Environment

On Sunday, June 18th, Chennai Trekking Club (CTC) and Environmental Foundation of India (EFI) in association with The Hindu and Casa Grande organized the 8th edition of the Chennai Coastal Cleanup (CCC), a South India-wide awareness drive on our growing garbage footprint and the impact on the environment. 5000 volunteers and 130 organizations, schools, NGOs in 10 large cities removed 41 tonnes of garbage from lakes, rivers and beaches. In Chennai, 4600 volunteers participated in removing 32 tonnes of garbage from 20 km of Chennai's shoreline between Lighthouse and Uthandi. Volunteers segregated garbage in 69% recyclables (glass, plastics, etc) taken…

Once a source of water for irrigation and household use, the Chitlapakkam Lake is now brimming over with all kinds of garbage. It has been 18 years since the local residents first raised an issue over the encroachment of the lake and dumping of garbage in it, but notwithstanding the long struggle,  the freshwater lake has shrunk from 83.89 acre to 33.95 acre! Remembering the lake that once was Chitlapakkam lake receives water from the Pacha Malai Hills. Until the onset of urbanisation, there were agricultural farms in the area and water from the upper catchment area irrigated these farms.…

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India has notified the E-waste [Management] Rules, 2016 which is effect from 01.10.2016. For implementation of these Rules, the Central Pollution Control Board has notified “implementation of guidelines for E-waste Management Rules, 2016”. The Board had issued authorization to 27 collection centers, 42 dismantlers, 24 recyclers and 14 recyclers/dismantlers. To review the implementation of E-waste (Management) Rules, 2016 in the state, meeting was conveyed by the Chairman of the Board on 12.6.2017. The representatives of the Central Pollution Control Board and the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change were…

The landmark Queens Veterinary Hospital, located at the heart of Bengaluru, is getting razed down. The NGO Sarvodaya that handles street animal sterilisation, which was also housed there has been told to move out. Power was cut on Monday and without an alternate space yet, doctors in Sarvodaya are performing surgeries under candlelight. Doctors in Sarvodaya animal centre performing surgery on a dog in the candle light, as the power was disconnected. A group of concerned citizens under the umbrella Knights For Queens (KFQ) are campaigning against this move. On Wednesday a candlelight vigil was held to protest against loss…

The World Environment Day was celebrated amid much excitement and joy by school children and volunteers which was organised by Bengaluru-based NGO United Way Bengaluru and BBMP. Nearly 150 children from Sadguru Sainath School, 50 volunteers and team members of United Way Bengaluru came together to plant 600 saplings at Kudlu Doddakere near Kudlu. The 40-acre lake which was recently fenced, gated and had a walk path constructed was adopted by United Way Bengaluru under their ‘Wake the Lake’ Campaign. On the occasion Manish Michael, CEO of United Way Bengaluru, said: “While many may assign the responsibilities of our children…

A thriving Puttenahalli Lake full of water is a great sight. If there is one person happier than us at PNLIT, it must be Yellappa, the guy who got the fishing contract for our lake. Yallappa and his people fishing. Pic: Usha Rajagopalan About a year ago he had released fingerlings of several species such as the Indian Catla, Rohu, Mrigal and the Chinese Carp (Common, Silver and Grass). He also introduced Snakehead, called Varal locally which according to the Fisheries Department, is not grown much in our city. It is expensive and is a delicious fish. Snakehead (varal). Pic:…

  'Connect with Nature' is the theme for this year's World Environment Day. Pic: Bhoomi College World Environment Day is here again, with the theme “Connecting people to nature” this year. The motto is to “get outdoors and into nature, and appreciate its beauty and to think about how we are part of nature and how intimately we depend on it.” Like every year, this year too many organisations have planned several programmes in Bengaluru to celebrate the environment day on June 5th and even on the days before or after the environment day. If you are interested in participating…

One of the wonderful things about Varsha Ritu and Grishma Ritu in our city is still the wonderful carpets of flowers that the trees lavish upon the ground beneath them. Here are just three flowering trees, the Copper Pod (Peltophorum pterocarpum), Jacaranda (Jacaranda mimosifolia) and Honge (Pongaemia pinnata). Here is how one of the small roads looks after the Copper Pod flowers have fallen: This is a closeup of the Copper Pod flower and the seed which gives the tree its name: Here is the carpet of Honge flowers: A closer look: Honge carpet: The purple of the Jacaranda is…

With an area of 272 acres, Madiwala lake is one of the three largest lakes in Bengaluru. Located in South Bengaluru, it comes under the administrative control of Karnataka Forest Dept (KFD) who is responsible for its upkeep and maintenance. Butterfly park with the scientist for design and planting butterfly attracting plants. The lake had a lot of hyacinth growth and sewage inflow, directly and indirectly from the open storm water drain (SWD) that runs inside the lake from South-west corner to North-east corner. Karnataka government decided in 2016 to develop it into a bio-diversity park, on the recommendation of…

“The city is both natural and contrived, a transformation of "wild" nature to serve human needs, and an evolving entity shaped by both natural and cultural processes."  - Anne Whiston Spirn I’m standing in a vacant lot in the periphery of Bengaluru. It’s a slightly hazy spring morning and it’s already sweltering. The muted stillness of the neighbourhood is occasionally pierced by the clamour of nearby construction and the distant screeching of regional passenger trains. The heavily disturbed terracotta colored earth below radiates a slightly sour odor and is punctuated by a scrappy patchwork of discarded plastic debris and scrubby spontaneous…