Simple steps to do if you see a tree being cut –
(Pls also read the full preservation of trees act for complete details , I’ve attached it with this email and am also pasting the link below –
http://hasiruusiru.org/joomla/images/stories/pdf/LawsAndPolicies/karnatakapreservationoftreesact.pdf)

Steps
Approach the contractor/workers cutting the tree. Ask them if they have the approval of tree officer, BBMP for cutting the tree.

If they dont have the order
Ask them to stop. Tell the that they are not authorised to cut trees and that they can be arrested for cutting trees without required permission. Please call the relevant tree officer.( Details in latter half of mail.)
Tell them the details – what’s happening and where. Ask her/him to come immediately and get the work stopped. If tree officer does not answer her/his phone, call their office number. If you dont get through to that, call the cops from the police station under whose jurisdiction the said road is located. Alert local residents and try and gather support (this could be counter-productive sometimes, they may want the tree to be cut) . And yes, pls take pics of the trees being cut.

If they have the order
Please have a look at the order and see what it says.
Does it have a BBMP seal? Does the order explicitly state that the full tree needs to be cut? Is it signed by the tree officer? Note – some times the tree officers permit the branches to be cut, but people use that to cut the whole tree. If permission is granted only for cutting branches, only branches can be cut, not the trunk. In case they have what appears to be a order, but the order looks fishy/incomplete, call the tree officer on cellphone/landline and inquire if permission has been granted.

In case they do have the order to cut trees and it looks like they have been granted permission, just double-check with the tree officer anyway. Call the tree officer on cell-phone/landline and speak to her/him confirming if an order has been passed to cut the trees in that location.

If they have the order and it looks like its genuine and the order allows felling of trees
If at the end you realise that the tree officer has granted permission to cut the trees, there is not much you can do at that moment to stop it. Ask the tree officer if trees are being replanted in the same area, to compensate for the trees being cut. If trees are not being replanted in the same area, thats a violation of the act.

Later, you can also file an appeal with the tree authority, BBMP against the
tree officer’s order.

(more…)

Here’s an announcement from the Bangalore Bikers’ Club, a community I am proud to belong to!

Groundbreaking Children’s Ride.
When are we riding: Sunday, September 6th 2009
Starting point: Sarjapur Road.
http://quikmaps.com/show/113961 shows the directions from the junction of Outer Ring Road/Sarjapur ring road to the starting point. PLEASE NOTE THE GREEN ARROW IS THE STARTING POINT

Gathering time: 4:00PM
Departure time: 4:30PM
Expected finish time: 6:30PM
Ride type: All Road Child Friendly RIDE
Distance: two circles – one each 3KM and a 5KM circle. We will try to identify some place where we can stop for ice creams or kid-friendly snacks after the event.
Number of children: Unknown at this time. (Will circulate this when we are done)

NOTE: THIS IS OUR FIRST RIDE. SO PLEASE BEAR WITH US AND GIVE US YOUR FEEDBACK ON WHAT WE CAN DO TO IMPROVE YOUR CHILD’S EXPERIENCE. WE ORGANIZERS ARE PARENTS TOO, SO WE HAVE A VESTED INTEREST IN THIS EVENT :-)

Eco-friendly, “green” Ganesha Idols for the Festival

Here’s an announcement I got via Hasiru Usiru:

Those who want unbaked, uncoloured Ganesha vigrahams of the size that can be dissolved at home in a bucket of water and poured back to join your garden soil, can contact

3419177 or 9342303247

or email Chandra Ravikumar at

chandraravikumar@hotmail.com

Here’s an announcement I got via Hasiru Usiru:

Those who want unbaked, uncoloured Ganesha vigrahams of the size that can be dissolved at home in a bucket of water and poured back to join your garden soil, can contact

3419177 or 9342303247

or email Chandra Ravikumar at

chandraravikumar@hotmail.com

Citizen Matters, Bangalore’s own community news magazine, is planning a local
panel discussion & interaction on “Know more about water: water harvesting, water
quality testing, water diseases and more” at JP Nagar on 11 July, Saturday morning.
The panel will have both experienced citizens and experts demonstrating simple
techniques and ideas, and taking questions from the participants. The interaction
will run for around 1.5 hours.
at JP Nagar on 11 July, Saturday at 12.00pm to 1.30pm.

The panel
Mr Nagaraj (rainwater harvesting user at Jayanagar)
Mr Navneeth (Project Engineer, Indian Institute of Science)
Mr Sharada Prasad (Argyam, water NGO)
Dr Balagangadhar (Scientist, KSPCB)
Dr Robert Joseph (St Johns Hospital)

This will be an interactive session and will run for around
90 minutes.
Venue for this event is
Magnus School of Business
13th Cross, 6th main road
J.P.Nagar 3rd Phase
Thanka & Regards
Raghavendra,
9611106477
Ops & Mktg Lead, Oorvani Media
Publisher: Citizen Matters, Bangalore’s own newsmagazine

Citizen Matters online
http://www.citizenmatters.in

Citizen Matters print
http://www.citizenmatters.in/print
15,000 copies, available in JP Nagar+BTM only

First Aid / CPR Training

Comprehensive Trauma Consortium, is a voluntary non-profit organization established in March 2000, specializes in providing round-the-clock Free Ambulance Rescue service (Pre-hospital care) to accident victims in and around Bangalore City . We have conducted 70,000 rescues so far.

The objective of this course is to create the importance of Pre-Hospital Care and equip the participant with first aid and CPR skills. This certified course is for one full day along with manual. The course fee is Rs.350/ per person. For registration please call @ 9880323829 and confirm before 30th May 2009.

Venue Details :

Date 30 /05/ 2009 (Saturday)

Time 10.00 am – 4.00 pm

Venue

Essae Chandran Institute

No.410, 100ft Road, 4th Block,

Koramangala,

Bangalore – 34.

For any further clarification, please contact

Mr.Vageesha

Training Co-coordinator

CTC PRIME

Mobile : 9880323829

”SHRADDHA CEREMONY”

The people of Bangalore deeply mourn the sad demise of our life giving trees, which lost their lives due to our callousness. We will be performing a , ”Shraddha” ceremony for them, on Sunday 24th May at 11am. Please join us to pray for the departed souls.

This condolence meet will be followed by a meeting on the next course of action to be taken to save LAL BAGH and our other PARKS

Venue

Park at 32nd Cross and Nanda Road Junction Jayanagar

Organized by

“Sanmathi” and “Hasiru Usiru”

Preferred dress : White dhotis sarees /dress

Earlier this week(April 13 and 14), the Bangalore Metro Rail corporation (BMRCL) has demolished over 500 feet of Lalbagh’s wall and cut down 5 eucalyptus trees inside Lalbagh. BMRCL proposes to have a Metro station inside Lalbagh itself – Bangalore’s distinctive botanical garden!

Lalbagh is protected by a separate, stringent law. In a highly undemocratic move, the Karnataka Government changed the law by moving an ordinance to acquire Lalbagh land for the Metro, rather than prefer a debate over the changed law, in the Assembly. The opposition has also failed to protest this undemocratic move.

Lalbagh and Lakshman Rao Park on R.V.Road, (also called the AC Road, Nanda Road ), both major landmarks and heritage of Bangalore are being destroyed for the Metro. This when the High Court is hearing PIL over alternatives in Metro alignment.

What seems like a minor portion of Lalbagh gone today will surely lead to greater portion of the park being taken away to create parking zones and malls that the Metro plans at its stations.

When they sought clearance, Metro authorities claimed trees on Nanda Road will be pruned, and not felled. Now they want to cut 323 trees on Nanda Road(R.V.Road) alone.

(more…)

Served on a banana leaf the north kanara meals are a pleasure to enjoy. This meal is popular for soft and tasty Jowar (Sorghum) roti served with a brinjal curry, cucumber and onion raita (salad) in Curd, greens & lentils curry.
(more…)

Brinjal Festival

Brinjal, badanekayi, is the king of vegetables which comes with its own crown! This is an event that will celebrate the diversity of Brinjals and contemplate our role in protecting it.

Don’t Miss the first-ever Brinjal Festival in Bangalore

Venue: MHS Hall, Lalbagh (Double road gate)
Date/Time: April 5th Sunday, 11am – 7pm

Good Food, Healthy Food, Safe Food… should be a primary concern of all of us. The Brinjal festival is an attempt to bring a better consciousness and respect for our rich diverse food. Genetically Modified (GM) food crops pose a grave threat to the diversity and to our health as consumers. Let us all make informed choices about food, one of most fundamental necessities.

What’s in store?

* Food Stalls with brinjal specials for you to savour
* Cooking competition for innovative Brinjal dishes
* Drawing competition and more fun events for kids
* Brinjal Diversity Exhibition showcasing more than 30 varieties of brinjal
* Screening of Mahesh Bhatt’s film Poison on the Platter
* Awareness campaign about GM foods and the risk to our health and environment.
* Meet scientists, farmers, doctors and Ayurveda practitioners and some well known celebrities.

To register for competitions, visit http://bangalore.aidindia.org/cms/?q=brinjalMela.

For any queries:

E-mail: brinjalfest@gmail.com

Contact:

Sejal – 9901201279 (sejalrparikh@gmail.com)
Siddesh – 9880600840 (tosiddesh@yahoo.com)
Pulkit – 9916173750 (pulkitparikh@gmail.com)
Guru – 9845294184 (mguru.aid@gmail.com)

Organized by

Association for India’s Development (AID)- Bangalore
Sahaja Samrudha
Samvada
Jaivika Krishi Society (JKS)
Mysore Hoticulture Society (MHS)

The city is a proud owner of many lakes and reserviors that keeps the garden city cherish its green cover. In recent few years these water bodies are seen shrinking and drying up as the urban population and demands thereof keep increasing…. (more…)