Environment

Pratap Singh Tomer is a retired serviceman living in the Ravi Nagar locality of Visakhapatnam, a port city in the state of Andhra Pradesh. In the wee hours on May 7, he was awoken by desperate honking of vehicles and shouts of baffled citizens in his colony. There was a pungent smell of gas and some of the residents were experiencing dizziness. Tomer, who has years of experience working in LPG plants and is acquainted with gas leaks and rescue training, used his expertise and presence of mind to help others. “I thought that this could be a case of a…

https://soundcloud.com/citizenmatters/ep3-lessons-from-bengaluru-cm Look at Lalbagh Botanical Garden and Cubbon Park, and it’s easy to see why Bengaluru once claimed the title of 'Garden City'. Rapid, unplanned urbanisation has drastically reduced the city's green cover. Raj Bhagat, who works at the World Research Institute office here in Bengaluru, explains the history of the city's loss of natural vegetation as seen through data. Though Bengaluru still has several thousands of trees, these are mostly alien species. Natural vegetation, which is critical in terms of transpiration cycles, weather patterns, etc is completely absent here except for some sections of protected forests, says Raj. Several…

https://soundcloud.com/citizenmatters/ep2-lessons-from-bengaluru-cm Over the past few decades, Bengaluru has witnessed its lakes turn intodumping grounds. In some cases like that of Puttenehalli lake, neighbourhood groups have successfully worked with government agencies to revive lakes. But the work comes with challenges too, says Nupur, a member of Puttenahalli Lake Neighbourhood Improvement Trust (PNLIT). She explains why many other neighbourhood groups are unable to sustain their work on reviving and maintaining lakes over the long term. We also hear from Vishwanath Srikantaiah, an urban planner and civil engineer, who has worked on reviving Jakkur lake. But why should we care so much about…

A few residents across the city have started planning to axe venerable Illupai trees also known as the Indian Butter Tree (Madhuca longifolia) in their neighbourhood. One such tree stands majestically at 2nd Cross Street, Karpagam Gardens. It was declared as a heritage tree in 2015 due to its age and rarity in the city, by the Greater Chennai Corporation, facilitated by K.S. Kandasamy, then Deputy Commissioner Works, and Nizhal, a Trust for tree conservation. This gruesome thought seems to have been triggered by a WhatsApp message by a news channel with the misleading headline ‘In a First, Coronaviruses found…

In this series, individuals, citizen groups and RWAs explain how they have dealt with the COVID-19 crisis in a constructive manner. In this third part of the series, a resident of Vasanth Nagar describes the measures he took. In these times of crisis, we are all stepping forward to take care of our fellow citizens, and animals too. But what about our plants? Who will take care of them? Will the thousands of small, weak and vulnerable plants lining Bengaluru’s streets survive these five weeks of nationwide lockdown without water, especially during the peak Bengaluru summer? We, Citizens for Citizens…

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on both lives and livelihoods in India -- the virus has claimed 239 lives, the lockdown has reportedly claimed another 20. While there's not much cause for cheer in what's being observed all around, a recent briefing released by Climate Trends points to a possible silver lining: a drastic reduction in air pollution. 'Good-air days' for many Indian cities The briefing paper says that over 90 Indian cities showed minimal air pollution since the lockdown. 35 cities ranked "good" on the fourth day of the lockdown. These levels have been seen for…

Farida Sheikh remembers her house in the slums in Ahmedabad feeling like a furnace, where summer temperatures have reached up to 50 degrees Celsius. But for the last four years, the situation inside the house has cooled down. The two-room house’s metal sheet roof which raised the indoor temperature by two or three degrees was replaced by ModRoof – a special cooling roof locally manufactured from coconut husk and paper waste. This brought the indoor temperatures in summer three to five degrees lower than the reading outdoors. Protected from the scorching heat, Sheikh said that related health issues have reduced,…

சமீப காலமாக சென்னையில், “மாடித்தோட்டம்“என்பது வேகமாக வளர்ந்து வரும் ஒரு கலையாக இருக்கிறது.  ஆகவே, அது குறித்து மேலும் அறிந்து கொள்ளும் ஆர்வம் தூண்டப்படுவதும் இயல்பே. ஏனெனில், அடுக்குமாடிக் கட்டிடங்களின் செறிவும், தண்ணீர்ப் பற்றாக்குறையும், வீசும் அனலும் இங்கு அவ்வாறிருப்பதாகும். அதற்கிடையிலும் குறைந்த தண்ணீர் பயன்பாட்டில் குறைந்த இடத்தில் எப்படி ஒரு பசுமை முயற்சி வெற்றி பெற்றுள்ளது என்பது நம் மூளையைக் குடையும் ஒன்று தானே. உள்ளவாறே இந்த விஷயத்துக்குள் நாம் நுழைந்து அறிய முற்படும் போது ஒரு புதிய உலகிற்குள் புகுந்தது போல் ஓர் ஈரவுணர்வும் புத்துணர்ச்சியும் நம்மையும் தொற்றிக் கொண்டு விடமாட்டேனென்கிறது. இதைப் பற்றி அறிந்து கொள்வோர் அனைவரையும் நாமும் இப்படி ஒரு தோட்டம் அமைக்க வேண்டுமென தூண்டும் வண்ணம் அந்த அனுபவங்கள் நெகிழ்ச்சியாக உள்ளது. அதுபோன்றே அதற்கான கட்டமைப்புகளும் பெரிய அளவில் விரிவடைந்து பிரமிப்பையூட்டுகிறது. மாடித்தோட்டத்திற்குத் தேவைப்படும் அனைத்துப் பொருட்களும், அதற்கான பயிற்சியும் மட்டுமல்லாது அரசின் மானியமும்…

https://youtu.be/onqbOrwibpI Credit: Naveeen Thomas Prasad Silk Board. Marathahalli. Outer Ring Road. What comes to your mind? Awful traffic jams, long commute and whatnot. Most of us avoid this route as much as possible, but many office-goers have no option. Recently, Naveen Thomas Prasad, an IT employee, noticed something beautiful on his way back from work -  Tabebuia Rosea trees in full bloom, lined up on the ORR between Marathahalli and Silk Board Junction. He decided to capture it on camera. On capturing the pink bloom!? Naveen says he’s always been spellbound by nature’s scenic beauty and how it can heal the…

Varthur lake is the second-largest water body in Bengaluru. The 440-acre lake is located on the eastern periphery of the city, surrounded by villages and all the big IT companies. Over the last 20 years, a lot has changed and the lake has become infamous as one of the most polluted lakes in the city. From a pristine water body where people used to fish and bathe, it has now turned into a cesspool that froths and foams. It even catches fire! Concerned by the encroachment and degradation of the lake, residents came around to start a rejuvenation campaign. The…