TheObserver issue 18

The Observer An IIJNM Publication

Vol. 18, Issue 18

Thursday, February 1, 2018

The Observer

@theweeklyobserver On the web: issuu.com/ theweeklyobserver/docs/the observer

Translocation harms trees: Experts

Should be avoided in monsoon Pracheta Panja

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ranslocation of trees seems better than chopping them down, but it has an adverse effect on them, environmentalists say. The process also has a negative impact on the environment.

To make way for a GottigereNagawara line, BMRCL recently translocated 185 trees to the IIM-B campus with help from private agencies.

Sheshadri Ramaswami, who is researching on south India’s forest reserves, said all trees cannot be translocated.

“It depends on the species of the tree. Small trees are better for translocation as they have a better chance of survival. When they translocate a tree, they cut the branches and roots, so there is a chance of the tree getting infected by fungus…. Fungal infections can spread through the trunk. Aftercare is very im-

During translocation, branches and roots are cut, leading to trees being infected with fungus, say environmentalists| Credit: Arlene Mathew portant. We suggest not doing it during the rainy season,” he informed The Observer.

To be translocated, a tree needs to be lifted from the root.

Sometimes roots are damaged

or the trunk suffers bruises.

Environmentalists say cutting branches and roots reduces the chances of a tree surviving after translocation. Straw must be wrapped around the trunk to

avoid damage to a tree. Following transplantation, a tree must be given chemical treatment to protect it from fungus.

Ramaswami said: “Translocation of a tree is more of a social

event than a scientific process”.

Translocation is unwelcome from the legal viewpoint. Prof.

Kshithij Urs of the National Law School of India University said: “The government does not follow the environment impact analysis (EIA) process. There are protocols to be followed. Projects require EIA, but they avoid EIA norms. For them, it is a moneymaking project. They do not care for the environment. They should find alternatives to projects that impact the environment.”

However, BMRCL insists it is maintaining the environment.

“The public and tree lovers accuse us of destroying the environment. But they refuse to concede we need to clear some space. We do not cut down trees but translocate them to make maintain the balance in the environment,” U.A. Vasanth Rao, chief PRO, BMRCL, informed The Observer.

“It’ll cost us around Rs 10,000 a tree. Earlier also, BMRCL maintained greenery. Take the example of M.G. Road,” he added. pracheta.p@iijnm.org

Bengaluru’s wait for LED BMTC wants 150 street lamps gets longer e-buses, Centre clears only 40

Bengaluru has 4 lakh sodium vapour lamps of 250 watts, with a life of about 10,000 hours | Credit: Rachel Dammala Ayushi Singh

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he BBMP announced on December 29, 2017, that it would float a tender to replace streetlights with LED (light-emitting diode) bulbs within a few weeks. More than a month after the announcement, there is no sign of a tender. Five lakh streetlights are to be replaced with LED lamps. The budget is Rs 15 lakh per ward for old wards and Rs 10 lakh for new ones.

“Government work takes time.

We have a clear plan for how to

go about it. We are just waiting for government approval so that the work can be started,” said Govindaiah, BBMP executive engineer, east zone.

About 20,000 streetlights have been replaced so far, as reported

by The Observer earlier. The BBMP budget in 2017 had allotted Rs 23 crore to replace streetlights with LED lamps.

Asked about the delay, BBMP engineer-in-chief M.R. Venkatesh informed The Observer: “There hasn’t been any delay. A few of them have been replaced.

The work is still in progress. Sixty days are provided for a tender above Rs 1 crore. As soon as the tenders are approved, contractors will be finalized and work will begin.” Looks like the city will have to wait another month for the promised lamps.

LED is a technology that uses at least 75% less energy than a sodium vapour lamp. LED lamps last up to 25 times longer.

Bengaluru has 4 lakh sodium vapour lamps of 250 watts, with a life of about 10,000 hours. A 150-watt LED lamp can last up to 50,000 hours.

BBMP spends about Rs 12 crore on illuminating streetlights every year. LED lamps will bring down that cost to about Rs 6 crore. The BBMP will save an additional Rs 30 crore a year in maintenance cost, BBMP executive engineer Sreenath informed The Observer.

Under the Street Lighting National Programme, over 21 lakh conventional streetlights have been replaced with LED lamps.

The installation of LED lamps has resulted in annual energy savings of 295 million kWh (kilowatt hours) and a reduction of 2.3 lakh tonnes of carbon dioxide emission annually, according to the power ministry’s website. ayushi.s@iijnm.org

Rayan Mitra

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MTC’s plan to run 150 electric buses has received a setback because the Centre has cleared only 40.

The corporation had planned to float a tender for 150 electric buses under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) Scheme of the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP), but the Centre agreed to provide only 40 vehicles to start with.

BMTC will start with the services on airport and Ring Road routes, PRO Shyamala S. Maddodi had told The Observer.

“This is a trial. If it runs properly, we will get more buses on the roads in following phases.

For now, 40 electric buses will operate by September or October.” The routes are yet to be decided.

BMTC’s chief mechanical en-

gineer Krishnaiah Shetty B.R. said: “It would have been better if the government of India had approved the number of buses we had asked for. Forty buses won’t make much of difference.”

Electric buses will help to reduce air pollution in Bengaluru to a great extent, he added.

The Centre had launched NEMMP 2020 to accelerate the growth of the electric and hybrid components of the automotive sector. It focuses on fast-tracking the manufacture and introduction of electric vehicles.

The heavy industries department had launched FAME in 2015 to promote the manufacture of electric and hybrid vehicles to curb pollution. The scheme focuses on maximizing the purchase of these vehicles and supporting infrastructure for them. FAME will fund cities covered under the Smart Cities initiative. rayan.m@iijnm.org

The Observer Team

Editor: Rachel Dammala News Editor: Manikankana Sengupta Copy editing: Manashaa G., Ayuhsi Singh, Rayan M. Page Layout: Athul M., Pracheta Panja Magazine Page Layout: Kritika Agrawal, Sreejani B.

Culture & Society

SUPPLEMENT

The Observer Thursday, February 01, 2018

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Back to the Roots The popularity of Hase Chittara reflects urban India’s sense of connectedness to its rural past, writes Kritika Agrawal

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ribal art is a contemplation of nature, a meditation on the passing of the seasons, the cycle of birth and death and the complex web of life. Like Gond art in Madhya Pradesh or Warli art in Maharashtra, Chittara tribal folk art of the Deevaru community in Karnataka seeks to express these eternal themes through intricately designed artwork using rich, organic earth colours. Chittara is also known as Hase Chittara.

Originally the preserve of the women of the community, Hase Chittara has both social and cultural significance. It is a means for farmers to come together and decorate their homes to celebrate the harvest, religious festivals and special occasions like weddings. The Hase Chittara wall art created for marriages depicts the relationship between the bride and groom and is considered holy in wedding rituals.

Given its close association with nature, the colours used are extracted from the natural environment. Ground rice paste is used for white, roasted rice for black, gurige seeds for yellow and red earth for red. Other colors are extracted from natural ingre-

dients like bark of the trees, turmeric, green leaves and flowers. The brushes are made of Pundi Naaru or jute fibre.

Basic lines connected to geometrical shapes like circles, squares and triangles are made from wet, red and white mud and

ally 2-3 square feet in size.

The painting, when completed, gives us a snapshot of nature and society and the interactions between them, revealing the fascinating stories contained within. Women in Deevaru villages create this art on

tions. For them, Hase Chittara is both a hobby and a passion, not a commercial proposition.

“The traditional Hase art was made of infinite geometrical shapes with a free hand but I often try to experiment with it,” says Radhakrishna Bannagudde,

interpretation to its admirers.”

Bannagudde promotes his art by holding workshops across the country and teaching it to design students. Hase Chittara art has made a long journey to reach the modern world through the efforts of interior and fashion designers, who are trying to make it more contemporary by incorporating urban motifs and themes into its spare, geometric designs.

GOs are making efforts to revive such art forms.

Centre for Revival of Indigenous Art, a Bangalore basedNGO, works to preserve the age-old traditions that are on the verge of extinction. Says founder Geetha Bhat, “We organize workshops and exhibitions to increase awareness . There are youngsters who are keen to learn this art but don’t know where to learn it from .That is why we are focusing on educational institutions.”

Today, art made using organic materials, traditional and handmade processes is attracting a lot of attention. It shows that the sensibilities of some of India’s oldest communities resonate with its urban populace, helping city dwellers gain a deeper appreciation of their roots and histories.

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Hase Chittara has both social and cultural significance lime stone using a brush or finger.

The geometrical figures are then filled with more intricate lines and designs. Human figures, also made from lines and triangles, complete it. This artwork is usu-

their walls and pass on the tradition and the tales that accompany it to their daughters. It’s a laborious and painstaking effort as the geometric shapes require a careful balance of ratios and propor-

an artist and an agriculturist based in the Sagar taluk of Shimoga. “I draw inspiration from different art forms from all over the world, such as the tribal arts of Mexico and Africa. I leave its

Food for Thought Replacing wheat and rice with millets would not just improve our health but that of the planet, writes Arlene Mathew

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raditional wisdom has always recognised the value of India’s indigenous food crops. Millets, an integral part of Karnataka’s food heritage, are synonymous with health and nutrition. They are both farmerfriendly and ecologically sound as they consume less water than commonly-consumed cereals like rice and wheat and are thus perfectly suited to our arid climes.

The Karnataka government has been promoting the cultivation of millets and their inclusion in our diet. The recent International Organic & Millets Trade Festival held in Bangalore was just the latest in its drive to popularise millets that began around a year ago, with symposiums and fairs held across the state to encourage people to include millets in their daily diet and familiarise them with ways to cook them.

In December 2017, the Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Bangalore had organized a culinary symposium showcasing a variety of millet-based delicacies. These included sorghum jalebis, millet-chocolate brownies, pearl-millet salad, sorghumchicken soup, and sorghum-millet tacos cooked and served by the faculty and students of the college.

Says Sheetharam Prasad, executive chef of Grand Hotels,

Chennai, who participated in the symposium, “Millets are much more suitable for the human digestive system; they get processed way faster than other grains like white and rice. Millets also develop probiotics in you after consumption. The milletbased recipes that I have tried so far are quite impressive.”

“Gluten-allergy is also relevant. Many people, especially a lot of the foreign guests we receive are allergic to gluten. So, a move to millets will be very ben-

eficial for our clientele,” says Shilpa Mogilishetty, co-founder of Jus Amazing Foods & Beverages.

Millets are now selling at an average price of ₹100 a kg in the retail market, while the farmers are getting around ₹40 only. Despite the government's efforts to promote millets, consumers still find millet a costlier alternative to wheat/rice. “The only drawback that I see with millet is the price.

Right now, a kilogram of wheat costs much lesser than the same

amount of millet,” says Shashi Sharma, a faculty member at Ramaiah Institute.

Karnataka has been suffering from a deficit of rainfall, resulting in acute drinking water shortage and large-scale crop losses.

Millets can be grown without irrigation and can withstand up to 30% deficiency in rainfall. This is also a major factor behind the push for millet.

“We will provide funds to the farmers, for the processing, packing and labeling machinery they

Ramaiah Institute

Switching to sweets made of millets is a healthier option

will require,”says Krishna Byre Gowda, minister for agriculture in the Karnataka government. He pointed out that the area under millets in Karnataka has fallen significantly, and the government has announced a ₹34-crore package to encourage cultivation. he government plans to especially popularise farming of lesser known varieties of millet such as navane (foxtail millet), araka (kodo millet), oodhalu (barnyard millet), korale (brown top millet) and saame (little millet) as ragi or nachni (finger millet), jolaor jowar (sorghum) and bajra (pearl millet) are already staples in our diet. “The aim is to promote a healthy lifestyle for people and to give a boost to farmers of the state,” says the minister. “We intend to explore possibilities to promote sustainable and organic food practices.”

Other ideas to promote millet consumption being considered include government certification of authentic millet-based food products and even price subsidies for them.

However, cooking with millets is still a challenge for many.

This has prompted culinary experts and health enthusiasts to come up with plans to organize competitions and create YouTube videos on cooking millet dishes.

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