Scrubbing, cleaning, spraying and toiling away every shred of your life. You are still unable to keep away the annoying little pests. You have tried everything you could and are at your wit’s end to procure that one magical solution that will wipe away all your misery. Fear not! Make the most of Herbal Strategi’s exclusive range of fogging solutions that act as a magical elixir in keeping all those annoying pests away.
Made of Neem oil, Lemongrass oil, Citronella oil and Cedarwood oil, Herbal Strategi’s Thermal Fogging Outdoor spray covers a fair distance. They can be used outside your home and any place in your surroundings that is heavily infested with mosquitoes, cockroaches or flies. Completely natural, they do not harm your health in any way while also leaving behind the pleasant trace of lemongrass fragrance.
Herbal Strategi Cold Fogging Outdoor (Mospray)
Composed of Lemongrass oil, Tulsi oil, Eucalyptus oil and Palmarosa oil, Herbal Strategi’s Cold Fogging Outdoor spray eliminates the usual stress and exertion that is associated with cold fogging and chemical solutions. With herbal alternatives, the process becomes much safer and simpler. They can be sprayed in your backyard, in your veranda or around your potted plants to keep your family safe from pests.
Herbal Strategi Cold Fogging Indoor (Mospray)
Made up of Lemongrass oil, Tulsi oil and Eucalyptus oils, they offer a safe and effective alternative to keep the pests away. Since this is a water-based product it is not recommended to use it inside your homes because of the dampening effects that will arise as a result. It is advisable to use them in your lobby areas, hospitals and schools to clear the area of pests and keep it friendly for your friends, family and guests.
Yes, Monica, one Twitter user, has shamed the civic agencies by ironically captioning the headline to her video that shows the ugly side of Koramangala. Calling herself a bullshit slayer, Monica says she’s “working this social media thing, being social, not so much. Politically incorrect but Right, dog mum, BS slayer”. We agree with you, Monica. Will the BBMP alleviate the distress caused to Koramangala residents, please?
When the going gets tough, the tough get going. The best example of this was the remarkable transformation brought about by residents, an NGO, and the BBMP.
On November 6, 2019, the three groups came together to convert a garbage dump site into a tea point. “The wall was beautified with whitewash, and hand-painted by the team,” said a member of Saahas. “Plants/pots are kept in order to discourage waste dumping.”
We need more such stories to not only bring cheer to the residents and passersby in Bengaluru, but also wake up the BBMP to do its job, and the careless resident who is throwing trash all over the place.
Segregate the waste into wet and dry. Better still, use a composter to create manure out of your kitchen waste. You will be doing your bit to reduce the mountains of garbage piling up in landfills that contaminate the groundwater. Save yourself.
It takes a while for the citizens to get the BBMP officials to take action on pigs loitering in their neighbourhoods. However, when they do make an appearance like a few days ago, the pigs run into the military grounds that is out of bounds for both the authorities and citizens. Despite the escape plan of the pigs, the BBMP was able to catch around 50 pigs in Sector 2 and Sector 3. Though they received reports of pigs being seen in Sector 1, they had vanished into the area of the defence forces by the time the catchers turned up.
The pig catching haul is significant because many years ago when the then corporator Latha Narasimhamurthy decided to rid HSR of pigs, she had to call off the drive when she was apparently threatened by the pig mafia. Later, BBMP designated officials of animal husbandry to catch the pigs. But the drive was never carried out for various reasons, including the pig mafia.
Residents also reported that vans carrying pigs would come to the edge of Sector 2 and drop them off in groups. However, that appears to have stopped as one resident said, “We don’t see such groups anymore, atleast not in the last 6-8 months. However, those who escape into the military grounds come back to HSR the next day. That’s when we know where they had been to.”
However, the cleanup drive for pigs in Sector 2 is always an incomplete exercise as the pigs escape into Sector 3, Sector 1 and the military grounds. However, this time, the BBMP did visit all the three sectors to nab a significant number of pigs.
Sector 3 resident Srikanth says: “There are around 50 pigs roaming on 25th Cross.” Another resident says that there are around 500 pigs in the military area. “Whenever they feel like, they enter the surrounding areas,” says one resident. “This info was given by contractors hired by BBMP for catching pigs.”
According to Dr Ravikumar of the BBMP, “fencing or compounding of the military area will restrict the movement of pigs.” Can the defence forces listen to his advice or do something else that will alleviate the problem?
But when will the military exterminate or relocate the pigs from their area remains to be seen. It’s a long-pending problem that refuses to go away permanently until the military acts on pigs.
The next time you spot pigs, report to Ravikumar (98452-73175).
If the smell in Somasundrapalya, Hosapalya and Kudlu is unbearable, thanks to the smell emanating from the composting plant, Karnataka Compost Development Corporation (KCDC), it’s just about bearable in HSR Layout. The stink affects different areas at different points in time, depending on the wind direction and also when the KCDC staff turn over the compost heap. That’s when the stink gets worse. And yes, the smell becomes all pervading and reaches up to Hosur Road and Nice Road, when it rains rhinos. This smell is usually in the evening and night, between 6pm and 12pm. That’s when either the heap is being turned over at KCDC, or the rain gods have smiled. So if you sense a horrible smell, the moment you step out of your homes in the evenings, you know it’s the KCDC to blame.
Fighting for the closure of the plant for over three years, the residents living in the immediate vicinity of the plant, in Kudlu, Somasundrapalya, Hosapalya and Sector 2 of HSR Layout, are planning to relocate. Efforts to reach out to the ruling government, both past and present, have resulted in everything but closure. The daily tonnage was brought down from 500 to 100 tonnes, but the stink remains, and so does the ground water contamination.
The residents are not just complaining of nausea, skin and throat allergies, but also persistent headaches due to the stink for over three years. Spraying lemon grass is doing little to contain the smell. KCDC’s efforts to compost within a contained facility failed several times. Additional expenses to make it a scientifically-run establishment did not work either. Instead, it polluted the nearby Somasundrapalya Lake that it also encroached for its operations. Now, the encroached area is being given back to the BBMP by the KCDC, so that the lake can be rejuvenated.
Over a year ago, MLA Sathish Reddy had proclaimed on social media that the KCDC plant will be shutdown soon. Before that, Rajeev Chandrashekar had made his appearance, just before the general elections, and promised all help. But nothing so far even though the BJP is in power now. Left with no other option, the residents have filed a Public Interest Litigation in court.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
In the meanwhile, the BBMP and social activists are educating people about the benefits of home composting, so plants like KCDC need not exist. Only the dry waste can be collected from homes by the BBMP, which again is recycled by entities like ITC. The kitchen and other wet waste can be turned into compost using several simple solutions available in the market. They are called by different names, but you could just search for ‘composters’ and you will come across enough products to choose from. Go through the reviews and pick the one that works best for you.
To get a practical demonstration of all the home composting solutions at home, head to Swachagraha Kalika Kendra in Sector 4, behind the petrol bunk near HSR flyover. They have a separate section meant to teach you on just this subject.
A tiring day spent rushing through the dull monotony of everyday life. You return home in anticipation of your comfy blankets and warm food. Within the safe comforts of a healing home, you prepare to doze off for a few blissful minutes.
BUZZZ.
And there goes your peace. One stray mosquito that keeps buzzing all over the place. One that prepares to zoom in and bite when you are right about to sleep off. You try swatting it but it is always cleverer and much faster than you. Soon, they multiply and continue their onslaught in huge swarming numbers.
Frustrating hours meant for peace and quiet. Successfully failing swats. The intense fear of using chemical repellents. The desire to protect your body and mind.
Herbal Strategi brings you an exclusive range of Mosquito repellent products that aims to keep away the pesky little pests while also keeping you safe from harmful side-effects.
This room spray is unlike any other as it comes with multiple benefits. Use the spray under your beds, in narrow crevices and other hotspots of mosquito breeding. Apart from keeping the mosquitoes away, they also spread the room with an airy fragrance just like a typical room spray. They do more than just freshening the room with an exotic aroma. The most annoying little tyrant, the mosquito is also kept away.
Herbal Strategi Mosquito Repellent Body Spray (Mospray)
Mosquitoes are a form of trouble that extends far beyond the confines of your home. It might be during the long-drawn minutes of a boring bus ride or an animated dinner night with your family – mosquitoes can come from anywhere at any time. It is not possible to use a coil or a swatter when you are out for an occasion. So Herbal Strategi has introduced a specially-designed mosquito repellent body spray which can be used anytime you travel outside. Not only does it keep the mosquitoes away, but also acts as a safe alternative to all the harmful chemical products available in the market.
Incense sticks are quite a popular feature in all our homes. Used as a means of freshening the air on a hopeful morning, we find them during prayers and chants to signify new beginnings. But what if they could keep away the nuisance of mosquitoes too? We introduce our Herbal Mosquito Repellent Incense Sticks which performs the dual role of eradicating mosquitoes from your place while also infringing an aromatic peace within your homes, gardens and patios.
Herbal Strategi Mosquito Vaporizer (Mosrelief)
Plug-in electronic vaporizers have been the rage among all the methods invented to eliminate mosquitoes. A college student’s funky room or the calming interiors of a formal office, the huge comforters and freshly made beds while you sleep – Vaporizers find a place everywhere. Little do we know of the detrimental effects caused by those chemical vaporizers on human health. Juvenile asthma and premature respiratory illnesses occur due to the prolonged exposure to these chemicals. To make people aware of this danger and help them switch to healthier options, we introduce our own Vaporizer that consists of natural ingredients only.
Herbal Strategi Mosquito Repellent Oil
The tactics to keep away the ever-present mosquitoes have become easier and much more innovative with time. Herbal Strategi’s mosquito repellent oil requires you to add 8-9 drops of the oil into a small vessel with 30ml water. This small task when repeated everyday produces natural fumes that is toxic to the mosquitoes only. Free of side-effects and chemicals, they can be used in the heaviest breeding places in and around your home.
Smita Kulkarni, a resident of HSR Layout until last year and now the inhabitant of Whitefield, is nominated for the coveted REX Karmaveer Global Fellowship and Karmaveer Chakra award. The honour is given by iCONGO in association with the United Nations. Smita is not only part of Whitefield Rising, one of the most proactive residents welfare associations in Bangalore but also a member of Swachh Doddanekundi.
According to the REX organisers, the recognition is for “champions of change who make a difference in our society with their ideas for action to be the change and REXchange mindsets by walking the path less trodden.”
The growth mindset of Smita lies in her anti-plastic campaigning she began in HSR Layout. To add to the environment-friendly gestures, she began selling cloth bags to dissuade people from using disposable plastic covers and bags. In addition, she campaigned for sustainable menstruation and sold products like reusable menstrual cups.
Smita is now recognised as an “architect of the RIGHT every WRONG, Karmaveer, REX Swacch Bharat Mission and the Joy of Giving initiatives”. The award will be announced and given away on November 25-27, 2019. We wish Smita all the luck.
It is a lazy Sunday. One day of late mornings, crazy brunches and bored nothings. For those of you that toil throughout the droning week, this is the one day you get to take care of yourself. Most of the time, you are left with a musty home for the weekend. Thus a major part of your special Sunday is devoted to making your home look spick and span for the coming week.
You may be the one that is infused with an obsessive energy to wipe away every speck of dirt every moment. You might also be the kind that cannot be bothered with such disparities and lounge away till your home gets so dirty that it’s uninhabitable.
We all clean our homes, our dorms and anything else we hold dear. Scrubbing floors, removing stains, freshening bathrooms – we do it all and more.
The plethora of chemical products available in the market makes it impossible to make the best choice. Every channel swarms with advertisements of shining floors and fake promises. Nobody talks about the harmful health effects caused by the prolonged use of these chemical products.
Herbal Strategi introduces it’s exclusive range of herbal cleaners to ease up your cleaning schedules and protect your health from the harmful effects of the chemical alternatives available in the market.
Herbal Strategi Bathroom Cleaner
The Herbal Strategi bathroom cleaner can be used on your bathtubs, bathroom fittings, tiles, basins and sinks with no worry of any deteriorating effects. Usually, it is one rigorous day of acids and other coloured chemical solutions to tidy up your bathrooms. But with our cleaners, you have an extremely easy task ahead of you. Apart from reducing calcification and removing stains, they also infuse a breezy aroma within the crevices of your bathroom. This negates your need to make another trip to the store to buy bathroom fresheners.
Herbal Strategi Toilet Cleaner
Similarly, the other house of germs within your bathroom is the toilet. The toilet cleaner introduced by Herbal Strategi is a natural product that only consists of herbal ingredients. They can be exclusively used for your toilets and is an effective means to remove the stains and germs infringed in those surfaces. You will end up with shiny and gleaming surfaces in no time!
Herbal Strategi Kitchen Cleaner Spray
Amid the bustle of everyday meals and the stress of washing the multitude of vessels, your kitchen just seems to be getting messier. Spilt oil, unwatched frothy milk, fruit peels and endless water puddles – the process of cleaning a kitchen seems like a waiting disaster. While you usually use chemical sprays that promise glittering surfaces, they only harm your respiratory system and are extremely toxic to your health. Herbal Strategi introduces it’s kitchen cleaner spray that offers you multiple benefits. Apart from gleaming surfaces, they also keep away the mosquitoes and flies that frequent your kitchen and adds in a fresh fragrance of lemongrass.
Herbal Strategi Glass Cleaner Spray
Transparent glass panes which get spotty and stained by the day. You keep cleaning them every second a random spot or stain appears. Herbal Strategi’s glass cleaner spray consists of a wide range of essential oils and hence is non-hazardous to human beings. They act as a safe replacement of the chemical sprays in the market and hence is the healthiest option to be chosen. As an additional benefit, they also keep away pests from colonizing the surroundings.
Herbal Strategi Liquid Dishwash
Have you seen the hands of your maids or those of your hardworking mom’s? They are hard, wrinkled and rough. The smooth, supple softness you see on your hands are rough, peeling patches on their fingers. More often than not, this is because of the harshness of the chemical dishwashing soaps and liquids. Herbal Strategi introduces it’s herbal dishwasher liquid that it made up of aromatic and soapnut oi. It also helps you get through the piled up dirty dishes with gentle and smooth hands.
Herbal Strategi Floor cleaner
The final touch to beaming floors is to mop it till your tiles and marbles shine. At this stage when you use a chemical floor cleaning liquid, you are inadvertently harmed because of it’s toxic constituent chemicals. On the other hand, our chemical floor cleaner offers the benefits of disinfecting the floors and repelling insects along with a sparkling surface. Comprised of herbal ingredients, they offer an effective switchover from all the toxic chemical products you have stashed at home.
The Herbal Strategi range of products are available at every popular supermarket in HSR Layout and also online.
On a recent visit to Agara Lake by Santosh Hegde, the former Karnataka Lokayukta and head of the Lake Development Plan set up by the National Green Tribunal, he was exposed to the BWSSB’s lies. When he spotted sewage flowing in the stormwater drain abutting the lake, BWSSB officials admitted that the sewage treatment plant (STP) did not have a provision to let only treated water into the drain and lake. If this continues, the stink will be similar to the one that the residents are suffering from in the neighbouring Kudlu area due to the unscientific management of the Karnataka Compost Development Corporation (KCDC).
Hegde was appalled by the “shoddy work” of the BWSSB and the massive drain in public money. He questioned how an STP can be built without a provision for treating water. He has written about BWSSB’s lies to the NGT, so that the top court can take action on this civic agency.
“All those who were claiming victory on STP should know the fact that due to their hasty, unscientific and lack of understanding the lake system, it has lead to a disaster in our locality,” says resident and lake activist Kavitha Reddy. “Some of us opposed STP inside the Agara Lake as it was against the very Lake system, but a few residents went to court forcing back the STP. Some of us who were against the STP inside the lake withdraw the plea when the Lake Development Authority (LDA) promised that the land inside the lake will not be given as it’s against the NGT rules.”
BWSSB’s lies don’t stop there. According to those in the know, the civic agency converted an earlier 2MLD Membrane Tech plant into a 35MLD ordinary treatment plant. “They also lied to NGT that they will give some water to Agara Lake but never made a provision for it!” says Reddy. “This is a lesson to the few people who make claims on STP victory when it’s evident that they has done injustice not only to the lake but also to the locality that has to bear the stink of 35MLD sewage treatment plant!”
In a letter to Hegde, the Agara Lake Protection & Management Society (ALPMS) has asked them to take up the following issues on priority:
Rajakaluve on 14th Main: BBMP has not de-silted or cleaned the Rajakaluve, due to which both the inlet and outlets of the Agara Lake are blocked. During heavy rains due to the blockage, the water flows back into the lake from the outlet
Caving inn of Walking Track: Between Gate 1 and Gate 4 due to leakage in BWSSB underground drainage line, part of the jogging track in Agara Lake premises collapsed. Though fixed later, it still poses a danger to the lake and the visitors as the BWSSB has not owned up the issue which the residents believe is due to the failures of the Jakkasandra pumping station of BWSSB.
Pending connection of the raw sewage line to manhole by BWSSB: BWSSB had agreed to complete the raw sewage line that opens near the lake inlet and goes till the manhole a few meters away. But it’s been pending for over 18 months, leading to sewage entering the inlet along with the rainwater.
BWSSB STP: After this citizen group objected to the massive STP inside Agara Lake (replacing the Wetlands) highlighting that the lake’s rainwater has always been a source of good quantity water, LDA gave the lake land outside the lake on the other side of the road. Initially BWSSB was planning only a 2MLD Membrane Technology Plant. Now it is upgraded to 35MLD claiming that the treated water will be provided to Agara Lake. But the STP’s detailed project report (DPR) has no provision to let the treated water into the lake. When the lake land was taken by the BWSSB that claimed to treat the water (which is 0.5MLD evaporation) that will be provided to Agara Lake, letting the treated water directly into the same Rajakaluve that is carrying raw waste water defeats the purpose of the STP that is built using public money.
Funding for maintenance: Agara Lake needs good maintenance and the funds allocated to LDA has to be transferred to Forest Dept who are responsible for the maintenance of the lake now.
On Monday, Chevrolet Enjoy, a multi purpose vehicle launched in 2010, caught fire under the Agara flyover on Outer Ring Road. The HSR cops say that the air conditioned duct started to smell, alerting the six passengers who immediately got out of the vehicle and escaped an excruciating death.
Driven by Shivanna, a businessman from Dommasandra, the incident occurred around 5pm on June 24, 2019. The fire force officials extinguished the fire within 20 minutes after receiving the complaint. Traffic was naturally disrupted as a large crowd gathered to witness the rare incident.
“The vehicle was old and wasn’t maintained well,” said one senior HSR cop. “The AC duct started to smell, but they kept driving.” However, the driver stopped the car at the Agara bus stop when he noticed flames coming out of the bonnet. The vehicle wasn’t that old either as it was registered with the Electronic City RTO in 2016. Only a proper probe can reveal the details.
However, the cautionary note is that whenever you are driving, if you notice a burning smell, it’s best to get out of the car and save yourself, like the six passengers did in this case. Interestingly, cases like these are never recorded by the police as a First Information Report, be it traffic or crime, as cars burning up due to some fault, are not considered a criminal offence. “Only the insurance companies will probe the case. We just file an FAR (Fire accident report),” said one HSR cop.
There’s sewage in storm water drains of HSR Layout. Who is to blame? The BWSSB, the BBMP or the residents letting sewage into the drains that are supposed to only carry rainwater into the drains? The fact is that everyone is to be blamed for this. In addition, the desilting is done in a haphazard non-systematic manner. The debris cleared is left to dry. When there is another spell of rain, the debris is back into the drains, nullifying the previous effort to desilt the drains. When will the BBMP get its act together? Here is a video of one such drain in HSR Layout to give you an idea.
“We have been emphasizing this point on several occasions to the civic authorities but to no avail,” says resident RS Hiremath. “There is a large scale racket by the authorities who are allowing huge PGs and apartment blocks to simply let their sewage into storm water drains! The result is more mosquitoes, vector spread diseases, ground water contamination and stink, all at the cost of honest tax payers.”
The BBMP officials blame the BWSSB for not conducting due diligence of all the new properties that have come up in HSR Layout. “When people dig borewells, they don’t take Cauvery connection. In such cases, they illegally let the sewage into the stormwater drains,” said one BBMP official. “Usually, when anyone takes a water connection, they have to take sanitary connection also from the BWSSB.” However, the BWSSB is failing to keep a check on who has taken a sanitary connection and who has not. Since they have a readymade list, it’s easy to detect who is letting the sewage into the drains. Sources tell us that the BWSSB is to be blamed for the mess. It is the job of the inspectors to go through the lists, penalise the residents and ensure compliance.
There are stiff fines from both the BBMP and BWSSB on people who are letting sewage into the drains. If you know someone who is doing this, you can report to the BWSSB or the BBMP with a video or photographic proof.
