Environment

September  25, 2013, 7 am. A team of 224 left Bangalore in five buses on route to Salem. The team was not an ordinary team - it had all bigwigs who govern the city. Whether segregation at source helps the cause of garbage management is an ongoing debate. There are people who feel it does help to manage garbage in sustainable way, while there are some who feel hundred percent segregation of waste is practically impossible, and garbage management is more important. Practically every city will have some amount of mixed waste. This needs to be tackled in a sustainable way…

It is in the nature of our society that when someone elderly speaks, people listen with respect. This is particularly the case when that elder has a background of scholarship or administrative experience; the respect is indeed deep and widespread. Therefore, it is extremely important for such persons to speak with a fair degree of caution, and most definitely with as much accuracy as would be possible in given circumstances. Even if the nu,ber of pigeons is more in Cubbon Park, that doesn't give anyone the right to decide their fate. File pic. A man of the stature of A…

Two friends and I were returning from Nandi Hills when the sight of this Chameleon brought us to a screeching halt. What a beauty! Luckily, it had not been flattened by traffic on the other side of the road, and was already on our side. It goose-stepped, or should I say, chameleon-stepped, into the grass verge. Watch this video, the progress of the reptile is funny, to say the least! Here it is, closer to the grass verge: It then climbed on to a rock: And disappeared into the shelter of the leaves and greenery: From there, we could see…

BBMP Council and BBMP’s Forest Cell are at loggerheads once again. Apparent reason: Some trees were cut in Jayanagar 3rd and 4th blocks recently - allegedly to favour advertisers by improving the visibility of hoardings. And the Councillors think that Forest Cell chief is responsible for this. According to a report from The Hindu, the allegations were made by ruling party leader N Nagaraju, in the council meeting on September 29, 2013. BBMP Commissioner M Lakshminarayan had said show-cause notice would be served to the officials concerned. However, Brijesh Kumar, Chief Conservator of Forest and Head of the Forest Cell…

Solid Waste Management Round Table (SWLRT) is reviving their online SWM Green Map of Bangalore. They seek your help in this initiative. The Solid Waste Management Round Table is a group of like-minded organisations and highly skilled individuals who work to build awareness and promote the adoption of best practices in waste management at houses, apartment complexes, schools/colleges and public offices. The Group is currently updating the Green Map (see more at swmrt.com). Do you know of apartments / localities / commercial establishments that segregate waste? Please help us in developing our map and fill in the form below (click on the…

As a part of my work with SadaZero, I was to accompany the pourakarmikas on their Saturday dry-waste collection routine. I had to note down the houses who weren’t following the segregation protocol, and subsequently make an attempt to “convert” them, the latter being a herculean task as mindsets are extremely difficult to change. Sadazero is a voluntary, community organisation, aiming at 100% waste segregation, and making Sadashivanagar a model neighbourhood for the rest of Bengaluru, with whom I have intermittently worked with over the past three years. We rendezvoused at the collection point at 11 am and the drive…

Maintaining our Puttenahalli Lake is really so full of challenges which tax, vex and worry us at times but it also springs surprises that make our hearts sing! Today morning was one such great day. Yellappa, the fisherman contractor called to say that his men were on their way to the lake to plant the stakes, remove the new shoots of weeds, clean the water of stray plastic, etc. They had come at 5 a.m. and left the fibre glass coracle at the lake.   My friends and I swung into action. We had already bought the casuarina poles, three of…

Some of the happenings about Bangalore's lakes this past month. Click the links to read the full stories and reports. Ganesha immersions  The days of Ganesh Chaturthi are usually high tension for lake lovers in Bangalore. A couple of weeks before the festival there were reports of how BBMP was gearing up, given that 3 lakh idols were expected to be immersed. There was a lot of publicity to persuade people to get eco-Ganeshas and encourage immersions in mobile tanks. Worshippers though seem to have had other ideas to please God. While there is no accurate record of the actual number of Ganeshas sold or…

Who doesn’t love Eric Carle’s super illustrated bug book “The Very Hungry Caterpillar?” You haven’t read it? Shame! Then go read it now! It was my initiation into a wonderful world of insects, and caterpillars in particular.  When my little one first showed interest in bugs, I figured this book would be a fun way to introduce insects to him in a non-threatening way. There was no stopping him after. Stop! Don’t click over to the next post! This is not a book review about Carle’s book. This post is about the delightful world of insects that abound around us.…

The residents of Puttenahalli in J P Nagar 7th phase are worried about the increasing noise pollution in the vicinity and the lethargic attitude of Karnataka State Pollution Control Board officials. They are also living in fear, not willing to come out of their safe closets and complain openly. A resident who doesn’t want to be named says that repeated complaints made to the board, forced KSPCB officials to conduct a spot inspection and issue a show cause notice to the erring Pallavi Engineering company. The resident, through his email to Citizen Matters, says that nothing has changed since then…