Environment | Citizen Matters, Bengaluru

Volunteers, Kishore and Aravind, water the plants in Vasanth Nagar every alternate day in the evenings. Pic: Rajkumar Dugar

How four Vasanth Nagar residents are saving plants during lockdown

April 13, 2020 Rajkumar Dugar

Plants in public places are becoming water-starved during the lockdown. In Vasanth Nagar, four residents have been going out and watering such plants to ensure they stay alive.

The Tabebuia Rosea trees in full bloom on Outer Ring Road. Pic: Naveen Thomas Prasad

Watch: Tabebuia Rosea trees in full bloom paint ORR pink

March 18, 2020 News Desk

It’s spring, and the brilliant pink bloom of Tabebuia Rosea trees are adorning Bengaluru’s streets. Here’s a video of the bloom along Outer Ring Road, and some details about this alien tree species.

BDA ‘concretises’ restoration of Bellandur Lake

March 3, 2020 Manoj Sharma

It turns out that the Bangalore Development Authority’s mammoth rejuvenation plan for Bellandur Lake is not how the experts conceived it. Fears that this crucial project – to be carried out under the gaze of the National Green Tribunal – becoming another brick and mortar-centric exercise, may not be unfounded.

Thriving mini urban forests amidst Bengaluru’s IT park. Pic: Manyata Residency VrikshaMitra Group

How 15 citizens are building about 8000 sq m of forests in Bengaluru

February 28, 2020 Malathi Prasad

Last year, 15 residents near Manyata tech park collaborated with the NGO SayTrees, to build mini forests. The fast-growing forests are now major lung spaces in the traffic-choked area.

Isn’t looking beyond Cubbon Park a Smarter Plan?

February 26, 2020 Bindu Gopal Rao

Authorities have come up with a Rs 40 crore plan to redevelop Cubbon Park under the smart city project. The question is whether it is prudent to splurge on an already-thriving ecosystem rather than redirect scare resources towards creating more such spaces.

Bengaluru’s exotic, giant trees: Here’s where and how you can spot them

February 17, 2020 Nityananda S

Do you know what Buddha’s Coconut is? It’s one of the tree species in Bengaluru that would be more at home in jungles. The city even has giant trees that originate as far away as West Africa or South Pacific.

Is it African Tulip or Akasha Mallige? Here’s a guide to tree-spotting in Jayanagar

January 2, 2020 Nityananda S

Flaming orange, bright yellow, pale purple – flowers of all these hues appear on Jayanagar’s streets. Here’s a guide on spotting the native and exotic trees in the area

How Bengaluru youth are taking part in the global movement against climate change

December 24, 2019 Manasi Paresh Kumar

The Bengaluru chapter of Fridays For Future (FFF), a global youth movement, holds weekly climate strikes in different parts of the city. In this edition of Citizens Live, one of its coordinators Disha A Ravi, speaks about their work

Zero-waste music festival in Bengaluru pays tribute to endangered species

December 18, 2019 Srijan Sen

Large-scale music festivals usually come at a cost to the environment. Echoes of the Earth, an annual music festival in Bengaluru, aims to change this by adopting sustainable practices

Why Bellandur lake restoration will fail unless Doddanekkundi lake is cleaned up

December 8, 2019 Manasi Paresh Kumar

Crores are spent on rejuvenating lakes in Bengaluru, but they continue to receive sewage. Why does this happen, and what can you do about it?

Nature maps of Bengaluru released

December 4, 2019 News Desk

Landscape Foundation India has released Kannada and English maps of ecologically and culturally significant sites in the city. Their research delves into Bengaluru’s changing relationship with nature over the past 500 years

New construction in Cubbon Park: High Court permits 7-storey building, citizens to protest

October 31, 2019 Harsha Raj Gatty

New construction is restricted in Cubbon Park by law and court orders. But a recent High Court order has allowed construction of a seven-storey annexe building of the HC itself here, and that too, replacing a heritage structure

CycleToWork Fridays: Bengaluru cyclists to show strength in numbers once a week

October 26, 2019 Sathya Sankaran

As part of a new initiative ‘CycleToWork Fridays’, cyclists in the city will ride to work together every Friday. A broader coalition to promote cycling will be launched in the city on November 6

Averting Day Zero: How Bengaluru should manage its water

October 23, 2019 Sneha Visakha

A slew of regulations are needed to arrest Bengaluru’s worsening water scarcity. These include change in water pricing, integrated management of various water resources, and so on

Panel to explore solutions to Bengaluru’s water crisis: Who gets how much and at what cost?

October 22, 2019 News Desk

How can every Bengalurean be provided with enough water for their needs, at a price they can afford? Attend a panel discussion on October 24th, where BWSSB Chairman and domain experts explore solutions