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BBMP steps up efforts for glitch-free SC survey

BBMP steps up efforts for glitch-free SC survey

BENGALURU: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Chief Commissioner Maheshwar Rao held a review meeting regarding the ongoing Comprehensive Caste Survey to identify Scheduled Caste members.
Rao said that since the beginning of the Survey from May, 8,215 enumerators visited 1,31,730 SC houses and have covered 5,11,594 SC members.
He also asked zonal officials to deploy additional enumerators in areas with high population of Scheduled Castes and complete the survey work quickly, especially in the Eastern Zone.
Addressing a review meeting held in the Eastern Zone on Tuesday on the progress of the Scheduled Caste/Original Caste Comprehensive Survey, the palike chief told the enumerators to be in touch with the community leaders and representatives in areas with high populations of Scheduled Castes in the Eastern Zone and instructed them to complete the survey work at the earliest.

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Bengaluru asks: Where have all the crows gone?
Bengaluru asks: Where have all the crows gone?

Time of India

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  • Time of India

Bengaluru asks: Where have all the crows gone?

Bengaluru: Not too long ago, the cawing of crows was an inescapable part of mornings in the city. You'd hear them from rooftops, wires, trees, and market corners. Today, silence has taken their place. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The change hasn't been sudden, but it has become impossible to ignore. Birdwatchers and experts have noted a steady decline in sightings of both the common house crow (Corvus splendens), a regular fixture in urban India, and the jungle crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), its larger and more robust cousin. Barring a few parks or near meat markets, crows have gone missing from residential neighbourhoods. People feel the absence when they wait for the birds to make an appearance during 'pinda dana', an offering to propitiate spirits of ancestors. Ulhas Anand, naturalist and vice-president at Tyfone told TOI, "This has been happening over the last decade. It really became noticeable after 2011. And it's not just about the crows; this is a warning sign for our city's entire ecological fabric." So why is this happening? The answer, ironically, lies in what the city considers progress. As Bengaluru improved its waste management systems, streetside garbage, a primary food source for crows, began to disappear. Krishna MB, ecologist and ornithologist, explained, "The way we dispose of food has changed. BBMP has removed bins from street corners, and that has had a massive impact." Its consequences But should we be worried? Crows feed on a wide range of leftovers: Rice, meat scraps, rats, carrion, and even small birds. In that sense, they have served as unofficial waste processors in the city. Their absence could lead to an increase in unmanaged waste and a rise in secondary pests. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now More importantly, their disappearance signals deeper ecological problems, loss of tree cover, collapse of food chains, and disruption of natural cycles, all of which affect not just birds, but the health and liveability of the city itself. Their absence has implications beyond a quiet skyline. Urbanisation has taken a toll on nesting habitats. Old trees that once provided space for crows and other hole-nesting birds such as barbets and parakeets are being cut down to make way for apartment blocks. In fact, every time it rains heavily in Bengaluru, 25-30 trees get uprooted. "Every tree lost is a pointer to numerous nests destroyed, badly affecting the crow population," another bird enthusiast said. This apart, pesticides have wiped out insect populations. And constant city lights interfere with natural rhythms and disrupt photoperiodism (the phenomenon where organisms respond to the relative lengths of day and night) in birds, Krishna added. No one is counting No formal data tracks the decline of these birds. On citizen-science platform eBird, data for May 2025 shows 91,520 jungle crows and 46,999 house crows in Bengaluru. But experts caution that these numbers can be misleading. "This doesn't reflect the actual density or distribution," said Krishna MB. "It tells us how many were recorded, not how many are left." Without a city-wide or national census on common birds such as crows, it's difficult to assess how deep the decline really is. Why koels are missing too Crows aren't disappearing in isolation. Other birds are vanishing with them, and some are vanishing because of them. Koels lay eggs in crow nests and rely on crow parents to raise their chicks. With fewer crows around and not many safe nesting trees, koels are laying fewer eggs. Rising construction noise and shrinking green spaces further prevent birds from breeding. This loss isn't about one species, but an interconnected system beginning to break apart. K Sankara Rao, from the Centre for Ecological Sciences, said unless the environment supports safe nesting and mating, birds simply move away, or stop reproducing. CHAIN OF DISAPPEARANCES Birds that were commonly seen in the city, but are now rarely spotted: * House sparrow * Common myna * Dove * Red-vented bulbul — Madhuja Chakraborty

Monsoon Is Here: Bengaluru Civic Body Allocates Rs 65 Lakh For Flood Relief Equipment
Monsoon Is Here: Bengaluru Civic Body Allocates Rs 65 Lakh For Flood Relief Equipment

News18

timea day ago

  • News18

Monsoon Is Here: Bengaluru Civic Body Allocates Rs 65 Lakh For Flood Relief Equipment

Last Updated: While the BBMP will continue to collaborate with other departments, officials believe the new equipment will prove valuable during emergencies. As the rainy season approaches, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has initiated last-minute preparations for heavy rainfall, acknowledging the limitations of its infrastructure in managing such events. The civic body plans to procure flood-relief equipment, including inflatable boats, life jackets, centrifugal pumps, and other emergency gear, anticipating potential flooding. This follows severe flooding in areas such as Sai Layout, ST Bed, and HBR Layout, and indicates the BBMP's recognition that this year's monsoon could pose similar, if not greater, challenges. The BBMP has allocated approximately Rs 65 lakh from the National Disaster Mitigation Fund to acquire nine types of flood-response equipment. This includes four inflatable boats equipped with outboard motors (each with a capacity of 12 passengers), 48 life jackets, 16 centrifugal pumps for draining stagnant water, chainsaws for clearing fallen trees, bolt cutters, ropes, and handheld torches. For the first time, the BBMP is independently procuring flood-management equipment, marking a departure from its previous reliance on State and National Disaster Response Forces (SDRF/NDRF) and Fire Department personnel for rescue and relief operations during floods. While the BBMP will continue to collaborate with other departments, officials believe the new equipment will prove valuable during emergencies. A senior BBMP official explained that previously, they had to improvise, using earthmovers to deliver food and tractors to evacuate residents in areas like Sai Layout. However, this move has attracted criticism, with some describing it as a reactive measure that fails to address the underlying causes of flooding. RTI activist BH Veeresh criticised the BBMP, stating that the civic body had ample opportunity to address fundamental issues such as desilting stormwater drains, removing encroachments, and promoting rainwater harvesting, rather than simply preparing for the consequences. 'Instead of tackling these fundamental problems, the BBMP is preparing only for damage control," he said. Veeresh also highlighted alleged irregularities in the Storm Water Drain (SWD) division, which he claims remain uninvestigated. First Published: May 30, 2025, 14:50 IST

BBMP steps up efforts for glitch-free SC survey
BBMP steps up efforts for glitch-free SC survey

New Indian Express

time4 days ago

  • New Indian Express

BBMP steps up efforts for glitch-free SC survey

BENGALURU: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Chief Commissioner Maheshwar Rao held a review meeting regarding the ongoing Comprehensive Caste Survey to identify Scheduled Caste members. Rao said that since the beginning of the Survey from May, 8,215 enumerators visited 1,31,730 SC houses and have covered 5,11,594 SC members. He also asked zonal officials to deploy additional enumerators in areas with high population of Scheduled Castes and complete the survey work quickly, especially in the Eastern Zone. Addressing a review meeting held in the Eastern Zone on Tuesday on the progress of the Scheduled Caste/Original Caste Comprehensive Survey, the palike chief told the enumerators to be in touch with the community leaders and representatives in areas with high populations of Scheduled Castes in the Eastern Zone and instructed them to complete the survey work at the earliest.

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