hearings that actually took place in Bengaluru. If you have anything to say about the report, do comment below the article, or mail us expressing…

We are delighted to report the sighting of our winter visitor, the Garganey Duck. On 3rd Dec. when we went to the Puttenahalli lake at 3 p.m. we saw four of them. Typical of its highly territorial nature, the Eurasian Coot, one of our resident species  was busy chasing the ducks away. The quartet merely flew a short distance and made themselves comfortable once again. We hope they are joined by more of their ilk. To know more about this migratory species, see here.   The Garganey was sighted at Puttenahalli Lake for the first time in 2011, an event which was…

It's too early to say that Swachh Bharat is failing. But it's getting late to say what it will take to make it work, and so far there is no sign of those things. 1. Get rid of the broom, and replace it with a pair of buckets—one for wet waste and the other for dry waste. Segregation at source is key to any garbage management plan. The PM's symbolic efforts with the broom did help signal an important focus that India needs, but getting the imagery right going forward will help even more. 2. Pass the Dumping Saaku law.…

  Save energy; win attractive cash prizes.  This is an open challenge by Green Energy Foundation (GEF) under its Switch2Green initiative. In a bid to encourage energy savings practices in households in Bengaluru, GEF has launched this competition with the support of Racold Thermo Ltd under its CSR initiative. Housing societies and flats comprising minimum 100 flats are eligible to take part in the competition. November 30th is the last date for registration. To participate in this competition, housing societies/ flat owners must form an Energy Management Committee (EMC) under the leadership of its chairman. After the enrollment, an audit of the performance of…

One evening I heard a buzzing sound near my glass door overlooking the garden. I did not pay much attention as I did not expect anything unusual. After a while I noticed two bees in my living room. One of them was lying on its back and was desperately trying to come back to its normal position. It took some time and started flying all around the house. I was scared of its sting—it took me a lot of courage to not swat it with a newspaper. After a long bee hunt, it was finally set free outside. These bees had started to build its…

Community update on the Ibblur Lake restoration effort, shared by Mr Mukund Kumar   In the month of October, the last section of the fencing of the inner lake area around the bend from ORR service road (near Cafe Coffee Day) was finally fenced by officials of the BDA. A separate pedestrian gate was installed on the section facing the back side of Sobha Hibiscus near ORR Service. This was stalled in the context of a court case filed by a certain party who was arguing for road expansion in the lake area in the context of commercial construction interest…

PNLIT is committed to promoting awareness of the environment among the residents around the Puttenahalli Lake. We are happy to tie up with Artyplantz to achieve this end. Like PNLIT, ArtyPlantz loves nature and takes real pleasure especially in plant life.  ArtyPlantz and PNLIT are organizing two specially designed programmes on Sunday, 16th November at Puttenahalli Lake, JP Nagar 7th Phase, Bangalore.   Session 1 - for adults and children above 15 years - to sensitize and help them connect with nature. This event will be held 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Fee Rs. 350/participant. Seats limited to 20.   Session 2 - for children between…

The Allalasandra Lake in Yelahanka is in its full glory after its revival over the last 11 months.     On 5th November, the lake was formally inaugurated by Mr Ramalinga Reddy, the Bangalore District incharge Minister & Transport Minister, along with Ms Shantakumari, Mayor of Bangalore City and Yelahanka MLA, Mr SR Vishwanath. Corporators of Yelahanka constituency, BBMP Additional Commissioner Mr Virupaksha Mysore along with BBMP, BWSSB and Police department officials, graced the occasion. Dr Tayappa, President-YUVA and Mr CN Chandru, Vice-President-YUVA welcomed the guests and proposed the vote of thanks respectively.  Lighting the lamp   The various dignataries who went around…

Bannerghatta Biological Park is happy to announce the addition of three new species of animals into its inventory that is kept for the public display. These animals have been received from Nandankanan Biological Park, Bhubaneswar in exchange for two pairs of lions from Bannerghatta Biological Park on November 5th 2014, through the Animal Exchange Program which was approved by the Central Zoo Authority, New Delhi. Four Horned Antelope (Tetracerus quadricornis) Three (One male, two females) The four-horned antelope or Chousingha, is a species of small antelope found in the open forest in India and Nepal. The most distinctive feature of…

I was sitting in the balcony and gazing at a copper pod tree on a Sunday afternoon. A tailor bird was busy collecting nesting material. Some butterflies fluttered around  looking for nectar. The resident squirrel came by to nibble a few grains from my balcony. The squirrel kept a watch on me, each time I moved, it went and hid itself behind the pots. Though these are routine sightings, they keep me entertained and refresh me when I need a break from the countless chores at home. Yes, I do get pleasant surprises too when something very different happens in…