Environment

Garbage, sewage and construction debris are eating up Bengaluru's Chunchaghatta lake situated in the Konankunte ward, adjacent to Eshwar Layout in southern JP Nagar.  A Citizen Matters inquiry has become a wake-up call to the authorities this month, but it remains to be seen what happens next. According to according to BBMP records, the lake is spread over 14 acres. Birds flocking the lake despite garbage and construction debris being dumped. Pic: Yogaraj S Mudalgi Sujatha, 39, a domestic worker, lives on the banks of the lake, says that she has tried telling her neighbours to not dump their garbage…

Walk into any locality in Bangalore, even some of the more densely packed areas, and take a moment to try and block out the urban noise. It is almost a given that you will hear a penetrating two toned whistle, you might think that it is some roadside Romeo making a nuisance of himself but in fact it is made by a resident whose presence in our city vastly outnumbers those of our roadside Romeos. They too frequent market places looking for easy pickings. He even shares a name with the roadside Romeo of the silver screen but unlike his…

Fishermen of Iblur Lake faced a loss of Rs.1.8 lakh from a total income due to the death of fish caused by the inflow of sewage into the lake water. "We lease the lake out for fishing and sell these fish with the help of fishermen. Because of the death of the fishes, we are facing a loss of 80 percent,"said Narayanappa K, contractor of Iblur Lake. The five varieties of fish bred in the lake are Common Turf, Virijallu, Katla, Rohu and Jilebi. "The loss is beyond imagination. This is the second time the fishes have died.  The same…

Here is the press release from the Save Bellandur Lake organising committee. Pictures from the run are attached. A hundred odd people assembled on Outer Ring Road in front of Pratham Motors, at the start of the Save Bellandur Lake Run. Pic: Meera K. Jagannath and Rammurthi addressing the participants of the Save Bellandur Lake Run. Pic: Meera K. The stink and the sludge of the Bellandur Lake could not be missed. Pic: Meera K. Participants braved the hot sun and stink of the lake. Pic: Meera K. There are still a few fields left beside the lake, on the…

A group of environmental and social activists are organising the Bellandur Lake Run this Sunday, February 6th at 10 am. This run is a demand from citizens for government action and it is also intended to spread awareness of the situation.This event is for all of us in Bangalore, our children, our health and well being. We can get back our wonderful lakes, not to mention valuable drinking water for the future. The froth from the polluted lake flowing outwards, and the waste/garbage that has accumulated from the flow. Not a single bird of any sort was to be found…

For the last two years, a park-cum-playground in 30th main in JP Nagar 6th phase has lost almost a third of its area. This part of the site, which was designated for the park, was encroached for the construction of two temples. Today only the playground remains and the site itself is known after one of the temples. While one temple is a permanent structure and almost 75% of its work is complete, the other is a temporary structure. Playground attached the park in J P Nagar 6th phase has been taken over for building temples and fenced off. Pic:…

So many stories are being captured by our enthusiastic residents after Kaikondrahalli Lake was rejuvenated. One such success story is 'increase of bio-diversity'. Manjunath Prabhu, a resident of the nearby Sobha Apartments is an enthusiastic bird watcher. Manjunath got into bird photography about a year back. Since then he has captured many of our birds (Residents who follow this blog may have seen his snaps in my previous posts). Manjunath has found many species of birds at the lake. He keeps sending incredible snaps to us. As he gains experience in photography, we gain watching his snaps :-) Green Bee…

Primrose Marthoma church, Bengaluru has opted for eco-friendly coconut leaves, old newspapers, dry vegetables and grasses for the Christmas decorations at the church. When they first used recycled materials in 2008, church members were apprehensive since decorations were made out of plastic bottles and old tyres. Daniel Thomas who runs an ad agency and is a church member, says "the end product was so beautiful that everybody was delighted."  Daniel is one of the people behind the eco-friendly initiative. In 2009 they used videotapes and plastic bags. Daniel says people call to find out what is special on Christmas every…

Indian Youth Climate Network (IYCN) organised a workshop on "Youth and Conservation of Lakes" for students of Jyoti Nivas College on December 4. Several prominent Bangaloreans were invited to speak at the event, which was followed by a trip to Parapanna Agrahara Lake. Dr. Yellappa Reddy, noted environmentalist, a trustee at the Bangalore Environment Trust and former Indian Forest Service Officer was the chief guest. He explained the importance of conservation of lakes. He said that lake is truly a living entity; due to the dissolved oxygen content in it that supports various aquatic flora and fauna. He suggested using…

Namma Bengaluru - the so called 'naturally air-conditioned' city has long since lost its claim to this epithet. We do have summers and winters now and for all practical purposes, winter is not far away. Growing Radish in containers. Pic: Manikandan P. For me winter typically conjures up images of cold weather warmed by the winter sun, yummy carrot halwa, hot radish /cabbage parathas with pickle, comforting soup and masala tea. And a recent trip to the hills not only convinced me completely that cold weather makes one eat more; It also reinforced the excitement and joy of growing one's…