Women ride Bengaluru’s happiness wave, finds report

Most women, especially those married, are happier than men in Bengaluru, according to a report by the nonprofit Centre for Sustainable Development (CSD).

Bengaluru's State of Happiness Report 2019 was released here on Friday as part of the 15th-anniversary of the CSD. It's modelled on the lines of the World Happiness Report.

About 60% of the people stated that they were happy with their lives while the rest said they were not. People in the 18-25 and 35-44 age groups are happier than those belonging to other age groups, according to R Srinivas, Executive Director, CSD.

Economic independence could be driving happiness in middle-aged women as most of the working women were found to be very happy. But women aged 60 and above were found to be unhappy.

The survey required the participants to rate their happiness on Economic, Social Infrastructure, Governance, Environment and Personal parameters on a scale of one to ten.

During the release of the survey, A Ravindra, Chairperson, CSD, highlighted the nonprofit's policies and programmes on sustainable development, food security, water conservation, climate change and waste management. The CSD also launched the Strategic Urban Roofscaping for Environment (SURE) initiative, which aims to convert the barren roofs of urban households into tiny breathing hotspots so that they attract rainfall and harness water.

The SURE initiative was started by musician N Ravikiran through his organisation Planet Symphony Orchestra. It's already popular in Chennai and other cities. Ravikiran has partnered with the CSD to popularise the initiative in Bengaluru.