Environment

With the ban of thin plastic bags coming into force from 15th March 2011, Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust (PNLIT) cloth shopping bags are in the market. It is said that one reusable bag eliminates an average of a 1000 plastic bags. Anand, one of the owners of Fresh Greens, with the bags. Pic: Arathi Manay Yajaman. When the ban was first announced a few weeks ago, some of the shops on Puttenahalli Road had approached PNLIT members for the supply of cloth bags that can be sold in their shops. About the same time last year, some of us who were concerned…

Did you know that 50,000 people die of venomous snakebites in India every year? Deaths that could be averted if people had access to an effective anti-venom cure. This was one of many startling discoveries at the end of the screening of A Million Snakebites by the Gerry Martin project at the British Council. The Gerry Martin Project is an initiative for wildlife conservation and education, spearheaded by Bangalore based Gerry Martin. In this film made for the BBC, reptile conservationist Rom Whitaker travels across India, from Tamil Nadu to Rajasthan to Assam, collecting snake venom in an effort to…

The Bangalore East Railway Station is very close to my house and very often I find myself walking along the railway tracks looking for butterflies and other urban wildlife. The bushes and shrubs along the line are a haven for urban wildlife. One day among the bushes and shrubs, I happened to chance upon a familiar plant, almost like an old friend. It was the Milkweed. The Giant Milkweed. Pic: Vikram Nanjappa. Milkweed is also known as French cotton, crown flower or bonba in Spanish is a soft wooded, evergreen shrub. Its long limbs hold six to eight-inch opposite leaves…

In the hope of bringing the once common house sparrow back to Bengaluru, Burhani Foundation (India) distributed 500 bird feeders at the Burhani Masjid in Gottigere, off Bannerghatta Road on 6th March. Across the country, fifty-two thousand bird feeders were distributed as a part of centenary celebrations of the birth of Dr. Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, Dai-al-Mutlaq (spiritual leader) of the Dawoodi Bohra community. His birthday falls on 6th March, according to the Gregorian calendar. People collecting the bird feeders from the judges of Limca and Guiness Book of World records. Pic: Yograj S Mudalgi The distribution was taken up in…

In a landmark ruling today, the Hon’ble High Court of Karnataka accepted the Report of a committee it constituted to examine the ground realities and prepare an Action plan for the preservation of lakes in the city of Bangalore. This report was sought by an interim direction of Chief Justice Mr. J. S. Khehar and Justice A. S. Bopanna of the Principal Bench of the Hon’ble High Court on the basis of the Public Interest Litigation filed by Environment Support Group and Leo Saldanha (party in person) (WP No. 817/2008) challenging the privatisation of lakes in Bangalore by Lake Development…

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…