Environment

Move over. I hear the flowers whispering to the colours with their mild scent wafting through the air, symbolizing a rather straitlaced demeanour - Holier than thou. After all our festivals are replete with symbolism and rituals. Holi, the festival of colours, is no exception, as it signifies greyish winter coming to an end, heralding vividly colourful spring with a burst of blooms of different hues. Typically Holi, as we know, is celebrated with dry or wet synthetic colours aided by water balloons and Pichkaris. But did you know traditionally the colours were made from flowers? ''Palash" or Flame of…

Accessible through one of the four apartments that surrounds it, Lower Ambalipura lake is a thing of beauty. A short stroll around the lake shows what it has to offer - herbs, fruit-bearing trees, a grassy wetland and the sight of birds inhabiting the island. It is quiet, save for the calls of the birds, and the wind rustling through the leaves of plants that line the walkway. Lower Ambalipura lake is a seven-acre lake in Haralur, surrounded by four apartments- Mantri Flora, Trinity Acres and Woods, SJR Redwood and SJR Park Vista. It is maintained by MAPSAS (Mahadevpura Parisara…

This article is part of a special series: Air Quality in our Cities If you were to go walking in Nagavarpalya area in the city, and take the inner by-lanes ahead of Gopalan Mall, you would come upon a sprawling settlement, home primarily to migrant workers from Northern Karnataka. They stay in small makeshift structures that are covered with blue tarpaulin sheets. Such settlements are present in several parts of the city, and they are usually devoid of basic facilities of sanitation, adequate supply of water, electricity etc. "If the migrant workers are staying with their families, they usually cook inside…

This Saturday, representatives of over 50 large apartments in Bellandur ward of Mahadevpura constituency met their MLA Aravind Limbavali, demanding a solution to their water woes. Majority of these apartments, located within the 110 villages that became part of BBMP a decade ago, have no BWSSB connections yet. The few who do have BWSSB connections, mostly on the Outer Ring Road side, get erratic supply. Their borewells have dried up, and they are paying cutthroat amounts to private tankers to fulfil their minimum water requirements. Even then, they don’t have enough water. BBMP asked to supply water, reign in private…

City up in Swachh Survekshan, Smart City rankings Bengaluru was ranked 194 out of 425 cities in Swachh Survekshan 2019, with a score of 2351.81 out of a total of 5000. This was a marginal improvement over the city's ranking of 216 in 2018, and 210 in 2017. BBMP had reclaimed black spots, overhauled transfer stations and organised compost santhes in an effort to improve the city's ranking this year. But factors like the lack of new garbage tenders and of ODF (Open Defecation Free) certification worked against the city. Many citizens had also given negative feedback during the survey,…

H1N1 cases spurt in February Since January, 603 positive cases of H1N1 have been reported in Karnataka, according to the State Health and Family Welfare Department. Of these, the highest number of cases, 141, were from BBMP limits. Reported cases shot up suddenly in February - cases almost doubled from 49 in the last week of January, to 91 in the first week of February. Overall, 400 people tested positive in the state in February alone, of whom 14 have succumbed to the infection. Bengaluru Urban District Surveillance Officer, T K Sunanda, said at a press conference, that areas such…

A wooden toothbrush, an eco-nozzle that regulates water flow from the tap and detergents and bathing products prepared and packed by eco-friendly methods. If you are environmentally conscious and looking for options to lead a zero or minimum waste lifestyle, Namma Green Sandhai is where you want to be on March 2nd, between 3 pm and 7 pm. The sandhai is yet another community initiative by Namma Ooru Foundation (NOF), to encourage mid sized entrepreneurs dealing with environment-friendly, sustainable alternatives. NOF is organising the sandhai at Adyar Shastri Nagar Welfare Association Community Hall, as part of the organisation’s 4th anniversary…

There is a spot on the lake land where one gets a 180 degree view of the sprawling 445 acre Varthur lake. The lake is filled with water and emits a strong foul odour. The southern end of the lake is filled with snowy froth. A wire mesh is erected along a section of the road near the lake to prevent the froth from entering the road. "Till the 90s, several migratory birds from Russia, Ukraine, China used to visit Varthur Lake, which acted as food source for them before they headed to the Southern Hemisphere. Once the sewage started…

Summer has just started in Chennai. But if present indicators are anything to go by, the summer of 2019 will be an arduous one. As things stand, water currently available for distribution is just over half the city's basic requirements, and supply in many areas has been cut to just once a week. Making matters worse, ground water levels are at the lowest in three years. So also are storage levels in the four main reservoirs that supply the city.  Groundwater levels in particular are as low as one would expect in April or May. Data collected from 24 wells…

Tall fences meet the eyes before one steps into the Sarakki lake premises. Most of the lake is currently dry. One can see the tractors busy removing silt from the lake bed. Walking around the lake can be unpleasant, as there are no walking paths currently and the surface is uneven. Garbage is sprawled across a certain section of the lake, and remnants of burnt garbage is present. Green patches of wetlands in the lake area stand out in the otherwise dry lake. "Birds have already started to come back to the Sarakki lake," says Professor K S Bhat, with a…