Bangalore Sweatbox

Air pollution pretty bad

B'lore air murkier than Chennai, H'bad
Pollution weighs heavily on City

Deccan Herald, 27 Apr 06

Bangalore's air is worse than that of its two famed southern cousins -- Chennai and Hyderabad -- according to the latest official data, which clearly points out the Garden City's failure to check pollution .....

Bangalore's air is worse than that of its two famed southern cousins -- Chennai and Hyderabad -- according to the latest official data, which clearly points out the Garden City's failure to check pollution compared to other cities in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Bangalore's annual level of breathable particles in the air -- 71 micrograms per cubic metre -- is higher than that of Coimbatore, Kozhikode, Hyderabad, Kottyam, Kochi, Tuticorin and Chennai, says the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in its latest air quality monitoring data. Vehicular and industrial pollutions are the two principal sources.

Floods likely during coming rains

Replay of monsoon woes forecast here

Deccan Herald, 27 Apr 06

Is a sequel to last year's october floods waiting to happen this monsoon? Residents of Bilekahalli, Ramanashree and Someshwara layouts on Bannerghatta Road feel this possibility is steadily turning true in their area.

Over 2,000 square feet of land is submerged in sewage water, all because land developers have blocked the water channel from Bilekahalli to Raja Canal. The 20-feet wide valley near Ranka Apartments on Bannerghatta Road which carries all the sewage water of J P Nagar and other adjacent areas has been narrowed down considerably by private builders, says Kumar, a resident of Ramanashree layout. The developers have also raised the landscape to a height of seven to ten feet rendering the layouts, that comprise 150 sites, as 'low-lying' areas, he alleges.

"The encroachments have been steadily increasing in the last one year. As the connecting channels are obstructed, water has stagnated, resulting in mixing of sewage and drinking water.

"Two bores have already been affected due to this," adds Shripal, member of Bilekahalli Residents' Welfare Association.

"We fear flooding each time it rains. We will have no choice but to vacate our houses this rainy season. Large quantity of sewage water is accumulated at the other side of the compound wall of the layout. Any breach of compound wall will definitely bring the sewage water into our houses," Shripal feared.