Showing posts with label The Samskruti Way. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Samskruti Way. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

It’s airborne! City’s air is filled with microbes making us sick

Four types of bacteria in Bengaluru's air have become hyperactive and are triggering respiratory tract disorders among its residents; IISc wages war on dreaded dengue

Why are people falling sick in Bengaluru often these days? Have the immunity levels of Bengalureans dropped drastically? Are pollutants getting more dangerous by the day? Are new strains of virus or bacteria fast multiplying in the city? These are the questions that are being asked by medical experts and researchers in recent times.


While the brainstorming continues, a city-based environmental scientist has come up with a worrisome finding: Four types of bacteria (Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, Enterococcus and Salmonella typomerium) have become hyperactive in the city's air and are triggering fever and respiratory tract disorders among residents. The scientist Sivasakthivel S has set out to record the bacteria and fungi (bioaerosol) levels in the city. He submitted his findings to Bangalore University as part of his doctoral thesis titled—'Microbial diversity in ambient air associated with seasonal meteorological parameters' for which he was awarded a PhD last week.


Sivasakthivel told Bangalore Mirror that his objective was to study what kind of pathogenic bacteria and fungi are present in Bengaluru's air. "The bioaerosol level was compared with seasonal aspects like temperature and relative humidity to assess how these climatic aspects foster the growth of bioaerosols in air," he said.


Sivasakthivel's research spanning four years from 2009 to 2013 was conducted under the guidance of Prof N Nandini, chairperson, Environment Science department of Bangalore University.


Read more here.

Friday, August 28, 2015

No more dependence

As we celebrated the 69th year of independence, did you give a thought to the independence of your most-prized possession, your home? Is it possible for your home not to be so dependent on the grid – for electricity, water and the like? The good news is that you can take small steps to make your home independent in the true sense of the word.

Basic funda

If you are looking to buy a home, consider a project that aims to build a community which is independent in terms of natural resources. The place must attempt to bring about a sense of belonging among the residents towards the welfare of the community. Given the alarming rate of global warming, floods and droughts have become regular phenomena. The need of the hour is to build homes and infrastructure that can mitigate the damages caused by such natural disasters. Similarly, water and electricity are precious resources that need to be used intelligently. An environmentally-friendly home is one where a hygienic waste management system does not get jeopardised by an inefficient city waste management network, and air conditioners work at one-third the energy used by regular systems, These are houses that are well-ventilated; have floors that are friendly for residents suffering from rheumatoids and arthritis; their lush landscaping adding to the neighbourhood greenery and enhancing the quality of air, while reducing carbon dioxide in the air.

Think long-term

As a home buyer, you have every right to ask your builder to commit to the number and kind of treatment systems employed in the project and to what extent it will affect your demand for water supply. Venkat Chalasani, CEO, Samskruti Builders, agrees that it’s a good idea to discuss waste management and rainwater harvesting options. “Our projects not only segregate the waste, but also use the methane gas produced while composting the green waste. Black and grey water is purified and reused for flushing and gardening. Additionally, in all our projects,  we create enough capacity for storage tanks to collect the graded rainwater. 

Purified, potable rainwater is supplied to the community. These measures ensure all our communities are 70-100 per cent self-sustainable in terms of water,” he says. 

Decentralised waste management is  where the wet waste is handled at the individual home level through pits or smart bins and the recyclable waste is directed to the appropriate agency. It also makes perfect sense to think of energy design installations that reduce the use of power, while not compromising on comfort and convenience. This will mean the use of solar energy systems. It will mean the use of biomass gasification to convert waste into electricity.

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Beware! Those carrots could make you sick

Niranjan Kaggere writes in today's Bangalore Mirror...

The fresh and nutrition- rich vegetables sold in the markets of Bengaluru have left the state government worried! In a major shock to veggielovers several vegetables and fruit sold in the markets of Bengaluru tested positive for pesticide residue, particularly organo chlorine pesticides that can take toll on your nervous and digestive system and weaken muscles! 

A random check conducted by the Horticulture department run Bio Centre in Hulimavu on different vegetables has revealed shocking details about the 'freshness' and nutrition value of vegetables. 
Fruits like papaya, vegetables including cabbage, green chilli, capsicum, carrot, tomato, bottle gourd and ginger were found to contain considerable amounts of the banned pesticide. 


Acknowledging the results of the test, Horticulture minister Dr Shyamanoor Shivashankarappa said, "In a random check conducted recently at our centre on vegetables and fruits available from Bengaluru's markets, traces of the banned organo chlorine pesticide were seen. 


"The department has been advising farmers not to use these pesticides and us
e only those pesticides suggested by the department." Shivashankarappa added, "Dicofol pesticide was preferred by farmers to prevent flies and pests in Bhindi (okra), brinjal, bitter-gourd, chilli and beans crops. But the demand for these pesticides has drastically come down after awareness drives by the department."
Sources in the Horticulture department said that even though the number of farmers using organo chlorine pesticide has come down, a few still use it. 

"The government has already banned pesticides with these contents. Yet farmers continue to use them. Even though it safeguards the crop from pests and insects, the residue will remain in the vegetable. 


"Proper washing in warm water will help remove the content," revealed a senior official from the Horticulture department. 


Meanwhile, a consulting physician from a leading hospital told Bangalore Mirror that a short-term exposure to organo chlorine pesticide would result in convulsions, headache, nausea, vomiting, muscle weakness, slurred speech and sweating. 


"Long-term exposure due to consumption of such vegetables may damage the liver, kidney and central nervous system," he said. Senior BJP Leader and MLC Ramachandre Gowda caught the government's attention about this trend at the Legislative Council and urged the government to discourage the use of pesticides with any of these harmful contents as they are a health hazard. 

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Why you need natural light!

We all need natural light to survive. Though artificial lighting helps in providing enough luminescence for us to work and live, it is the natural light that helps us stay alive. Natural light is the best disinfectant and is very pleasing and comforting to the eyes. When choosing a house, make sure you have natural lighting coming into the rooms and living areas, at least once in a while during the day. Preferably where you live most of the time. Several studies have shown that your productivity improves when you work in natural light and it improves your health. 

At Samskruti, we design homes with loads of natural lighting coming into your home and you would be amazed to see how low the power bill will be. Sunlight is one of the perennial sources of energy and it is a luxury to even see sunlight once in a while in the cluttered homes in Bangalore. We try to avoid that. Come and see our model flat and you would find how brightly lit they are and yet comfortable to stay in. Natural lighting is essential for our well being and Samskruti enables you to experience that. 
If you are already living in a home without access to sunlight, I would encourage you to check out options to see how to get sunlight in your home. May be painting lighter colors would help, may be painting a reflecting wall that allows light to stream in to your home can help. Check for options or seek expert help.

May you lead a healthy and productive life - Live the Samskruti way :)

For more information on our homes, write to us visit www.samskruti.in or call 99162 17777 today.  

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

House with a big tree!

In today's fan art...

I want a Samskruti Builders home because I want plants, lots of play space, a big tree, natural light and loads of blue sky around my house. Can you paint my house blue? I like blue!

Five year old Rithu drew this to show what she expects from her home at Samskruti.

#SamskrutiHoysala #BuildingSmartCommunities #TheSamskrutiWay

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Smart security


CC TV can be only one of the solutions for security. Though we have IR beams, motions sensors, solar fencing, we at Samskruti Builders believe in having a change in design to give semi private and public spaces for community interaction thus allowing an inclusive community led solution.

What do you think?


Sunday, September 7, 2014

Choose happiness


Stay close to work, school and do whatever it takes to spend more time with your family. 
Sometimes we miss calculating the loss of valuable time spent traveling, negotiating through traffic and pollution. Continue the pursuit of happiness. Stay in a home that encourages family and community interaction.

#TheSamskrutiWay


Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Grow Share Grow

Access to clean, unadulterated, fresh vegetables at home, you can grow what you like and share them with friends and family.

Grow Share Grow #TheSamskrutiWay


Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Fire safety!

Is your apartment/home fire safe?

Get trained in firefighting to ensure your family is safe. It is mandatory to have at least 40% of your apartment (especially if it is a high rise) to be trained. 

Before investing, make sure your building has all the required clearances, especially from the fire department and has enough setbacks, evacuation guidelines and so on.

Read the recent article about the noncompliance: 

While the Fire Department has given clearance certificate to only 821 high-rises, a far cry to the estimated 20,000 in the city, the regulatory authority seems to be at a loss regarding compliance of the norm.


Samskruti Builders #TheSamskrutiWay 


Monday, August 25, 2014

In today's fan art!

In today's fan art!
"Those are apples in my balcony. The floor on the balcony is full of grass and plants. We have many flowering plants and one big fruit bearing tree in or balcony. I am playing with my doll."

When you have a 4.5 year old draw this and show you of her house which is getting ready with the same concept @ Samskruti, you feel proud :)

Art by Namya!


Friday, August 1, 2014

Welcome!

The first thing people will look at when they come home is the front door. One of the most used, yet ignored item in a house is door. Doors should be selected with extra care. 

Usually doors are selected with looks, appeal, color and other such aesthetic values. The first and foremost concern should be about the quality of wood. If the wood is treated and processed properly, it would ensure the door performs its basic duty without glitches. A well treated wooden door wouldn't shrink in summer and expand in winter and definitely wouldn't get stuck.

Lock selection forms the next level. Selecting a good lock ensuring ease of operation and of course visual appeal is a must to give a good impression to your door.

Samskruti Builders #TheSamskrutiWay 




Thursday, July 17, 2014

Safety in common areas




Home is expected to be safe. What about common areas? How do we design public spaces and common areas to ensure there is enough public view yet not being too intrusive?

We should try to bring in the elements of public + semi public spaces to ensure there is enough public space for preventing too much of privacy in common areas.

Samskruti Builders #SafeHomes

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Fruggiescaping @ Samskruti Hoysala



Samskruti Hoysala is fast moving towards being one of the sustainable residential projects in Bangalore. As the fruggiescaping works begin at Hoysala, we are very excited.

Samskruti Hoysala will house some of the most appreciated fruit bearing plants that would provide fresh, non-pesticide fed luscious fruits and vegetables. Will keep sharing the pictures here.




Tuesday, June 10, 2014

How many trees do you have in your project?


How many trees do you have in your project? 

It is not the number of plants you have but the kind of plants that is important. Plants which would not just add to the ambiance but being more value. Plant fruit bearing trees that help bring in birds and provide food apart from providing shade and visual appeal. 

At Samskruti Builders, most of our trees are either fruit bearing or herbs with medicinal values.

#thesamskrutiway

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Disposing waste


Disposal of waste is a major issue in Bangalore. We need to dispose waste responsibly to ensure the city, community and your home stays clean.

At Samskruti Builders, we try to solve this problem by:

1. Sort out wet, dry, recyclable and reusable waste
2. Wet, vegetable waste to be processed in the recycling plant to generate manure, natural gas...
3. Recyclable materials to be used accordingly - given away, recycled
4. Other waste is disposed responsibly

Reduce clutter, sort waste and dispose responsibly to help create a cleaner greener planet!

#thesamskrutiway


Thursday, May 22, 2014

Park benches @ Community building




When you design community spaces to allow more interaction and provide spaces to rest, hang around and talk, conversations start. Add some plants, walking tracks and you have a community space with actual use 

Samskruti Builders #buildingsmartcommunities