Environment

The monsoon rains are delayed this year. But by sheer coincidence, BBMP’s rainwater harvesting plans of last year remain unimplemented, almost as if the monsoons were granting their own extension to BBMP, ominously. What’s worse, a Citizen Matters inquiry revealed that the city’s accounts department declined to release funds due to the engineers’ lack of interest. Bengaluru faces a shortage of 410 MLD (megalitre water per day) of water. The average rainfall here is 923 mms within a geographical area of 800 sq kms.  It is in this context by seeing the potential of RWH, BBMP made implementation of rainwater…

With the city’s growing water woes, rainwater harvesting has come into focus time and again. It was also made compulsory in Bangalore by law. The BWSSB (Amendment) Act passed in August 2009, states that every owner or occupier of a building having a sital area of 2,400 sqft and above, or every owner who proposes to construct a building on a sital area of 1,200 sqft and above, should install rainwater harvesting structures. Following the law and various awareness exercises conducted in the city, it appears that RWH installation pace has picked up much more compared to earlier years. The…

Most of the lakes in Bangalore have vanished due to encroachment or construction activity. Arakere lake, one of Bengaluru’s biggest lakes may become a thing of past which has almost dried up due to negligence and is totally overrun by weed. Arakere lake's current state. Pic: Anuradha Janga Arekere lake may disappear if nothing is done immediately. Hence four residents in the vicinity have formed a trust - ‘Arakere Neighbourhood Improvement Trust’ (ANIT) to spread awareness and engage the residents in rejuvenating Arakere lake. The trust was registered on June 30th, 2012. “We formed the group keeping in mind two…

The water situation has never been so grim in Whitefield. In the past eight years of my stay here, I have seen water supply dwindle down from twice a week to once in ten days. From February this year, there has been no water supply at all. There are deviations in the original water pipelines leading to communities and apartments. Residents get this done by bribing the linemen. I spoke to K Nagaraj Hoodi, Assistant Engineer, BWSSB (East) about the inequitable water supply and the corruption which is enabling water supply to certain communities alone. Hoodi gave an excuse that…

Last year, BBMP initiated a plan to install Rainwater Harvesting (RWH) pits in roadside drains, parks etc,. to improve ground water levels. Rs 30 crore was approved for installing pits across the city, from emergency funds. Emergency funds are allocated as per BBMP Commissioner’s discretion, and is separate from funds specifically given for RWH in the budget. But going by BBMP’s plans, much of this amount might simply be wasted. An RWH pit built along a drain in 27th Main, Jayanagar 9th Block. File Pic The project is supposed to be implemented as per the design made by RWH expert…

Nishka recently turned six and to celebrate her birthday, she and her dozen friends, spent the evening at Puttenahalli Lake. Yes! It was an excited all-girls group, accompanied by Nishka's parents. The lake tour was a part of the birthday party schedule and the little girls were thrilled at being outdoors during a party.When asked why she decided to take the children to the lake, Nishka's mom, Nupur said that she wanted to do something different. "In the house we entertain them with art and craft or a video. Nishka's friends had not been to the lake and I felt the…

We all know the delight of having good food to eat when we are hungry; it must be the same for the other creatures who share our living spaces.Nature provides such a variety in the food for her various children. The food chain generally ensures that each type of creature makes another its food, and in its turn, becomes food, too. Bees on a flower. Pic: Deepa Mohan You can see, in this photo, the bees buzzing around the stamens of the flower. At the base of the stamen is the nectar that is their food, and while they get…

Prof. Elinor Ostrom, recipient of the 2009 Nobel Prize for Economics, passed away in Indiana, United States, on 12th June, after a short and intense battle with pancreatic cancer. Her life and her ideas hold deep significance for us in Bangalore. Prof. Ostrom visiting Kaikondanahalli lake in February 2012. Pic: Harini Nagendra In February 2012, Prof. Ostrom visited Bangalore for a few days, giving the T N Khoshoo Memorial Lecture at the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE). In addition, she was very keen to visit one of the sites of a recent research program that…

A new waste management centre ‘Kasa Rasa’ was inaugurated at Koramangala 5th block on 9th June 2012. This is located in the parking lot next to Hotel Empire, under the high tension lines. KSPCB chairman A S Sadashivaiah, civic activists like Meenakshi Bharath, Sandhya Narayan, N S Ramakanth and local corporator Kokila Radhakrishnan also participated. MLA Ramalinga Reddy inaugurating the newly built Kasa Rasa center at Koramangala. Pic: Sankar C G The centre is an initiative of Saahas, an NGO working for effective waste management, supported by BBMP and KSPCB. The Centre has an organic waste converter (OWC) for composting…

It has been four years since Bangalore’s Lake Development Authority (LDA), put forward a bill demanding more power and funds to protect the city’s lakes. The wait seems endless for the cabinet’s approval of the proposed LDA bill. If passed, the bill will provide both resources and enforcement power to the LDA. Construction debris being dumped on Agara Lake bed. Pic: Sankar C G Strangely the ‘authority’ was formed under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, with practically no power to act against violators. “LDA is working like a society. Lack of resources is not allowing us for a full-fledged functioning.…