Bangalore Urban and Rural District

Author: S. Vishwanath
Video courtesy: Zenrainman

When a city adds nearly 3 million people in a span of a decade ensuring water supply to its citizens seems a huge challenge. One critical thing to realize is that the mind-set of ‘providing’ water has to change and become one of ensuring that citizens can access water of requisite quality.

Organizer: National Institute of Advanced Studies

Venue: Lecture Hall, NIAS, IISc Campus, Bangalore

Description:

Five years have passed since the first United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government passed the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) Act in 2005. Altogether there are around 1200 SEZs in different phases of development today. Analyzing the development and distribution of SEZs in different parts of India in the last five years gives us some ideas about the political geography of special economic zones in India.

This talk will draw on this analysis and the personal experience of the speaker in struggles against various SEZs in India including the proposed POSCO SEZ in Orissa which has received a very strong farmers’ resistance.

Water interventions in the society

The society is an AIDS care hospice of about 5 acres, on the outskirts of Bangalore.

Organizer: Student Conference on Conservation Science, IISc

Venue: JN Tata Auditorium, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

Description:

The Student Conference on Conservation Science (SCCS) – Bangalore brings together young researchers in conservation science to facilitate interaction, encourage exchange of research ideas and methods, and help build contacts and capacity. SCCS-Bangalore focuses on attracting students primarily from countries in South and South-east Asia.

Two important metro cities of India, viz. Bangalore and Chennai are discussed. The aim of the study was to understand the problems of increasing flooding incidences in urban areas and related contexts of urban development and ecological issues. Data of secondary origin have been collected and interpreted in the context of flood risks and urban management. The paper also conveys wider issues and lessons for flood challenges in Indian cities and towns.

 Residents of L&T South City and Brigade Millenium in JP Nagar, Bangalore formed a citizen initiative to save the neighbouring Puttenahalli Lake from becoming a dumping ground for construction debris and waste. A team from India Water Portal visited the lake in June 2011 to see the progress and challenges faced by such citizen initiatives.

Good option: The city needs multiple sourcing of water and open wells have the potential to provide up to a third of the requirement

Just how a city can be arbitrary with its policy on water management and therefore leading to sub-optimal conditions is made clear by a recent example one came across. Balasubramanian had an old open well dug to a depth of 30 ft. when he first built his house in the early 80s. The well had yielded water for quite some years but then subsequently had gone dry.

Talking History is an inter-collegiate course on Oral History offered at the Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology in Bangalore, India. The films were made between February - March 2011.

 Doddabommasandra lake

 Doddabommasandra lake is located close to B.E.L circle in an area called Doddabommasandra in Bangalore. This film endeavours to portray the story and memories of drying up of Doddabommasandra through two different viewpoints. The story reflects the pattern in which we are exploiting and losing our water resources.
A short film by Gautam Vishwanath and Kinshuk Surjan