Published in Dwarka Express dated 29.10.23

An interesting notification of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has become viral and drew the attention of all lake activists in Bangalore. The notification invites the interested citizens to become the ‘Kere Mithra’ meaning friend of a lake. At the first instance, one wonders why he or she should register with Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to be eligible for a friend of a lake. Am I not a friend of lake, if I am not registered by BBMP, fumes an angry volunteer. Taking it in right spirit, many citizens rushed to register for becoming a BBMP nominated friend of the lake. Perhaps citizens might have thought that this may give an opportunity to be heard. But all are not lucky enough to get the registration done. For instance, if one clicks the dropdown menus one by one, he may land in his preferred Assembly constituency. He chooses the same and now the list below asks you to opt the nearby lakes in the constituency.

If one does not find in the drop-down menu a lake of his choice, say for example, in Malleswaram or Yelahanka constituencies, then the chance is that he would not become a Kere Mithra. Those people who are working for rejuvenation of a nearby lake may not get an opportunity to serve. On the other hand, it has also come to light that a number of lucky citizens of other wards have registered for some other lakes. The online format stipulates another condition. The lake must be within 2 KMs from the residence of the Mithras. A citizen is expected to upload his voter I card also as a proof of your proximity to the lake. Interestingly only 10 Mithras will get the opportunity if more people register on a randomization process. The story does not end here. The registration should have been done before 30^th Oct 2023. Environment is not everyone’s priority and only a few come forward to take up the cause. If this is going to be a free service, can’t BBMP take a generous view of the nomination? The best way is to invite those who are interested in saving the lakes, shortlisting them on merits and allot lakes as per their choice to have an effective people’s participation.

We understand that a similar notification came up five years back and it could not take off. It is a good initiative to involve genuine volunteers. While welcoming it, we wish that BBMP should drop  aside the stringent restrictions like a) 2 km radius or b) cut off dates or c) Only 10 Mithras per lake  The need of the hour is to involve more concerned citizens in rejuvenating and maintaining the waterbodies. Let us hope that in a democratic country like ours where there are a lot of people’s representatives already such as MPs, MLAs, ward counsellors besides dedicated bureaucrats, one more step of roping in a volunteer is not a bad idea, though.

Published in Dwarka Express on 21.10.23

The engineering fraternity may be thrilled to have one of the world’s largest tunnel road in Bangalore and cheer up that the traffic congestion would be addressed by the engineering marvel. Political leaders might proudly announce that India has the state-of-the-art technology of global standards. The public may heave a sigh of relief that the nagging traffic snarls will not be there anymore though they know pretty well that the 190 KM long tunnel road in the congested areas of traffic jam will be a reality only after 38 years for the project to complete. How many of us would live to see the dream day is anyone’s guess. The proposed tunnel road is expected to cover 12 high density corridors such as Bellary Road, Old Madras Road, Mekhri Circle, Sarjapur Road, Hosur Road and Outer Ring Road, KR Puram, Silk Board etc. The mammoth project may involve an estimated investment of Rs 50000 Crore. 9 companies have been said to be shortlisted to submit feasibility report. 

The notorious Bangalore traffic is a present-day problem and how the 38 year long mega project would address the same is a million-dollar question. By the time the project completes, what will be the population and what will be the expected traffic are questions that linger on. Sustainability of the project from unexpected financial cost escalation on the one hand and ecological concerns on the other hand, the Bengalurian is keeping his finger crossed.

Already ground water aquifers are affected due to unprecedented construction activities. Every residential apartment is contemplating on digging ‘one more’ borewell to augment the water demand as existing borewell yields are depleting sturdily. When the giant drillers start grinding the underground rocks to construct tunnel roads, will the aquifers not be blocked?  Tunnel projects in India have created havoc in many places. Perhaps a few projects might have been successful and revolutionized transportation, but the long-term environmental impact is either not known or ignored. The rich biodiversity of India is gradually vanishing every day. Further the noise pollution and CO2 emissions during the currency of the project will go up significantly. So, the Paris Accord on global carbon emission standards for which India is a signatory also will be violated, feels the environmentalists.

What is needed to address the day today traffic snarl is to find out ways and means and exploit the IT skills within to digitally monitor the same and divert the traffic in over-congested areas. There is also a dire need to control the registration of new four wheelers and encourage public transport system. Of course. every city is facing the same problem. Speeding up of the construction of elevated corridors of Metro rail may also ease out the congestion to a larger extent. However, a multi-pronged approach is the need of the hour to address Bangalore’s traffic problem. Any development activity must envisage ecological sustainability, economic feasibility, population growth dynamics and technical feasibility, lest there will be no light at the tunnel, literally too!

It is said that in a laissez-faire economy, everything is possible as Government keeps mum and allows the market forces to take care of growth. In economy it may work but in ecology, unless the Govt intervenes to restore sustainability, the ecology and environment will be in doldrums. Therefore it is necessary that the Govt works in unison with several ministries to ensure that the ecosystem, biodiversity and environment get fair deal. If one aspect is taken care of while the other side is ignored, such development does not qualify for sustainable development. Two announcements came up during this week which made us to wonder the direction we are travelling.

On the one hand the Karnataka Government has resolved to declare a total of 1,961.4 sq.km around six national parks and wildlife sanctuaries as eco-sensitive zones. This will protect the buffer areas from encroachment by vested interests to save the rich wildlife and forest. The six pristine forest areas include Kappattagudda, Bukkapatnam, Kamasandra, Nagarhole, Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary and Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary. One has to welcome the steps as this is a positive development in the direction of afforestation.

On the other, a disturbing news is that the Karnataka government is planning to implement the 2019 and 2021 decisions of the government to reduce the buffer zones of Arkavathy and Kumudvathy rivers from 1 KM to 500 meters. Interestingly both the rivers are flowing nearer to Bangalore. Though it is stated that only residential colonies would be allowed, not factories, it will not be possible to stop the unauthorised drains from residential area to get connected to rivers. There is no justification to reduce the buffer area any further. The buffer zone is in fact a part of the river ecosystem which also houses rich biodiversity and ensures that the river flow is not hampered.

Encroachment is a menace if it is unauthorized. But it becomes a rightful activity if it is permitted by the law. Already the Bangalore city has lost innumerable waterbodies like tanks and lakes. The city is becoming overcrowded due to migratory population and lots of apartments are mushrooming. Somewhere, a balance must be attained to keep the city water sufficient. We hope that goodwill will prevail and the encroachments are curtailed.

(Footnote: representative picture from internet)

Published in Dwarka Express on 7.10.23

Trees are voiceless and so they fall a victim to axes often. Punishments are there for humans if someone kills others in law. Erring humans are punished even if the crime amounts to an attempt to murder. Why trees are be treated similarly? Strange! How can a tree be compared to human beings; a feeble whisper is heard from a stone’s throw. If someone prunes a tree, twigs a branch or cut down its major portion, leaving the main trunk, how can this be treated as crime? This question is asked by many. After all trees are woods which are found in our home furniture and how can cutting a tree will be heinous crime, according to a few.

Recent scientific studies indicate that trees listen to music and they have feelings like human beings. Touch-me-not plant (Mimosa pudica) shrinks as soon as one touches it. The pitcher plant (Nepenthes pudica) traps an insect by closing the lid. Such actions suggest that the plants and trees respond to stimuli and therefore they have senses. But whether they feel the pain when they are cut is still a question mark. While going into the science is not our objective, we definitely feel the pain when a tree is cut. Plants do the respiration. They also grow like human beings. One day they are dead too. The vascular system of a plant has two main types of tissue, namely the xylem and the phloem. The xylem distributes water and dissolved minerals upward through the plant, from the roots to the leaves. The phloem carries food downward from the leaves to the roots. All these make us believe that trees are something special. Certain people treat trees as Gods. However, science is still evolving to substantiate that the trees and plants have feelings like human beings.

Under such circumstances, many organizations, scientists and volunteers emerge in nook and corner of the world to save trees against onslaughts. It is not without reason. The fact that the trees are the only oxygen provider on earth, other than the clinical production of oxygen in cylinders, justifies the need to protect them and avoid damage to trees. So many of us call it inhumane when the trees are felled or cut to size. The state also has enacted sufficient rules to protect trees from cruel treatment. First time in India, the Indian Forest Act, 1927 was introduced in India which levied a penalty of Rs. 10,000 or 3-months imprisonment on any person who cuts down a tree due to any reason. But this is about trees in a forest and there arose a dire necessity to save the trees in urban areas. Slowly the state realized that they should protect the trees by bringing rigid laws.

Besides the Environment (Protection) Act, every state in India has its Tree Protection Acts and they levy penalties for felling the trees or pruning them beyond permissible levels. They also penalize those who are nailing the trees for advertisements. Concretization around the base of the main trunk is also prohibited to enable trees to have breathing space for roots. Trees should not be entangled with electricity coils to beautify the surroundings.  All said and done, still we find that the said tree acts are violated. The rules are indiscriminately deviated in order to accommodate the contemptable and the powerful lot, thereby doing more harm than good to environment.