Environment

Miyawaki is a technique pioneered by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, that helps build dense, native forests. The approach is supposed to ensure that plant growth is 10 times faster and the resulting plantation is 30 times denser than usual. It involves planting dozens of native species in the same area, and becomes maintenance-free after the first three years. This article shares the basic steps to create such forests in small urban spaces, as small as 30 square feet. This guide is an abridged version of the DIY guide shared by Afforest, a service provider for creating natural, wild, maintenance-free, native…

Raj Kumar Jena resides in a slum close to Noapara metro station at Baranagar in Kolkata. Standing on the narrow viaduct below the station he watches several trains chugging into the last station of metro connectivity in the northern fringes of the city. Under the cemented viaduct, flows the Bagjola drainage canal carrying blackish water full of household waste and emitting a putrid smell. Jena however does not look to be as hit by the smell as you would expect him to be. Perhaps, because he lives with it. More than the polluted canal, he says, the unbearable stench from…

Bimal Desai has been a one-man army protecting much of what we see of Cubbon Park. The 14 cases he filed over the last two decades ensured that night-time traffic was banned in the park and encroachments were kept at bay. But one of his learnings while he was fighting the system over the years, was that you can't always win. So while he continued his legal battles, Desai decided to parallelly start greening the city to compensate for its lost green cover. Using the Miyawaki method, he has created eight patches of forests in his house, which is set…

The cranes and backhoes are out. The boats, trawlers, and the beach walkers are waiting. The sea around Mumbai may be calm, but with multiple infrastructure projects forthcoming, its coast is definitely not. On the west is a Rs 12,000-crore eight-lane coastal freeway known as the Coastal Road Project which will run from South Mumbai to the northern suburbs. On the east, known so far for its petrochemical industries, dusty roads, and a flamboyance of flamingos in the mudflats, the Mumbai Port Trust has drawn plans to replicate London’s Hyde Park, reclaiming a 100 hectares from the sea.   Mumbai’s…

The cranes and backhoes are out. The boats, trawlers, and the beach walkers are waiting. The sea around Mumbai may be calm, but with multiple infrastructure projects forthcoming, its coast is definitely not. On the west is a Rs 12,000-crore eight-lane coastal freeway known as the Coastal Road Project which will run from South Mumbai to the northern suburbs. On the east, known so far for its petrochemical industries, dusty roads, and a flamboyance of flamingos in the mudflats, the Mumbai Port Trust has drawn plans to replicate London’s Hyde Park, reclaiming a 100 hectares from the sea.   Mumbai’s…

Kolkata-based cyber security expert and entrepreneur Niraj Agarwal is among the 13 candidates who are in the fray for the Kolkata South Lok Sabha constituency that goes to polls on May 19th. But there is one key difference between him and the 12 others. Far removed from the high decibel political campaign of his chief rivals, Niraj is quietly stirring a movement on one of the most important pressing issues of his constituency and of cities in general, but which hardly finds mention in political circles. In an exclusive tete-e-tete with Citizen Matters, this independent candidate says that the real…

"Cutting down trees to build the Metro line just cannot happen without the permission of the Tree Officer," affirms M K Cholarajappa, Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) and Tree Officer, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). Cholarajappa's response is a firm and surprising counter to a press note released by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC) on Friday. The note had announced that the construction of the Vellara Junction station in Richmond Town would not be stopped. This station is along Metro's Red Line, from Gottigere to Nagawara. Activists had opposed Metro construction here, claiming that it would involve cutting of…

Days after Cyclone Fani hit Odisha, ravaged its towns and cities and proceeded further towards the north-east, the capital city of Bhubaneswar remains in shambles. Water supply is still severely disrupted in parts of the city, and the service infrastructure is in total disarray, leaving citizens with no electricity, mobile or other forms of connectivity. While the state has been rightly praised in national and international media for its immense achievement in minimising casualties in the face of the severe storm, local patience is now running out and protests are being reported from various corners of the state, and in…

Friday morning dawned overcast and grey. There was an unmistakable stillness in the air.  Households were unusually quiet except for the blaring news channels. Apprehension had gripped the city of Kolkata by now. Fani, the most disastrous cyclone in two decades had already hit Orissa. Kolkata was slated to be its next target. By early morning, local news channels were high on theatrics and drama. Footages of windows shattering and tin roofs being blown away were replayed over and over again in different channels. Bengali anchors used big words and talked about ice age being the final manifestation of climate…

“Enter via the big arch of the crematorium.” The ominous instructions to reach the Dr. Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary in Pune perhaps foreshadow the fate that is looming for this green patch. Located off the busy Nagar Road in Pune, on the banks of the Mula Mutha river, the inconspicuous sanctuary shares an entrance with a crematorium and a garbage dump – not the most appealing welcome for visiting birds or birdwatchers. The slice of green, however, has been quietly attracting several species of birds and butterflies and houses a variety of trees and shrubs. But Pune’s booming infrastructure is…