July 29: Untill a decade ago, the 1,300 acre UAS campus was not even considered a part of Bengaluru city. The comprehensive development plan had placed it within the protected green belt around the city. Then the airport shifted to Devanahalli, and Bellary Road was widened to eight lanes to accommodate the increased traffic.
Many things changed. Property values shot up, dense neighbourhoods emerg

read more

It was a two-decade old case that finally came to a close, at least partially, in February this year. The 11-acre Meistripalya kere in the heart of Koramangala was at the centre of a legal battle, with residents of the locality fighting to protect this much-needed lung space. An individual with ancestral linkages to the land had claimed it.

It all began with one woman. Laila Ollapally. A Koramangala resident and a practicing advocate. More than a decade ago, Laila chanced upon the Meistripalya tank. It was her determination to protect and preserve open spaces in Koramangala that saw her through…

It is an 11.2 acre plush green landscape. A few huts have sprouted here and there. Encroachments. Pigs and cows graze along quietly. Apart from the piles of garbage strewn in certain portions, the Meistripalya kere (also known as Jakkasandra Lake) is a vital open space for residents of Koramangala.

It is to protect this very lung space that the residents of Koramangala fought for years. Their efforts finally bore fruit in February 2010 after the Supreme Court ruled in their favour to protect this land as an open space. And on Friday, June 18th 2010,…