Environment

The plan to build a 25-foot road right across Hosakerehalli Lake has been stopped. But the result is the vicinity lake being covered in heaps of mud, construction debris and the tire tracks of excavators. Vehement protests by residents living in the lake’s vicinity forced the BBMP to stop the road construction. By then, however, they had already dumped mud into the lake to reclaim the land. According to officials, the road was to facilitate heavy vehicles' movement to carry out the lake's de-silting. However, the protesting residents believe the road was to cater to the existing and new luxury…

Prepare to sweat. Temperatures in Mumbai are expected to see a steady incline, by two to three degrees Celcius, in the coming days. “There is a slight probability that the maximum temperature over Mumbai will be above normal,” says Sushma Nair, a scientist at the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). “But it will most likely oscillate around normal.” Although the temperature is unlikely to break 40 degrees Celcius in April, the increasing humidity will add to summer's discomfort. “The past few days had temperatures between normal to slightly below normal, because the winds were mainly westerly to northwesterly,” says Sushma. Humidity…

‘’A man doesn’t plant a tree for himself, he plants it for future generations," Alexander Smith Often, getting cool shade under a tree has become a luxury in Bengaluru. Especially during summer or on a hot day, you can see people and animals standing in the shade of a building, rather than a tree. However, all is not lost. There are people who have planted and nurtured trees, contributing to the preservation of the city’s green canopy. I came across a beautiful majestic banyan tree just in front of Lalbagh, double roadside entrance. I was admiring the sheer size of…

On a balmy evening in Chennai, Shruti was in for a rude shock as she entered her room in her fifth-floor apartment in Nesappakkam. A pigeon had made its way into the room through an open window. Over the next few hours, Shruti managed to get the bird to exit her room with much difficulty.  This incident resulted in her opting to protect her balcony and windows with a net to prevent pigeons from entering her home again. Feral pigeons have made their homes in Chennai, in the crevices, ledges, parapets and every other space they can find in buildings.…

Environment Support Group (ESG) is a pioneering non-profit environmental organisation, based in Bengaluru. ESG has worked to protect biodiversity and ecosystems, often in collaboration with communities facing the effects of environmental degradation and displacement. They have been actively involved in judicial advocacy that led to landmark judgements and policies in the city. For instance, PILs filed by the organisation on Mavallipura's landfill led to waste segregation rules in Karnataka. The organisation has been vocal in speaking for public commons and environmental justice and has fought several legal battles to prevent destruction of natural resources in the city. ESG was awarded…

Over the past few decades, North Chennai has seen pollution taint its air, land and water. Studies by various organisations have shown that a key factor behind the rising pollution in North Chennai is the major industries that operate in the Ennore-Manali region, including the state-owned thermal power plant. Pollution has affected the lives of scores of residents in North Chennai and robbed many of their livelihoods. While the polluters should be held responsible, it is equally important to hold the regulator, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), accountable. The TNPCB has been entrusted with the duty to curb…

கொரட்டூர் ஏரி 20 ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன்பாக சமையலுக்கு குடிநீருக்கு பயன்படுத்தி வந்துள்ளனர் ஆனால் தொழிற்சாலை மற்றும் பால்பண்ணை நச்சு கழிவுகளால் ஏரி மாசடைந்தது இதனால் நீரை பயன்படுத்த முடியவில்லை. நிலத்தடி நீர் சுற்றி பாதித்துள்ளது கழிவு நீரால் ஆகாயத்தாமரை அதிகம் வளர்ந்துள்ளதால் மீன்களின் இனப்பெருக்கம் குறைந்து வருகிறது ஏரியைச் சுற்றிலும் 200க்கும் மேற்பட்ட மீனவ குடும்பங்கள் வாழ்ந்து வருகின்றனர் இவர்களின் வாழ்வாதாரம் ஏரியை நம்பி தான் உள்ளது ஏரி மாசடைந்து மண் மற்றும் தண்ணீர் பாதிப்பால் மீன் இனப்பெருக்கம் குறைந்துள்ளது. ஆக்கிரமிப்பால் ஏற்படும் மாசு  ஏரியைச் சுற்றிலும் அரசியல் போர்வையில் சமூக விரோதிகள் தொடர்ந்து ஆக்கிரமிப்பு பணியில் ஈடுபட்டு வருகின்றனர். ஆக்கிரமிக்கப்பட்ட பகுதிகளில் சென்னை மாநகராட்சி எல்லா வசதிகளையும் செய்து கொடுப்பதால் ஆக்கிரமிப்பாளர்களுக்கு வசதியாக போய்விடுகிறது. ஓராண்டுக்கு முன்பாக கோர்ட்டு ஏரியில் ஆக்கிரமித்துள்ள 12 வீடுகளுக்கு நோட்டீஸ் வழங்கப்பட்டது 21 நாளைக்குள் காலி செய்ய வேண்டும் என்று ஆனால் இதுவரை எந்த…

Citizen Matters, Bengaluru, is gearing up for an exciting conversation with the Environment Support Group (ESG) as they turn 25 this year. Representative image. ESG works to mainstream the rights of local communities and voiceless ecosystems. Pic: Kavitha N Kishore ESG is a pioneering environmental organisation that was pivotal in creating awareness on environmental issues plaguing Bengaluru. Over the years, ESG has fought to stop destructive roads projects and pushed for preservation of lakes and our vanishing greenery. The organisation has been vocal in speaking for public commons and environmental justice and has fought several legal battles to prevent destruction…

For the record, Gubbalala Lake, located in Raghavendra Layout close to Vajarahalli Metro Station, is an eight-acre 10 gunta waterbody. In reality, it occupies just four acres and 20 gunta. It is suspected that about two acres of the lake’s land have been encroached upon. The lake has four inlets and one outlet, with a walkway length of 810 meters and a main bund length of 160 metres. The catchment area is about two square kms. The lake is situated in the 110 villages scheme/areas of BWSSB (BBMP vide a notification in the year 2008 acquired gram panchayats with 110…

The K-100 stormwater drain cuts across 23 wards in the city as it traverses from its source near Majestic Bus Stand to its destination – Bellandur Lake. The geographies of these drains and its surrounding areas serve as important starting points in understanding city planning and the context of urban floods. The ‘K’ in the K-100 stands for the Koramangala Valley and the ‘100’ denotes that it is the first primary stormwater drain (SWD) of the valley. The K-100 has multiple secondary and tertiary drains, numbered K-101, K-102 etc. intersecting at different points. The drain serves a catchment area of…