Bellandur Buzz…
Issue # 17
August 28th 2014
Shared fortnightly by: bellandur-forum@googlegroups.com

Can we celebrate an eco-friendly Ganesha Festival?

Photo Courtesy: Saahas.

Every year, during Vinayaka Chaturthi, a huge number of Ganesha idols are immersed in Bangalore lakes. Most of these idols are made of Plaster of Paris, colored with toxic paints and adorned with thermocol and plastic, none of which are bio-degradable. These toxic chemicals leach into the lake eco-system polluting the waterbodies. Instead, one could use clay Ganesha idols and decorate them with homemade colours and flowers and leaves.

Photo Courtesy: TMAD selling clay idols.

TMAD (To Make A Difference) volunteers have setup a stall in front of Springfields on Sarjapur Road – on 27th, 28th and 29th August with eco-friendly clay Ganesha idols. Throughout the city, there are many places one can purchase clay idols. Here’s a list. Lets celebrate a fun-filled but eco-friendly Vinayaka Chaturthi.
Kalyani tank is the only designated idol immersion tank at Kaikondrahalli lake on Sarjapur road. Please do not dispose plastic items or plastic bags in the immersion tank. Separate bins will be provided for plastic disposal.

GGRA Anti- Encroachment drive

Pic courtesy: Jyotiranjan Nayak – A good start.

Green Glen Residents Association (GGRA) members, started off their Sunday the 24th with 30-35 residents and a few police officers on footpath anti-encroachment drive. This drive supported by BBMP removed makeshift structures, vendors and signboards encroaching on the footpath space making it difficult for pedestrains to walk. Wherever possible, the hawkers were asked to shift their business to alternate locations other than the footpath.

The drive will continue in GGRA and Sobha side next Sunday, 31st August from 10 Am to 12 noon. All residents in the area are encouraged to participate!

Have you visited Saul Kere yet?

Pic courtesy: Razi Abbas. Southern entrance of the lake.

Saul Kere is another lake being restored just north of Sarjapur road to its former glory by the BBMP. The lake will be maintained by MAPSAS with funding from Genpact. On 15th August, a tree plantation drive was conducted by Genpact. The heavy rains last week have got water flowing into the newly restored expanse. Saul Kere is located downstream of Kaikondrahalli lake. The sewage diversion is already in place. So, only rainwater is flowing into the lake. Do visit this lake and take a walk around it! The perimeter of the lake is little more than 2 kms.

More information on Saul Kere can be found here.

Spl Commissioner’s visit is a much-needed ray of hope

The highlight for Ward 150 this month was the visit by Spl SWM Commissioner Mr Darpan Jain accompanied by other officials of the BBMP. As directed by the court, Mr Jain’s visit was intended to see and understand for himself the success story of Kasa Muktha Bellandur (KMB). Mr Jain met with KMB volunteers at Shobha Dahlia and was taken on a guided tour of their waste management processes, by the end of which Mr Jain was convinced that the KMB formula of segregation – Two-bin-one-bag was key to the success in achieving zero waste. Mr Jain also engaged with the volunteers and discussed ways to reduce discrepancies in BBMP processses and to ensure transparency. He noted that the lack of penalty implementation was derailing the segregation process. The Spl Commissioner invited citizens to be part of the solution and asked KMB volunteers to come back with a plan for a scalable model for the ward.

Mr Jain also visited Bangalore Central mall with a few KMB volunteers and was appalled to see that segregation was not being practised anywhere in the mall, despite it being a bulk generator of waste. He promptly levied a hefty fine on the mall and directed the management to follow segregation guidelines without fail. The Spl Commissioner plans to meet restaurant owners to discuss with them how to make their operations more sustainable. It was agreed that BBMP, KMB volunteers and Bangalore Central would work together to create a model mall that would be the blueprint for operations of malls across the city. Volunteers will also work with officials to debug the existing system and come up with a fault-free, scalable Model for the ward which they will submit to Mr Jain in the coming days.
Article Courtesy: Meera Nair

Have a story? Write to us: bellandur-forum+owners@googlegroups.com

Subscribe to the mailing group: bellandur-forum+subscribe@googlegroups.com