Environment

“We don’t want to see piles of garbage on the road when we grow up. It is our future we are looking at”, says Anugraha Anand, all of 12. Anugraha and her friends at her apartment complex Renaissance Regalia on 6th main Malleshwaram are spearheading a campaign on waste segregation and solid waste management. “We do not want piles of garbage on the road when we grow up”, say the young children of Renaissance Regalia in Malleshwaram. Seen here from L to R - Sowmya Panyan, Srishti, Malaika Vijay, Prerna Mohan, Tanvi Kaushik, Anugraha Anand. Pic courtesy: Vani Murthy Leading…

Every once in a while things fall in place. The volunteers turn up, the media opens its ears, the funding starts flowing in and the world sits up and take notice. Every once in a while, strangers who have no obligation or responsibility step up and make that tiny dent in the universe. 350 formation by cyclists. Pic courtesy: Sohan Maheshwar. This Oct 24th, Bangalore was witness to one such event. Indian Youth Climate Network (IYCN) in association with a 17* government and non-government organisations pulled off a successful international day of climate action. The activities carried out on the…

Many Bangaloreans are concerned about the reducing green cover in the city. What can you do? Plant trees of course! Here is how to go about planting trees.How do I go about it?Preparation Study: The proposed area should be examined beforehand to understand layout, soil, inhabitants and so on. Educate the local people nearby about the planting need, process, schedule and care. Obtain approvals, if necessary. Choose the number, type and age of the saplings and separate them on the planting day and ensure sufficient watering facilities.Spacing: Before planting consider the space above and below the ground. Do not place…

This Sunday, Hasiru Santhe, a tree mela at Sankey Tank, was organised for the first time by BBMP. With plant and tree saplings selling at Rs 2, it got local residents and morning walkers around the area interested. Not withstanding the noisy announcements by BBMP staff and the disorganised billing system, the response was overwhelming from  thousands of visitors.The event took place at a time when many Bangaloreans are concerned about the reducing tree cover in the city. At the same time, government bodies and citizens are actively engaged in planting more trees too.Government agencies do their bitWithin the city…

On occasions, trees are felled to facilitate road widening or if there in the way of infrastructure projects. Very often, trees are cut illegally and without permission.So when can trees be cut?If a tree is part of a private property and belongs to a select species, it can be felled, according to the Karnataka Preservation of Trees (Amendment) Act, 1987.For trees on public or private property, it is necessary to obtain written permission from the concerned Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) Tree Officer, Bangalore Urban Division. (Ph: 23344686, 23343464).In addition, two tree saplings must be planted before cutting the tree,…

The Indian Youth Climate Network (IYCN), a coalition uniting Indian youth and organisations concerned about climate change and 350.org, an international movement to unite the world around solutions to the climate crisis present a day long set of events to take a stand on the International Day of Climate Action – today, October 24th.Check out the twitter feeds for live updates of all the happenings today. The event include gatherings at colleges , tree plantation drives, distribution of CFL bulbs and cloth bags, cycle rallies, electric car rallies and more. There will be a human formation of the number ‘350’…

On October 15th evening, residents of HRBR Layout were shocked to see trees being cut by BBMP workers in yet another park developed by BBMP's Horticulture Department. These were fully grown trees and the park is located at 9th G Main Road, HRBR Layout, 1st block in Kalyannagar (Ward 88).On enquiry, we were told that the workers have the permission from Range Officer of BBMP. When we asked them to show the permission they did not show this, telling us that it is with one Purushotam, who was not there. The reason they gave for the cutting the trees was…

I've been reading queries on various mailing lists I belong to, about joint expeditions to Hosur to buy fireworks for the approaching festival of Deepavali. Some of the members ask, since the tax differential is large enough to make a difference, why not share a car and go to buy fireworks?Indeed, there will be a price difference between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka (Hosur and Bangalore) for fireworks, as for many other things.However, I  remember that one year everyone was up in arms about  child labour being utilised in making fireworks and we all boycotted fireworks. Have things changed at all,…

As part of the controversial project to lay a 9.2 kms road through the Gandhi Krishi Vignana Kendra (GKVK) of the University of Agricultural Sciences’ forestland, BBMP has cut down 680 trees, some of which were part of the university’s germplasm collections according to a survey undertaken by the Conservator of Forests, Bangalore Urban Circle. Germplasm collections are wild varieties of various crops that are collected and planted in different parts of the GKVK campus. The wild varieties are then crossed with conventional ones to create a hybrid. Sources within the university as well as the Forest Department have confirmed…

If you happened to be near Brigade Road, Church Street or Mosque Road (Frazer Town) on the evening of September 9th and saw a colourful truck it may have well been the Bangalore Bachao wagon. The brainchild of some students from the Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology, it is an art intervention about some of the critical environmental issues affecting Bangalore presently. The eight participants loaded the “float on wheels” truck with art material in its open back and drove through the city. Pic credit: Bangalore Bachao group. It highlights the efforts of Hasiru Usiru and its associated…