Dr. Vivek M: Scavenger's Tale

tsubba - 23-OCT-2007

[flickr-photo:id=557958975,size=m][flickr-photo:id=544277379,size=m] "One of the most pressing problems of urban living is the disposal of garbage. Although much is being debated about the methods of disposal in view of global warming, a small section of the poor who depend on these large dump yards as the sole means of livelihood seldom gets attention. These workers collect scrap iron, plastic, glass bottles and sell them to dealers through whom it reaches recycling plants. Their daily earnings are between Rs. 150-250 (US $ 3-5) a day." Dr Vivek M's captures of the life of some of Bangalore's scavengers.

The middle-class slums?

silkboard - 30-SEP-2007

Literally no peace or silence. Hear it all loud and clear when any of your neighbors talk. So called 'individual' houses, most of them joined with one another at hips. No air or space between them. 8 to 10 feet wide roads (practically speaking), dotted with cars, and cobwebbed with cables of all sorts - tv, telephone and electricity in that order.

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Hebbal lake - floating restaurant is off!

silkboard - 16-AUG-2007

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A TOI report (Aug 16) says that EIH have canceled their plans to construct floating restaurant on Hebbal Lake:"The idea was that adequate income would be generated by those who got the lease for the lake's upkeep. However, the group has now decided that we are not going ahead with the project. We took up the lake to restore it. It is a social project for us,'' added Ketki (from EIH) ...  Asked for the reason for the change in plans, she said the project had attracted way too much attention and criticism by environmentalists and conservationists in the city.


There is another side to these green protests - what will be the motivation for corporates to come forward and "own" lakes under Lake Development Authority's lake upkeep plans? Two points on that:

Not My Job

tsubba - 13-AUG-2007

This video we have all seen. These type of things prolly happen daily at most stations in India. From the video it is difficult to tell where it happened, but it could well have been our own Yeshwantpura station, for example.

Candle Light Vigil To Save Hebbal Lake Bangalore

admin123 - 31-JUL-2007

Some students of the Mallya Aditi International School, Bangalore are taking lead and organizing a candle light vigil on Saturday, August 4th, 2007 at 6:30 p.m to save the Hebbal Lake. All you need to bring is candles and sense of care to save the lake.

[Background: Home to thousands of birds and source of livelihood to hundreds of people, the Hebbal Lake, is set to make way for a floating restaurant and other recreational activities all in the name of preservation. Some say this recreational center violates zoning regulations. Before that, is privatization of Bangalore's lakes the only route available to LDA for preserving them?]

So Long, And Thanks For All The Birds

tsubba - 26-JUL-2007

The 500 year old Hebbal lake ecosystem spread over 150 acres has not only been an abode of nature enthusiasts, it has also sustained hundreds of people - farmers, fishing communities, cattle herders, washermen, and casual workers.

Nobody misses them though ...

tsubba - 10-JUL-2007

Yet another pronouncement about elections to local urban bodies. HDK orders that the elections be setup by July 31 for all local bodies except BBMP. Ramalinga Reddy and Dharam Singh(remember him?) of the Congress Party take objection to BBMP being excluded.