Good morning, Bengaluru!
đ¤ď¸ Todayâs weather: Warm temperatures and hazy sunshine.
đ§ Did you know? The Kempegowda Bus Station rests on an area that used to harbour a massive lake and ground. In colonial Bangalore, the Dharmambudhi lake was an important source of water, a sacred site for festivals, and a testament to the cityâs beauty until piped water came through in 1898.
đ Bosch to invest in Metro
Bosch will sign an MoU with BMRCL to build direct connectivity to the nearest metro.
Story so far: Global technology firm Bosch has offered âš50 crore to the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) to approve its access to the Lakkasandra metro station. The fund will go into constructing an underground walkway from its campus in Adugodi to the Lakkasandra metro station.
- The Lakkasandra station, part of the Gottigere-Nagawara metro line, sits close to Boschâs 76-acre corporate headquarters. The campus houses 10,000 employees and allows only electric vehicles inside.
- As per metro authoritiesâ approximation, the walkway cost will amount to âš40 crore, and the remaining âš10 crore will be for utilising the direct connection. BMRCL will hold onto its ownership, while Bosch will have access rights for 30 years.
The procedure: The German conglomerate currently awaits approval from the high-powered committee authorised to ratify the cityâs metro stationsâ financing schemes. Subsequently, the firm will sign a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the BMRCL.
- Doing so, Bosch will join Infosys, Biocon, Intel, and Embassy in entering into MoUs with the BMRCL to either invest in building a metro station in proximity or pay fees for direct access.
- The BMRCL can fund expensive metro projects cost-efficiently through such partnerships with corporations.
đ Book review: Urban Undesirables
The book foregrounds the perspective of street sex workers who pepper urban Bengaluruâs streets.
The gist: Urban Undesirables, the latest book by social scientists Neethi P and Anant Kamath, studies the discrimination and abuse that afflicts street-based sex workersâ lives in the city. The authors conceived the idea to dig into Bengaluruâs underbelly in 2015 when they were faculty members at Azim Premji University.
- Using the oral history methodology, the authors base their book on those who work the streets of MG Road, Majestic, KR Market, and Yeswanthpur. Their work reveals the changing nature of discrimination and abuse based on sex workersâ identities.
- The authors suggest that transgender sex workers have it the hardest as their public presence is contested in Bengaluruâs urban landscape. The lives of sex workers are upended when people or the police discover their profession.
Ideal urban publics: When people invoke Bengaluruâs commercial and urban landscape, they forget the existence of the urban poor. Several people in the cityâs informal workforce engage in sexual commerce, yet they find no place in urban planning.
Perspective problem: Many people pity sex workers or consider them loose instead of multi-layered human beings. The magnitude of the abuse that entails a life of sex work can reduce if others find a way to accept the financial and personal viability of the occupation.
đŹ Nanoscopic imaging technology
A neuromorphic sensor can detect nanoparticles invisible to current microscopes.
Story so far: Researchers at the Indian Institute of Scienceâs (IISc) Centre for Neuroscience (CNS) have demonstrated that a brain-inspired image sensor can catch cellular components or nanoparticles that are invisible to microscopes. IISc has published its findings in Nature Nanotechnology, a peer-reviewed journal.
- The neuromorphic camera simulates how the human retina converts light into electrical impulses. The 40mm X 60mm X 25mm camera triumphs over conventional cameras in multiple ways.
- Here, each pixel operates with autonomy, generating a lower amount of data. This method lets the camera sample the environment with an increased temporal resolution.
Whatâs the study? The researchers used the neomorphic camera to detect individual fluorescent beads smaller than the diffraction limit. To do so, they shined high and low-intensity laser pulses and measured their variation in fluorescence levels. The process includes using a deep learning algorithm to locate the particles accurately.
đˇ Leachate Processing Plants
BBMP plans to set up leachate processing plants at Chikkanagamangala and other locations.
Story so far: The BBMP intends to install leachate processing plants in conjunction with the Municipal Solid Waste Plants (MSW) to address leachate leakage in waste processing plants. The move comes after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) formed a joint committee last year to address the issue and directed the BBMP to comply with its regulations.
- The project will be completed in six months and cost the Palike around âš10 crore. The BBMP floated a tender for installing 20 KLD leachate processing units.
- Experts qualify this as a good move if the machines meet industry standards. According to Ram Prasad, a Waste Management Expert, the monitoring data of leachate processing plants should be made available in the public domain.
Why this matters? The BBMP has been in a bind due to leakages in its waste processing units and citizensâ protest against suspected groundwater pollution. In Chikkanagamgala, for instance, leachate was leaking into a stormwater drain connected to a pond nearby. Last year, the MSW plant generated 36 KL of leachate every day.
đ Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Are you close with your childhood friends?
- Yeah, Iâm still close to my childhood friends.
- No, Iâve lost touch with my childhood friends.
â Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
What appears the most in your phoneâs photo library?
Reply to this email with your answers.
đď¸ In other newsâŚ
- The Karnataka Forest Department will start de-weeding the Madiwala lake next week.
- Baton Transport aims to train, recruit, and impart skills to women truck drivers.
- The Pune-Bengaluru National Highway has turned into a death trap for wild animals.
- The BBMP damaged 100 saplings to carry out developmental works.
- Bjorn Borg leaves the felicitation ceremony as Karnataka CM Bommai runs late.
đď¸ Local Lounge
Yesterdayâs Poll:
- I like living alone: 50.0% đ
- I prefer having friends, family, or flatmates around: 50.0% đ
Answers to Yesterday’s Question:
Whatâs a cliche that you believe holds true?
SriKanth: âAll that glitters is not gold.â
Thatâs it for today. Have a great day!