Arun Ganesh

Geographing an open world @Mapbox.

@wikidata+@openstreetmap contributor

[Arun Ganesh @planemad]

Anyone travelling to North Goa @miagoaairport would know the taxis which cost Rs. 1200-2500 on avg to get anywhere.

While there is a little used AC shuttle bus service that gets you close at 1/10th the cost.

ℹ️🚍Sharing the latest timetable and fare details in public interest

[Evan Applegate @youwillmakemaps]

This map by Danish recreation mapmaker Calazo is nuts, an enormous handmade QGIS + MAPublisher output

It’s actually FOUR discrete maps, one for each zoom level, the most-detailed is a giant 1:250k-scale topo covering Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland. A symphony in Leaflet...

[Mongabay India @MongabayIndia]

India’s coastal zoning policy requires public consultation only for larger 1:25,000 scale maps that miss marking some commons and other critical infrastructure that coastal communities rely on. Shreya Raman reports.
https://t.co/LFCAvUmCCT

[Arun Ganesh @planemad]

@MauvinGodinho Reached Dabolim in 45min, smooth and scenic ride. Thank you @KadambaLimited

[Arun Ganesh @planemad]

A bus adventure guided by Hon. PM.

Taking the bus from Panaji for my flight at Dabolim Airport.

Was guided by the @KadambaLimited counter to wait at PF1 for the 4pm bus.

Pro tip: Don’t be fooled by the signage’s

[Arun Ganesh @planemad]

Bus finally pulls in 10 mins late. Rs..150 to the airport which otherwise would have been Rs.1200+

The occupancy is poor <20% for such a good AC service.

Why are such useful public services so underused and what is being done to popularize it? @MauvinGodinho

[Arun Ganesh @planemad]

@walkingproject It’s very nice to see importance given to trees, but I’m a little skeptical on the methodology by using expensive tech to solve something that can be done at significantly lower cost.

At least if the data is open, it will be of academic use to study the output of the process.

[Walking Project @walkingproject]

Some positive news from Bandra West following our recent post on the importance of scientific tree assessment.

Mumbai has launched a pilot project in Pali Hill, Bandra West, using AI and LiDAR technology to digitally assess and monitor trees. The initiative will create detailed 3D geotagged tree inventories, track tree health, and support better urban conservation and management.

We hope this marks the beginning of a broader shift towards evidence-based urban tree management across the country, with greater involvement of trained experts in the delicate practice of tree pruning and care. Scientific assessment can help move us away from haphazard hacking and excessive pruning practices that are harmful not only to trees but also to the people who depend on them for shade, cooling, biodiversity, and safety.

Urban trees are critical infrastructure, and managing them scientifically is an investment in healthier, more resilient cities.

#PruningProject

[Arun Ganesh @planemad]

@walkingproject Please share any open data that comes out of this so it can be of public use and be used as a benchmark elsewhere.

[Sayantan Bera @sayantanbera]

The great Indian oil spill: a cold-pressed-to-refined thriller
Indian consumers footed a staggering Rs 1.72 lakh crore bill in FY26 to import cooking oils. This year, the bill may surpass Rs 2 lakh cr.

This is way more than the entire annual budget of the agriculture ministry.

And unlike imported fertilizers and crude oil, no one shields consumers when global cooking oil prices spike.

India imports 60% of its cooking oil needs now.

But in the early 1990s, India had achieved a brief period of atmanirbharta.

Then it lost the plot to cheap palm. Then to high-yielding GM or transgenic soy- that it imports in large quantities and consumes, but won't allow its farmers to plant.

With its atmanirbharta, India is also losing a part of its culinary heritage. Kachhi-ghani desi oils making way for solvent extracted foreign oils.

Misery for local mustard, groundnut, sesame, soy growers who switched to other profitable crops like rice, maize, horticulture etc.

Yet, there's more to the story which involves the legendary Verghese Kurien of Amul fame. With some arson, deaths and conspiracy theories thrown in.

Borrowing Kurien's words, a final question: Who are the "scoundrels" who got us here?

@livemint Long Story.
Read here: https://t.co/hj0iib8AYt

[Arun Ganesh @planemad]

Where was carrying capacity in the plan to roll out 4 lane highways into the Himalayas?

Pretty sure plans are afoot for another parallel elevated highway to bypass this mess.

[Pranav Mahajan @pranavmahajan]

Our hill stations are being abused in the name of tourism.

These are ecologically fragile regions with a limited carrying capacity.

The entire tourism ecosystem in such areas needs to be strongly regulated.

What do you think could be the possible solutions?

[Hridayesh Joshi @hridayeshjoshi]

देवप्रयाग के गांवों का संकट सारे गांवों का है। क्यों? 👇
देवप्रयाग के पास गांवों में जल संकट के खिलाफ प्रदर्शन की तस्वीरें वायरल हो रही हैं। लोग यहां पर गंगा को बनाने वाली भागीरथी और अलकनंदा के संगम की दुहाई दे रहे हैं जो ठीक है। लेकिन ये महान नदियां भले ही मैदानी क्षेत्र में सिंचाई और पनबिजली के काम आती हों गांवों की प्यास नहीं बुझातीं। गांवों के काम आने वाली नदियां होती हैं वो जलधारायें जो गांवों के पास होती हैं और लोगों की जीवनदायिनी बनती हैं। जो वैटलैंड जो स्रोत बनाते हैं। वो नौले या कुंयें जिनसे लोग पानी भरते हैं। वो सब सूख रहे हैं। यही छोटी - बड़ी जलधारायें इन बड़ी नदियों का जलागम बनाती हैं यानी कैचमेंट। इन जल धाराओं को गधेरे, फॉरेस्ट रिवर्स और स्प्रिंग्स कहा जाता है। जंगलों और वेटवैंड का नष्ट होना और सड़क निर्माण में मलबे का गलत निस्तारण और अंधाधुंध निर्माण इनके खत्म होने की कुछ वजहें हैं। एक स्वस्थ कैचमेंट पानी को रोककर बाढ़ को नियंत्रित करता है और साल भर बड़ी नदियों में पानी बनाये रखता है। लेकिन हमने कैचमेंट को खत्म कर बाढ़ और सूखी नदियों के लिए आदर्श स्थिति बना दी है। बड़ी नदियां पनबिजली, सिंचाई या धार्मिक अनुष्ठानों (या फिर मैदानी क्षेत्र में जल आपूर्ति ) के लिए तो ठीक हैं लेकिन गांवों को खुशहाल रखने के लिए नदियों का जलागम क्षेत्र स्वस्थ रखना होगा।
इस बारे में मेरी लिखी रिपोर्ट्स का लिंक कमेंट सेक्शन में है और यू-ट्यूब चैनल जहां हम ये सब जानकारी देते हैं।

[Nikhil saini @iNikhilsaini]

Today is the perfect day to expose this Haryana man @iPradeepSangwan and @healinghimalaya . Absolute menace for garbage industry , bro keeps entering remote areas of Himachal and Uttarakhand and cleaning all the waste people worked so hard to spread there.

Tons of plastic removed from the Himalayas already and still this man refuses to stop. Don’t understand what problem he has with bottles, chips packets and garbage peacefully existing in nature.

When everyone else is busy fighting online, this guy is busy destroying the littering system built over years.

[Mahesh 🇮🇳 @Mahesh10816]

30 years ago, I went to a village in the outskirts of Salem, while washing my hand in a public tap , I found worms in the water, then i came to know that people in that village used this water for drinking and cooking.

When I climbed the tank I saw a cesspool inside. Dead cats, crows, slippers, bottles etc. the tank had no lid. It was a 30000 ltr over head drinking water tank.

There were 3 other tanks in the same village, each was worse than the other. Spoke to the village president, he expressed his helplessness. Then I approached the BDO ( Block development officer) he said every panchayat gets funds it's upto them to do the cleaning , everyone in the bureaucracy was driving me from pillar to post just to clean the tank in public interest

People of course were expecting others to do the cleaning. So as a trial I got permission from the village president to clean the tank , i employed few boys to do the job. These water tanks were not cleaned for many many years before that. While cleaning 🧹 we removed one feet thick of black sediments from each tank. Then we gave a coat of white cement inside, and put a lid where it was missing.

The response from the people was overwhelming, the word spread and village after village invited us to get the water tanks cleaned. In each tank we painted the last cleaned date, this became a trend, every three months I sent my boys to clean the tanks. At one stage we were serving over 150 villages in Salem district, we did this service for 12 years and ensured every village got clean potable drinking water

If serving people is politics so be it

[Yashar Ali 🐘 @yashar]

London Underground station flooding has reportedly been reduced by around 90% thanks to a group of engineers: beavers.

After conservationists reintroduced a family of beavers into a nearby city park, the animals built dams and restored wetlands that now absorb and slow floodwater naturally.

Authorities had planned major man-made flood infrastructure, but the beavers effectively created their own system — while also boosting biodiversity and restoring the ecosystem around them.

[MoEF&CC @moefcc]

Across generations, Indian communities have lived in harmony with nature and safeguarded biodiversity. This shared heritage continues to inspire conservation efforts today.

Let's protect biodiversity locally and create global impact.

#IDB2026 #2daysToGo

[Vishal Bhargava @VishalBhargava5]

@1shankarsharma @Nik_Inamdar True. Goa moved from being a Tourism project to becoming a Real Estate project.

[Devendra Fadnavis @Dev_Fadnavis]

The austerity measures announced by the govt of India is an indicator that the economy is in total mess.

[Devendra Fadnavis @Dev_Fadnavis]

PM says global slowdown responsible for mess in Indian economy, then why US dollar is getting strong and Rupee taking dip?

[Arun Ganesh @planemad]

@thekaipullai Don’t miss that the origin of modern rocket technology traces its roots to the R&D labs of Tipu Sultan at Chickpet.

[Aden Yacobi @Aden_Yacobi]

Everyone who cares about buses and trams needs to read The Transit Priority Atlas