Environment

“Sun’s out, snakes out!” exclaimed Shuayb Ahmed, and Yatin Kalki as they jumped to action. Ahmed, an independent snake rescuer, had received a frantic call from a woman who spotted a snake – claimed to be a juvenile spectacled cobra – in her house in Bengaluru. The team quickly geared up for the ‘rescue’ – an empty pillow case, a snake hook, a hollow pipe, and a flashlight. “Timeliness is key,” Ahmed said, as he hurried to the vehicle. On reaching the house, Kalki went about locating the snake, while Ahmed checked for access points from where the snake possibly…

When trees in Mumbai are cut, public furore is a typical response, for good reason. But what often goes unnoticed is the concretisation of trees, a practice that results in the same end. Trees in-between spaces meant for roads, footpaths, and parking, are often engulfed by construction and repair work. The tree floor is left covered under thick impenetrable concrete. This is despite a National Green Tribunal (NGT) ruling to keep a 1-metre radius around a tree, free of concrete and construction. “I noticed the concretised trees in the open gym at the Bandra Physical Culture Association ground a month ago,” says…

A latest report by Greenpeace India reveals that average air pollution levels in ten major cities of Southern India far exceed the latest World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, by analysing the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)’s data. The analysis is a much needed reminder that air pollution is a public health crisis that is not confined to cities only in Northern India.  What data reveals Air pollution data from ten cities – Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Amaravati, Visakhapatnam, Kochi, Mangalore, Puducherry, Coimbatore and Mysore – were selected and analysed based on the availability of data, population and monitoring station networks. It…

On June 4th, 2021, a leopard took away a four-year-old girl from the lawns of her house and later mauled her to death in a nearby nursery. The little girl’s body was found after two days in a nursery, barely a few hundred metres away from her house, in Ompora locality of Central Kashmir’s Budgam town. The incident left the entire wildlife department of Kashmir shaken.  Four-year-old victim Adha was playing in the lawns of her home when the leopard took her away. Her family was totally unaware of the incident. Some wildlife officials said that the leopard had in…

Translated by Sandhya Raju எதிர்காலத்தை வளமாக்க அழகாக்க, மீண்டும் நம் பாரம்பரியத்திற்கு திரும்ப வேண்டும்," என்கிறார், தமிழக அரசின் சுற்றுச்சூழல், பருவநிலை மாற்றம் மற்றும் வனத்துறை கூடுதல் தலைமைச் செயலாளர், சுப்ரியா சாஹு, IAS. தமிழக அரசின் மீண்டும் மஞ்சப்பை விழிப்புணர்வு இயக்கம் பிரசாரத்தைப் பற்றி நம்மிடம் பகிர்ந்தார். இவர் தலைமையில் நடைபெறும் இந்த பிரச்சாரம், ஐஏஎஸ் அதிகாரி தலைமையில் நடத்தப்படும் இந்த பிரச்சாரம், பிளாஸ்டிக் பைகளை பயன்படுத்துவதை விட்டு, ஒரு காலத்தில், குறிப்பாக திருமணங்களின் போது மாநிலத்தில் பரவலாகவும் பிரபலமாகவும் இருந்த, ​​சுற்றுச்சூழலுக்கு உகந்த பாரம்பரிய மஞ்சள் துணிப் பைகளைப் பயன்படுத்த மக்களை ஊக்குவிப்பதை நோக்கமாகக் கொண்டுள்ளது. கடந்த சில மாதங்களாக, சென்னையில் பிளாஸ்டிக் உபயோகத்தை கட்டுப்படுத்தும் நடவடிக்கைகள் மீண்டும் செயல்படுத்தப்பட்டுள்ளன. இதன் முயற்சியாக, ஆசியாவின் பெரிய மொத்த விலை காய்கறி மற்றும் பழ சந்தையான கோயம்பேடு சந்தையில், பிளாஸ்டிக் பை உபயோகத்தை தடை செய்ய முடிவெடுக்கப்பட்டது. ஒரு…

It had been raining in Chennai since the beginning of November 2021, which culminated in a heavy spell on November 7th, when the city recorded over 200 mm of rain. The news of a cyclone hovering over the Andaman and Nicobar islands pushed the panic buttons of the otherwise pragmatic Chennai residents and the social media pages of weather bloggers were full of queries on flooding. The distress of the residents was justified, as Chennai is only 6.7 metres above sea level and more often than not, large areas of the city are quickly flooded after a shower. Memories of the…

Bengaluru has been steadily growing vertically with more and more highrise apartment complexes being constructed. Gardening enthusiasts lament the loss of green cover and space for growing their own flowers and vegetables. But green-thumbed residents of Ittina Anai apartment at Bellandur have shown that they can create their own paradise on their terrace. Apartment resident Aditya Rao, who is part of this terrace garden initiative, shares their story. Having grown up on a farm with lots of trees and abundant vegetable patches, apartment living was an adjustment. Whilst I craved to recreate our childhood experiences of living amongst greenery, space…

In 2022, as many as 132 cities that are currently implementing clean air action plans under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), will have only two years left to meet the 2024 target of 20-30% cut in annual average particulate pollution from 2017 levels. While these generic targets are common for all cities, the city-wise target for meeting the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for both particulate matter of size less than 10 micron and 2.5 micron (PM10 and PM2.5) are significantly tighter for some. Especially those in the Indo Gangetic Plain, where the reduction needed is 50-60% or more.…

I remember being on the school bus, on the way to school and looking out the window on the final stretch to see a large and empty ground. I did not concern myself with its origin, assuming that it was a wasteland. Then, one day, I noticed some activity taking place on this wasteland. I could not make out what was happening. Till one day, a great change took place: the land was suddenly blue with water! This ‘great change’ did not take place in a day, of course; the project that transformed the land and restored the original water…

One night on a stroll through Santacruz, Mumbai, I noticed a tree with a larger than usual trunk right in the middle of SV road, a major road that connects the city’s suburbs. A friend I was with remembered the tree from his childhood; he would wait to pass by it every time he returned home on a scooter with his father. Another friend, an ecologist, identified the tree as a Baobab tree. Since I stumbled upon the history of the baobab tree, it made me look at trees around me differently. The Baobab is native to Africa, and was…