Infrastructure

It is a known fact that water tankers extract any water that they see in Bengaluru. This video is a proof of it. Come summer, water tanker business is at its peak, especially on the outskirts of the city where there is no Cauvery water supply. The business is a pleasure in the years in which there is less-than-usual rain, because demand for water is the highest. Nagaraj (name changed) is an owner of a water tanker, operating in Kammanahalli. He has been in the tanker business for 15 years now. There were virtually no rules for extraction of groundwater…

Amidst the complaints raised by residents of HSR Layout, Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) is busy laying pipelines across the city to provide piped natural gas to households in Bengaluru as a part of its City Gas Distribution (CGD) project. However, many people are unaware of what is going on - as we see roads dug up, trenches and warning signage in front of homes. GAIL's map for the City Gas Distribution Project in Bengaluru. Here is all you should know about CGD. What is City Gas Distribution Project? Control Room for GAIL Gas Ltd 080 6888 8081 City…

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has reached out to Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu and MPs from Bengaluru in order to garner support for commuter railway in Bengaluru, by means of various letters, ahead of Railway Budget 2016-17. A letter dated January 6th, 2016, draws the attention of the Railway Minister towards the importance of commuter railway network for the city of Bengaluru. It says the process of preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the phase - I of the commuter railway is underway, and points to an earlier letter from the government of Karnataka to…

“Compost, grow and cook” is the new slogan of Solid Waste Management Round Table (SWMRT). The voluntary organisation from Bengaluru has invited people to take a pledge to keep one week’s wet waste away from the landfills by taking part in Green spot challenge. To be a part of the campaign, all you have to do is simple. Start a green spot in the house premises and compost the wet waste generated at home. A website swachagraha.in was launched on the Republic Day, January 26th, 2016, to share information with people who are interested to take up the initiative. The…

High Court Order on Segregation and Penalties 17 Dec 2015 Text version of 2 bin- 1bag court order: These writ petitions are filed in public interest, complaining of inefficient Solid Waste Management by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP for short). We have already issued several directions for proper solid waste management in Bengaluru City. We have been monitoring the same. In the course of this monitoring, we have noticed that the garbage crisis in Bengaluru was caused due to indiscriminate dumping of mixed waste to the landfill with no processing or any treatment of the leachate to prevent ground…

A fortnight ago, a kitten belonging to Aditi Surendra, a city-based graphic designer, passed away. Unsure of how to dispose of the body, Aditi sought help from her friends on how to dispose of the dead body. With no satisfying inputs forthcoming, she had to bury the kitten near the railway tracks, so that some other animal could feed on it. There is a BBMP animal crematorium in Magadi Road. When asked whether she knew about it, Aditi said she was not aware of the facility. “Plus, the kitten died early morning and we couldn’t drive until the next day.…

A fortnight back I had to go to M G Road in Bengaluru for some urgent work in the middle of a week day. As anyone living in the Whitefield suburbs will testify, it can take anywhere between one to two hours to do so, maybe even more! However this is not a rant about the situation of our roads or traffic. I decided to shorten my commute time by taking the Metro from Baiyappanahalli Metro station to M G Road. Upon arriving at the Baiyappanahalli Metro station, much to my horror I found that all the parking slots were…

Look at this video. Rain water—rather more of a cesspool—greenish, smelly water—collected in an open abandoned granite mine, being filled in a "Drinking Water" tanker. The location is right next to RBD Stillwaters (next to Lakedew Lake/ Puravankara Skywoods), in Harlur near Parappana Agrahara Main Road and Kudlu Road, on the outskirts of Bengaluru. Such tankers also deliver drinking water to many residential projects including apartments. They also deliver water for upcoming constructions in the nearby areas. Banibrata Dutta, a concerned resident who lives in an apartment near Sarjapur Road, shot this video. He says: “Who knows, it could even…

Kasa - Rasa center. Pic: Pinky Chandran "There was a time when I didn't have enough food to eat. Now I am so busy that I don't have enough time for food," says Krishna, once a waste picker, now runs  Domlur Dry Waste Collection Center Ward no 112, and employs six people. Krishna is one of the many informal waste sector workers that run the Dry Waste Collection Centers (DWCC) in Bengaluru. DWCCs were set up following a Lok Adalat’s intervention directing the Municipality to set up these centers to enable ward level recycling in 2010. The Karnataka High Court…

What a day! It was a treat to see people pouring out of streets and alleys to join the human chain, merge in seamlessly, bringing their own posters, chanting their own slogans, and through small acts of kindness, reinforcing each others' faith in the compassion that is at the core of all of us. One protestor brought biscuits and drinks for the rest of the gang. Another stepped off the bus unaware of the protest, but joined in spontaneously and started coordinating the walk towards Vydehi. Buses gave free rides to the protestors gathered at Marathahalli and Kundanahalli. Men, women…