Environment

The Horamavu area (BBMP Ward 25) in the north eastern part of Bangalore is dotted with several lakes. As is the case with most of Bangalore’s lakes, they are subjected to dumping of debris and garbage, sewage and encroachment. Saddened by the plight of these lakes, some residents of the area have taken it on themselves to try to save them. They got together a few days ago, evaluated the state of the lakes and decided to focus on the two larger lakes for now – Horamavu Agara Lake and Jayanthinagar (Horamavu) Lake. To spread awareness about the status of…

I had taken the children of the Sindhi School, in Malleswaram, on a nature trail to the Bannerghatta Zoo area, and it was they who spotted this very interesting-looking caterpillar, and asked me what it was. “Looks as if the caterpillar has also packed a lot of lunch for a picnic in the Zoo!” joked one of the children. The reality, as I found out, was very, very different... this caterpillar was actually carrying its own death on its back, not its food!   A variety of wasps called ‘Braconids,’ deposit their eggs on the backs of certain caterpillars, like…

The soiled hands of Aditi, Arush, Dev and their friends told a different story altogether. Their happiness knew no bounds as the youngsters carried saplings and buckets of water as part of a 2-day long tree plantation programme. This was organized by Rank Residency Apartment Owners’ Association at Kaggadasapura on 15th and 16th June, 2013 with assistance from Trees For Free treesforfree.org The area has been witnessing large scale felling of trees due to unplanned urbanisation and encroachment. A decision was made about replacing the lost green cover. Appropriately, the residents named the initiative as “Trees for Tomorrow”.Anytime is right…

Bosch Volunteers at the lake Saturday, 22nd June 2013The volunteers who come to work at the lake have always impressed us with their dedication and hard labour. The group of 30 Bosch employees who came to Puttenahalli Lake this past Saturday was no less. After a brief introduction and welcome, they set to work in two teams as planters and diggers.    The planters had a short stretch of flower bed in which to plant Lantana. Nupur guided them on how to take out the plant out of the pot with its roots intact, planting it in the pit and packing the…

Monsoon has brought Bangalore many things to rejoice, and a bag of worries as well. While the much-needed respite from the scorching heat is a welcome change, the rains are also the indicators to be more careful about the reptile and rodent menace that increases every year during this time. It is not a rare sight to see houses flooded with water after a heavy downpour. This is especially so with houses which have been built on low-lying areas. This however poses a huge risk of reptiles, especially snakes, entering the houses. The city has been constantly reporting such cases…

BWSSB Chairman Gaurav Das Gupta declared that the peripheral areas of Bengaluru do not and will not have water for the upcoming years. Gaurav Gupta was taken on by veteran bureaucrat, former additional chief secretary of Government of Karnataka, V Balasubramanian, in the discussion ­The Critical water situation in Bangalore- The way forward conducted by Bangalore International Centreat Domlur. Both of them discussed the alarming water crisis in Bangalore and its consumption. It was moderated by former chief justice of India M N Venkatachalaiah. In the wake of acute water crisis, BWSSB Chief told the gathering: “If you are taking…

Observe the stretch coming down on Sarjapura Outer Ring road from Agara going towards Ibblur Sarjapura/ ORR junction. As the road veers towards the left, you may have seen a beautiful serene lake a few years back. Now, all that is left to see is a bed of water hyacinth, with sewage incessantly flowing into the lake and heaps of garbage dumped into the lake. Ibblur kere is a sad story of neglect. Local residents recall a beautiful lake till 2009 with migratory birds visiting during the winter months. Then, it all changed. As the development in neighbouring Ambalipura and…

Your neighbourhood lake where your mother and her siblings went swimming and fishing is now a multi-storied office complex with a sports stadium next to it. You yourself can remember the place as one where you sailed your little paper boats and from where you excitedly brought home guppies and tadpoles to put into your house pond. Thankfully, there is still some untouched space there – a playground with a few old trees, where boys and girls can play cricket, kick around footballs or just sit and talk. Yes, I’m reminiscing about the Akkithimanahalli “Mud Tank” in Richmond Town, which…

The creatures that share this city with us come in all sizes. For example, here’s a very common bird; you will find it in many gardens, especially among the flowers, because it drinks the nectar from them. Here’s the male Purple-rumped Sunbird. How colourful and beautiful it is, even though so extremely small! Pic: Deepa Mohan Among the largest birds very common in Bangalore skies is the Black (or Common) Kite. This raptor (bird of prey) has adjusted to life in the city, and has become a scavenger, finding things in the trash that humans generate. It was once called…

  It was one hectic morning for the twenty or more volunteers who came to the lake on 9th June, a Sunday. Coming from South City, Brigade Millennium, Brigade Gardenia, Ramaiah Apartments (behind Sobha Tulip), J.P. Nagar 7th Phase, 24th Main, etc., they reinforced the meaning of the "Neighbourhood" in our Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust. Meera coming from Banashankari extended the "neighourhood" some more! It is indeed incredible how concern about and involvement with the Puttenahalli Lake is bringing everybody together. Transporting the dead tree from South City to the lake bed proved this amply.   Four or five…