Articles by Dayanand Krishnan

Every year, Chennai experiences severe flooding, with cars being washed away, homes submerged, and residents navigating waterlogged streets. One of the affected areas is Chitlapakkam, situated amidst three lakes — Chitlapakkam, Seliyur, and Rajakilpakkam — on Chengalpettu's agricultural lands. Due to its proximity to these water bodies, Chitlapakkam suffers extensive flooding during Chennai's intense monsoon. We at Chitlapakkam Rising, along with the Water Resources Department (WRD) and Tambaram Corporation have worked on flood mitigation measures such as the construction of  ‘macro cut-and-cover drains’ around the lake, to drain out surplus water during floods. We even initiated the construction of a…

On December 4 2023, Chennai plunged into chaos after Cyclone Michaung caused heavy rains and flooding in different parts of the city. The visuals of the Vadakkupattu Lake (Medavakkam Periya Eri) overflowing and breaking a compound wall, with cars in the nearby apartment blocks getting washed away because of heavy inundation, is a sight etched in the memories of residents. A citizen audit done by a group of residents and experts to investigate the causes of the large-scale inundation has laid bare the negligence of the State Water Resources Department (WRD). According to the detailed audit, the lack of proper…

Located in the southwestern suburbs of Chennai, the neighbourhood of Chitlapakkam had been prone to flooding only five years ago. About 20 centimetres of rain would cause severe inundation of houses and it was under the threat of sheet flooding of more than five feet of water, which would remain stagnant for around a week. The dream of making this locality flood-free seemed distant at the time but has now become a reality. Every monsoon, Chitlapakkam would get inundated as the town is sandwiched between the flood plains of Selaiyur lake and Chitlapakkam lake surplus. As a volunteer of the…

Tambaram’s transformation into a bustling suburb in the past few decades has been nothing short of remarkable. The creation of Tambaram Municipal Corporation has been a recent development that signals the growth of the area.  With the increase in population comes the need for better infrastructure, services and connectivity. Connectivity has been a hurdle that the suburb has yet to solve, with residents’ demands for more trains and buses a constant.  Recently, the residents saw success with Tambaram station becoming one of the stops for the Tejas Express, the semi-high-speed train running between Chennai and Madurai. This achievement was the…

Before the arrival of the Chennai Metro, the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) bus and Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) train services were the primary drivers of public transport, largely defining the local transport landscape for people in Chennai's core area. The EMU services ran in three directions North Line, West Line and South Line and helped in residential development as people moved out of the core city, due to the availability of a comfortable reliable transportation system and reduced travel time. The suburban rail network was a boon to commuters from faraway, suburban localities such as Palavanthangal and Tambaram.  But with the passage…

The recent spell of rains in Chennai saw large-scale inundation across the city. Visuals of residents wading in knee-deep water dominated the news. Many residents saw water enter their homes and found their belongings destroyed. Anguish and anger poured out on social media posts of those who went through this harrowing experience. And all along came questions about the city's many stormwater drains and why they failed to serve the purpose. Are the questions being asked of the stormwater drain project in the city legitimate? Could design flaws in the stormwater drains be a contributing factor to wide-spread water stagnation? What…