Once upon a time, Bangalore was surrounded by hills and greenery. The city has paid the price for progress and development by losing its natural environment.
As the construction industry picked up, demand for construction material skyrocketed, opening up business and economic opportunities to many. Sand Mafia and Stone Mafia developed.
Ponds, lakes and rivers around Bangalore, Kolar, Mysore have borne the brunt of Sand Mafia.
Stone Mafia seems to have taken over all the hills in the surrounding.
In 2005, when I trekked Chennagiri for the first time, there were no quarrying activities in the area. There was a beautiful hillock with an ancient temple, dolmen, and a mesmerizing stone pond. This hill, only 50 odd kilometers from Bangalore, and just behind famous Nandi Hill, was a very good one day trek & picnic spot.
When I trekked here again 4 years later, a part of the hill was gone. I could see the Silver Colored Rock Surface from far away glaring at me. I missed the 'complete' hill. The silver stain has been consistently increasing indicating the level of quarrying.
Industrialization and Urban migration led to rapid development of the city. As the City gained height in the form of SEZs, multistoried apartment complexes, malls & high rises, the majestic hills around Bangalore shrunk. Carrying capacity of the city began to be stretched beyond limits.
Tier II and tier III cities have also picked up from the Tier I cities and are preparing for their next big development wave. Both Information Technology & Real estate giants started owning very large parcels of real-estate everywhere, eating away into green belts, elephant corridors, forest lands, agricultural lands and even heritage cities.
Villas & apartments complexes constructions have reached the outskirts of smaller cities like Mysore, Bidadi & Mandya.
As a repercussion, the hills are diminishing into rubble around these smaller cities as well.
The pictures in this blog are from Kanakapura. Villagers remember the hill fondly. But only a faint memory remains. As we can see, the entire hill has been gorged out. Trucks and people look like tiny insects on the surface.
Sadahalli, Chikjala, Hunsemarana Halli beyond Yelahanka have lost most of their natural wealth. It is a sad sight at Hunsemarana Halli, as the naked blocks of rocks stand as proof to vandalism of nature.
It is noticed that quarrying is stopped intermittently & it resumes again very soon indicating lobbying influencing the moves.
Pandavapura Taluk is another place famous for quarries. The hills in the area are fast disappearing. Blasting the rocks by using dynamites create loud noise all through the night. New roads are being laid & older ones widened to accommodate lorries and connect them all the way to the quarries.
This kind of development is not possible without strategies well thought & cooperation of the governing officials who do not mind turning a blind eye to the blatant rape of the natural resources.
Who regulates the entire process? What are the requirements to get license to quarry the hills? How many hills are demarcated for quarrying and how many are marked for protection? How is the viability of the project measured? Who scrutinizes the entire process? Why isn't there governance and regulation in place? There are many questions that need answers urgently.
With the hope that honest officials will look into the case of disappearing hills and bring about a sustainable solution before the last of remaining hills cease to exist.
Roopa Sreedhar
9535278981
Pictures by Giridhar B G
As the construction industry picked up, demand for construction material skyrocketed, opening up business and economic opportunities to many. Sand Mafia and Stone Mafia developed.
Ponds, lakes and rivers around Bangalore, Kolar, Mysore have borne the brunt of Sand Mafia.
Stone Mafia seems to have taken over all the hills in the surrounding.
In 2005, when I trekked Chennagiri for the first time, there were no quarrying activities in the area. There was a beautiful hillock with an ancient temple, dolmen, and a mesmerizing stone pond. This hill, only 50 odd kilometers from Bangalore, and just behind famous Nandi Hill, was a very good one day trek & picnic spot.
When I trekked here again 4 years later, a part of the hill was gone. I could see the Silver Colored Rock Surface from far away glaring at me. I missed the 'complete' hill. The silver stain has been consistently increasing indicating the level of quarrying.
Industrialization and Urban migration led to rapid development of the city. As the City gained height in the form of SEZs, multistoried apartment complexes, malls & high rises, the majestic hills around Bangalore shrunk. Carrying capacity of the city began to be stretched beyond limits.
Tier II and tier III cities have also picked up from the Tier I cities and are preparing for their next big development wave. Both Information Technology & Real estate giants started owning very large parcels of real-estate everywhere, eating away into green belts, elephant corridors, forest lands, agricultural lands and even heritage cities. Villas & apartments complexes constructions have reached the outskirts of smaller cities like Mysore, Bidadi & Mandya.
As a repercussion, the hills are diminishing into rubble around these smaller cities as well.
The pictures in this blog are from Kanakapura. Villagers remember the hill fondly. But only a faint memory remains. As we can see, the entire hill has been gorged out. Trucks and people look like tiny insects on the surface.
Sadahalli, Chikjala, Hunsemarana Halli beyond Yelahanka have lost most of their natural wealth. It is a sad sight at Hunsemarana Halli, as the naked blocks of rocks stand as proof to vandalism of nature.
It is noticed that quarrying is stopped intermittently & it resumes again very soon indicating lobbying influencing the moves.
Pandavapura Taluk is another place famous for quarries. The hills in the area are fast disappearing. Blasting the rocks by using dynamites create loud noise all through the night. New roads are being laid & older ones widened to accommodate lorries and connect them all the way to the quarries.
This kind of development is not possible without strategies well thought & cooperation of the governing officials who do not mind turning a blind eye to the blatant rape of the natural resources.
Who regulates the entire process? What are the requirements to get license to quarry the hills? How many hills are demarcated for quarrying and how many are marked for protection? How is the viability of the project measured? Who scrutinizes the entire process? Why isn't there governance and regulation in place? There are many questions that need answers urgently.
With the hope that honest officials will look into the case of disappearing hills and bring about a sustainable solution before the last of remaining hills cease to exist.
Roopa Sreedhar
9535278981
Pictures by Giridhar B G
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