Environment

A massive Rs 2,300 crores industrial project is coming up in Agara, adjacent to Koramangala, along Sarjapura Road, the first of its kind here. But it might be coming at a cost to the people staying nearby. The project, by Manipal ETA Infotech Pvt Ltd, is a township that includes an SEZ, retail outlets, hotels, office buildings, two residential apartments etc. The project is a joint venture between Century Real Estate and Mantri Builders - while Century is providing land, Mantri is taking care of the construction. A SEBI document of 2011 mentions Sushil Mantri as Chairman and Managing Director…

In this season of colours, our lake bed may seem drab, devoid of water but for us at PNLIT, it is a sign of hope. The brown piles of drying Salvinia is the final leg of a battle we've been fighting since Aug. last year to remove the invasive fern Salvinia Molesta and to infuse new life into the lake. The way the BBMP's JCB and the men are working, we are hopeful that the last of the Salvinia will be removed by the end of the week. THEN we can welcome the rain to fill up the lake.In spite…

Is Bangalore hosting way too many talks and seminars and not showing much action on ground? Many seem to think so. But Usha Rajagopalan's talk was infectious enough to get us all on our feet to go home and save water and our water bodies nearby. An interactive panel discussion, "Water Matters: 1.3 billion litres/day - Where do we go from here?" was organised by ‘The Alternative' on Friday, March 22, 2013 at Max Mueller Bhavan. The panelists included Usha Rajagopalan (A founding member of the Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust (PNLIT)), Sekhar Raghavan, the first trustee of the Akash…

About 38 years ago, way back in 1974, there was no "no water day" for Bangalore houses. Corporation water was released to houses every day. "Water timings" was also unheard of. Corporation water flowed in the taps through the day, so much so that many houses had taps connected to an overhead water storage tank only as a back-up. And water used to fill up in the overhead tank on its own, because the pressure of the water in the pipes was sufficient to help the water "reach its own level". This was the time when Bangalore city had just…

"Don't worry for water, Bangalore," - a fortnight ago a news report ascribed the above assurance from the BWSSB and the Government. Nothing can be further from truth. Bangalore is facing a water calamity. The facts are given below. GAP BETWEEN DEMAND AND SUPPLY WILL ONLY INCREASE At the historical 4% population growth rate of Bangalore over the past fifty years, the population of Bangalore living in the 772 sq. km. of area under the present BBMP will increase from 85 lakhs in 2011 to one crore by 2016. With Hessarghatta gone and Tippegondahanally drying up, the only reliable water…

Are you looking to implement water conservation measures in your apartment or home and wondering where to start? Not too sure how to go about it and want to understand if there are real benefits? Or how practical it is and how long it might take? This World Water Day, get all your questions answered with "Savings on the House."On Saturday, 23-March, visit over 15 pioneering water conservation initiatives across apartments and homes in Bangalore to learn how they did it - rain water harvesting, sewage treatment, water metering, groundwater recharge and other successful water conservation practices.Following are the list…

In its fourth edition, with a record 61,000 nominations for nine categories in the prestigious Namma Bengaluru Award, 2012 (NBA) which recognizes the "unsung heroes; ordinary people who do extraordinary things so that the city can move forth in to the future" the odds of winning were stacked against everybody.We had been shortlisted last year and the excitement continued this year as well. However, with a great deal of work yet to be done to make the lake ready for the monsoon, we tried not to think too much about the NBA. Our lake was in no condition to receive visitors…

Volunteers who attended last weekend's deweeding sessions at Puttenahalli Lake admit it was hard, but satisfying work. Though we had dissuaded children from "working", there were several who accompanied their parents and finally joined in.Here is what some of the volunteers had to say, after putting in a good few hours last Sat/ Sun morning.  Shankar Iyer It was a great feeling to get down to the surface of the lake and  "de-weed." I had a feeling that Mother Nature was asking for a small assistance  from our side to help her bloom and extend "her healing effects of calmness" on us for the…

The temperature in the city seems to be rising gradually over the last month. The trend is visible in the entire nation, not just limited to the city or state. While experts say that this has happened gradually over the years, Bangaloreans feel that it is rising at a more drastic pace. Richa Anantha, a sales-woman, livng in Nagarbhavi, points that riders on the city roads can feel the sticky uncomfortable heat. The wind is not cooling. She feels that Bangalore is hotter than what it was last year. Pic: Parvathisri via wikimedia BV Khare, a Bangalore-based retired teacher, residing…

The warm weather is here, and it's a great time to look for some of the very common butterflies as we walk around. The butterflies that I've photographed were all clicked in either gardens near my home, or in the Valley School campus, off Kanakapura Road; so you don't have to go very far to find them!"BLUES" are small butterflies, so called because we can see the blue colour when they are flying. Here's a 6 line Blue 6 line Blue Pic: Deepa Mohan Some of the butterfly names, of course, have no "why" to them. This on, the Pioneer…