Environment

In early January 2023, with the elections drawing near, citizens across Bengaluru began waking up to their neighbourhood lakes being drained, dug up and desilted in preparation for restoration. The state government had allocated various grants for lake restoration across the city. According to a full page advertisement the government placed in the Deccan Herald, 47 lakes had already been developed under the Nava Nagarothana scheme and 17 were to be developed in 2023 under the Amrutha Nagarothana scheme during the 2022-23 budget. The ad announcement on the development of lakes. Pic: Screenshot of the Deccan Herald ad We previously…

Editor's note: On January 25 2022, the state government put out a full page ad in the Deccan Herald showcasing its achievements in Bengaluru. The ad praised the government’s expenditure of hundreds of crores spent on restoring lakes, building BBMP schools, the much publicised Namma clinics, roads, and various BDA layouts. In the upcoming series, we look at some of these claims and see the reality behind it. On January 25th, the state government claimed in an advertisement that “47 lakes had been developed under the Nava Nagarothana scheme at the cost of 317.25 crores.” Under the Amrutha Nagarothana scheme,…

Translated by Geetha Ganesh கடந்த சில தசாப்தங்களாக, வடசென்னை அதன் காற்று, நிலம் மற்றும் நீர் ஆகியவற்றை மாசுபடுத்துகிறது. வடசென்னையில் அதிகரித்து வரும் மாசுபாட்டிற்கு முக்கியக் காரணம் எண்ணூர்-மணலி பகுதியில் அரசுக்குச் சொந்தமான அனல் மின் நிலையம் உட்பட செயல்படும் முக்கியத் தொழில்கள்தான் என்று பல்வேறு அமைப்புகளின் ஆய்வுகள் தெரிவிக்கின்றன. மாசுபாடு வடசென்னையில் வசிக்கும் ஏராளமான மக்களின் வாழ்க்கையை பாதித்துள்ளது மற்றும் பலரின் வாழ்வாதாரத்தை சூறையாடியுள்ளது. மாசுபடுத்துபவர்கள் பொறுப்பேற்க வேண்டிய அதே வேளையில், தமிழ்நாடு மாசுக்கட்டுப்பாட்டு வாரியமான (TNPCB) ஒழுங்குமுறை ஆணையத்தையும் பொறுப்பேற்கச் செய்வது சமமாக முக்கியமானது. மாசுக் கட்டுப்பாட்டை கடைபிடிக்காத தவறு செய்யும் தொழிற்சாலைகள்/ஏஜென்சிகளுக்கு காரணம் காட்டுதல், சட்ட நடவடிக்கை எடுப்பது மற்றும் மூடுவதற்கான வழிகாட்டுதல்கள், மின்சாரம் மற்றும் நீர் விநியோகத்தை நிறுத்துதல் போன்ற பல்வேறு நடவடிக்கைகளால் மாசுபாட்டைக் கட்டுப்படுத்தும் கடமை TNPCB க்கு ஒப்படைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. சட்டங்கள், நிபந்தனைகள் மற்றும் தரநிலைகள். ஆனால் வடசென்னையின் நிலப்பரப்பில் ஆதிக்கம் செலுத்தும்…

Ramesh, a vegetable vendor in Mumbai is a resident of Uttar Pradesh where his family lives while he is here in the city, earning his living. For over a decade, Ramesh works for 10 to 12 hours a day, on the streets selling perishable vegetables and fruits. Working in the adverse climatic conditions of heat, monsoon and mild winter is part of his occupation. “Garmi ka toh kuch kar nahi sakte, paise toh kamaane hi hai,” (We cannot do much about the heat when the question is about our livelihood)” he says with a smile, when asked about the current…

When presented with the factual inevitability of the climate crises, youth across circumstances struggle to cope, join the climate justice movement, and ultimately, create an impact. These struggles are not limited to young adults aged 18 to 30—as most constituencies describe youth—but also children and adolescents. Children and adolescents are often amongst the most affected, due to factors such as dependence and other vulnerabilities, and their rights and such are just as often central to climate discourse. Everyone talks about the next generation and preserving the earth well for our children. Whether children are actually a part of these conversations…

BBMP's ongoing project on Saul Kere, a lake off Sarjapur Road, is apparently meant to address flooding issues in the neighbourhood. But its implementation – desilting, pathway, waterbody fencing – started without any public consultation -- indicates this could negatively affect the lake.  Saul Kere, part of a chain of lakes that drains into Bellandur Lake, is one of the richest biodiversity areas in urban Bengaluru. With its shallow-water areas, well-vegetated swamps, reed-beds, and woodlands in addition to the main water body, Saul Kere offers diverse habitats for birds, providing food and roosting sites for resident and migratory species alike.…

It is a Sunday morning in December and I am at the entrance of Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), a protected forest located within the limits of Mumbai city. There are long queues of families who have turned up to enjoy the cool winter morning, stretching way beyond the entry gate of the park. While I wait for Dinesh Barap — who belongs to the Warli tribe, indigenous to the forest — I can hear people, restless with excitement, talking about the journey ahead as they move forward in the queues to deposit the entry fee for exploring the park…

The plan to build a 25-foot road right across Hosakerehalli Lake has been stopped. But the result is the vicinity lake being covered in heaps of mud, construction debris and the tire tracks of excavators. Vehement protests by residents living in the lake’s vicinity forced the BBMP to stop the road construction. By then, however, they had already dumped mud into the lake to reclaim the land. According to officials, the road was to facilitate heavy vehicles' movement to carry out the lake's de-silting. However, the protesting residents believe the road was to cater to the existing and new luxury…

Prepare to sweat. Temperatures in Mumbai are expected to see a steady incline, by two to three degrees Celcius, in the coming days. “There is a slight probability that the maximum temperature over Mumbai will be above normal,” says Sushma Nair, a scientist at the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). “But it will most likely oscillate around normal.” Although the temperature is unlikely to break 40 degrees Celcius in April, the increasing humidity will add to summer's discomfort. “The past few days had temperatures between normal to slightly below normal, because the winds were mainly westerly to northwesterly,” says Sushma. Humidity…

‘’A man doesn’t plant a tree for himself, he plants it for future generations," Alexander Smith Often, getting cool shade under a tree has become a luxury in Bengaluru. Especially during summer or on a hot day, you can see people and animals standing in the shade of a building, rather than a tree. However, all is not lost. There are people who have planted and nurtured trees, contributing to the preservation of the city’s green canopy. I came across a beautiful majestic banyan tree just in front of Lalbagh, double roadside entrance. I was admiring the sheer size of…