bengaluru

Today marks my 12th day in Bengaluru and I am proud to say my desire to take pictures of every single passing cow has subsided. Since arriving the weekend before last, I filled my phone’s camera roll with photos of cattle, likely confusing many passersby who have shared the roads with these guys their whole lives. I laughed out loud on several occasions, like when a large group of them walked right past my gate one evening, or when I moved out of the way of one only to have it move the same way putting me right back in…

I am here to apologize to all the Indians, the Kannadigas I’ve met in the last three weeks. Immediately upon meeting you, you either spoke to me in English, with the assumption that of course I wouldn’t be familiar with your language. Or, you asked if I spoke Hindi, and when you learned I didn’t, you jumped right into English with no apparent judgement. India, I am grateful for your linguistic abilities and I am sorry for my linguistic limitations.   I studied French for several years, but I am only fluent in English. Meanwhile, every single person I’ve met…

I am here to apologize to all the Indians, the Kannadigas I’ve met in the last three weeks. Immediately upon meeting you, you either spoke to me in English, with the assumption that of course I wouldn’t be familiar with your language. Or, you asked if I spoke Hindi, and when you learned I didn’t, you jumped right into English with no apparent judgement. India, I am grateful for your linguistic abilities and I am sorry for my linguistic limitations.   I studied French for several years, but I am only fluent in English. Meanwhile, every single person I’ve met…

Trees as we all know are of great importance for the whole human fraternity as well as managing the natural balance in the environment. However, we human beings are regularly cutting down the trees for fulfilling our personal needs without seeing its side effects on the society and the environment. This insane act of deforestation is affecting our environment through climate imbalance, increasing global warming, soil erosion, floods, wildlife extinction, dip in the fresh oxygen level and an increase in the carbon dioxide etc. This impact is unfortunately understood by only a few in this world. Mindless chopping of trees…

Trees as we all know are of great importance for the whole human fraternity as well as managing the natural balance in the environment. However, we human beings are regularly cutting down the trees for fulfilling our personal needs without seeing its side effects on the society and the environment. This insane act of deforestation is affecting our environment through climate imbalance, increasing global warming, soil erosion, floods, wildlife extinction, dip in the fresh oxygen level and an increase in the carbon dioxide etc. This impact is unfortunately understood by only a few in this world. Mindless chopping of trees…

When buildings come up in the catchment area of a lake, there's bound to be flooding during the rains. Two major residential projects, Bren Imperia and Shriram Chirping Woods are coming up on on the sensitive valley zone between Kasavanahalli and Kaikondrahalli lakes. Citizen Matters had written about what was happening in the area.  Residents ask govt to save Kaikondrahalli, Kasavanahalli lake wetlands Yet another construction threatens to dry up Kaikondrahalli lake How construction debris is letting sewage enter Kaikondrahalli lake Just a month ago, the National Green Tribunal had dismissed the petition against these projects. But the recent heavy rain…

When buildings come up in the catchment area of a lake, there's bound to be flooding during the rains. Two major residential projects, Bren Imperia and Shriram Chirping Woods are coming up on on the sensitive valley zone between Kasavanahalli and Kaikondrahalli lakes. Citizen Matters had written about what was happening in the area.  Residents ask govt to save Kaikondrahalli, Kasavanahalli lake wetlands Yet another construction threatens to dry up Kaikondrahalli lake How construction debris is letting sewage enter Kaikondrahalli lake Just a month ago, the National Green Tribunal had dismissed the petition against these projects. But the recent heavy rain…

Bangalore is growing at an unprecedented rate,and its sprawling expansions outpaces the public utility's ability to accommodate the skyrocketing demand for water and sanitation services. It is increasingly common for new residential communities to assume total management for their own water and sanitation services through the resident welfare associations. Most of these depend on borewells and tankers, which they sooner or later realise is not a sustainable option. Groundwater recharge, one of the forms of rainwater harvesting, can be instrumental in achieving long-term water security. By taking water out of over-stressed storm drains and replenishing them into shallow aquifers, groundwater…

Bangalore is growing at an unprecedented rate,and its sprawling expansions outpaces the public utility's ability to accommodate the skyrocketing demand for water and sanitation services. It is increasingly common for new residential communities to assume total management for their own water and sanitation services through the resident welfare associations. Most of these depend on borewells and tankers, which they sooner or later realise is not a sustainable option. Groundwater recharge, one of the forms of rainwater harvesting, can be instrumental in achieving long-term water security. By taking water out of over-stressed storm drains and replenishing them into shallow aquifers, groundwater…

On the evening on May 12th, raw sewage gushed in from the eastern inlet for nearly 3 hours into Kaikondrahalli lake. With help from BBMP labourers provided by BBMP lakes Engineer Shilpa, and with many of the lake visitors and volunteers staying back at night to oversee the work, we could partially block the inlet. The blocking at the inlet was reinforced in the morning, but sewage continues to trickle in. With a JCB borrowed from Bren Construction, we tried to block the main source of the sewage inflow, but had to re-open it soon as the land owner and…