Good morning, Bengaluru!
🌤️ Today’s weather: Hazy skies and sunny temperatures.
🧐 Did you know? The Bangalore Palace, built for the Maharaja of Mysore, is modelled on Windsor Castle in England.
🪧 Activists threaten ‘Flyover Yaake’ protest
Citizens resolve to campaign against the introduction of new flyovers.
Story so far: Activists and mobility experts have expressed grave concerns regarding CM Basavaraj Bommai’s announcement of constructing 11 new flyovers in the city. The CM had emphasised the novelty of sanctioning 11 flyovers at once and said that overpass constructions would alleviate traffic congestion. Remembering the success of the Steel Flyover Beda campaign, a civic activist pledges to spearhead a ‘Flyover Yaake’ campaign too.
- Green and civic activists expressed shock at the CM’s decision to introduce more flyovers when the construction work of existing projects is embroiled in environmental concerns and efficiency debates.
- Members of civic groups threaten to hold massive protests if the said projects are greenlit for construction. They believe that citizens’ concerns should be addressed before implementing infrastructural projects.
Accumulated concerns: A majority of the apprehensive activists are part of civic groups that are currently up in arms against the BBMP regarding the Sankey Flyover Project. While the project is with BMLTA for further evaluation, Citizens for Sankey, a collective of residents from Malleswaram, Sadashivanagar and Vyalikaval, is determined to celebrate Valentine’s Day by hugging trees on Sankey Tank Road.
Why it matters? Residents argue that constructing flyovers is a redundant measure to ease traffic congestion. It has been historically proven ineffective, if not completely counterproductive. Flyover constructions adversely impact the environment too, and new projects must avoid depleting the area’s green cover.
🧑🌾 Mustard Festival
Safe food campaigners inform citizens about the ramifications of introducing GM mustard.
Story so far: Marking the end of Safe Food Week, India for Safe Food, in collaboration with Jaivik Mall, organised the Vasanta Utsava-Sasive Habba (Mustard Festival) near Lalbagh on Sunday. The festival aimed at raising awareness about the benefits of indigenous mustard varieties and the potential damage that Genetically Modified (GM) mustard entails.
- Arundhati Nag, a famous theatre actor, inaugurated the festival and signed a cloth banner that demanded the protection of indigenous mustard crops. The organisers have also requested the Centre to revoke its permission for GM mustard.
- Multiple mustard varieties and dishes made with mustard were on display as the organisers explicated the benefits of using mustard oil cakes and plants as mineral sources for the soil and cattle feed.
Why it matters? The organisers believe that the introduction of GM mustard threatens the rich diversity of India’s 4,000 native varieties and harms consumers’ health. Indigenous mustard is important for the farming sector and food systems in India.
- The central government has argued in the past that GM mustard will increase yield and food security and ease import bills.
🚮 A campaign to compost
Activists are trying to make Bengaluru’s citizens self-sufficient by helping them compost.
Story so far: Saahas, a waste management NGO, has initiated the Bhoomitra project in a bid to improve waste management and processing in the city. Through Bhoomitra, the NGO provides residents with composting kits that can handle 1kg of waste and community composters with a much larger capacity. These are supplemented by gardening and composting workshops for residents.
- 320 individual households in the city have received the home-composting kits so far, thus eliminating 320 kgs of waste from landing with the BBMP. Saahas plans to extend distribution to nurseries and temples as well.
- The NGO has distributed 11 community composters that have lifted almost 750-800 kg of wet waste off the landfills. Residents of HSR Layout have undertaken community composting after receiving 14 lane composters.
Why it matters? In 2022, BBMP mandated the self-segregation of solid waste in apartment complexes with over a hundred housing units, or other bulk waste generators. The notice was expected to facilitate the collection, processing, and disposal of segregated waste within the premises. However, many complexes are bereft of adequate infrastructure that allows waste processing.
- The initiative will reduce the dumpage in landfills and relieve the burden on waste management workers and loaders while reducing transportation costs for the BBMP.
🏙️ The city gets a makeover
Ahead of the assembly polls, Bengaluru is filled to the brim with civic projects.
Story so far: BBMP has revealed that work orders for the entire ₹6,000 crore city development allocation in the 2022 budget have been issued. This development comes despite the state government’s previous announcement that the funds would be rolled out over three years. While some projects are already underway, others will require more time to be implemented.
- A huge chunk of the funds has been apportioned to the redevelopment of Storm Water Drains (SWD). BBMP has reportedly begun road-related construction work and ward-level projects.
- According to urbanist Ashwin Mahesh, the BBMP is ill-equipped to see projects of this scale through. He believes that funds should be allocated according to the feasibility of the project.
Why it matters? Apart from pothole-driven roads and waterlogging, SWDs have been identified as a major problem during monsoon season. Last year, amidst fears that the city’s infrastructure is inadequate to deal with heavy rainfalls, the BBMP initiated a survey on SWD encroachment and fast-tracked evictions.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Do you enjoy political comedy?
- Yes, I enjoy it when comedians get political.
- No, I don’t enjoy it when comedians get political.
❓ Today’s Question
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What is a quirky skill that you have?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- US Air Force’s F-35 will debut at Aero India 2023.
- The Karnataka government is contemplating more eggs in midday meals.
- BBMP has decided to set up an in-house domestic sanitary waste plant.
- Experts suggest that the government must expand access to education in rural areas.
- Metro’s Shettigere depot is set to clear a final land hurdle.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll:
- I am a minimalist: 80.0% 🏆
- I am not a minimalist: 20.0%
Answers to Yesterday’s Question:
What were your favourite cartoons to watch as a kid?
Sriranga: “Batman, Oswald, Pingu, Pokemon, DragonBallZ, Shinchan and Doraemon. Myriad of choices 😂😂😂😂”
Mohan: “Tom and Jerry, Shinchan, Doraemon, Chota Bheem, Pink Panther, Jhonny Bravo”
That’s it for today. Have a great day!