Environment

A report titled ‘Choking in the Garden City’ released by Sensing Local and Healthy Energy Initiative India, has analysed 24-hour air samples of PM 2.5 from different parts of the city. The authors of the report highlight that the main objective of the study was to understand the source contributors to air pollution at a local level, how they differ from one place to another based on land use, road hierarchies and other variables, and to highlight health effects due to specific elements present in the air.  Apart from PM 2.5, elevated levels of heavy metals such as manganese, nickel,…

While the lockdown may have seen a comeback of birds and animals in urban areas, for forest officers, the period has also meant more work thwarting and catching miscreants in the forests in and around cities. For the first time, Maharashtra officials are conducting drone surveillance to monitor and protect the flora and fauna in the wilds. Maharashtra has about 6733 sq km of protected forests (including six national parks, 48 wildlife sanctuaries and three conservation reserves) covering over 3.03% of its total geographical area of 307,713 sq kms, as per the India State of Forest Report, 2019. Historically, a severely short-staffed…

Bengaluru’s lakes have been in the news for pollution, froth, fish kill and even fire. Despite the government investing crores of rupees into reviving these lakes, and widespread citizen engagement, not much has changed. While the main reason is the lack of coordination between government departments, the absolute lack of science-based solutions is also a major gap. In this context, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) and Biome Environmental Trust (BIOME) have developed the ‘Bangalore Citizen Science Lakes Dashboard’ to share knowledge and best practices for better management of lakes. We created a series of system…

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,…