Articles by Deepak V

As work on the Mamallan Reservoir project is picking up pace, environmentalists and locals dread the devastation it is unleashing. The project not only threatens the fragile Kovalam-Nemmeli coastal wetland and the habitats it supports, but also poses flood risks to communities living nearby.  In an earlier article, we showed how field studies by the Suzhal Arivom team documented the damage this project will cause to the local ecology. Based on that same report, Part 2 looks at how the project impacts the daily lives and livelihoods of people in the Kovalam-Nemmeli area. The project can trigger the erasure of…

A few months ago, there was widespread uproar over attempts to convert a small part of the Pallikaranai Marshland in South Chennai into multi-storey apartments. Yet today, the equally vital Nemmeli coastal wetland in Chengalpattu district faces silent destruction. Richer in biodiversity and livelihood support than Pallikaranai, the Nemmeli wetland, also known as the “Great Salt Lake,” is being converted into a freshwater reservoir by the Tamil Nadu government, purportedly to boost drinking water supply to Chennai. But the project spells disaster. Phase one of the Mamallan Reservoir project involves acquiring more than 5,000 acres of land, removing topsoil, and…

On a regular day in May, the calls of migratory waders and other shorebirds foraging in sprawling mudflats fill the air in the southern reaches of Chennai. May is the dry season for the Pallikaranai Marsh, when water levels naturally recede, exposing the critical feeding and breeding grounds that attract hundreds of bird species to this globally recognised urban wetland. But this year is different. The mudflats are gone. In their place is a stagnant expanse of water. This unusual water level during the dry season is not due to early rains. Indiscriminate construction within the marsh is blocking the…

The habits of birds have long been studied to make sense of the changes and trends in our natural ecosystems. Given that these are environmentally adaptive creatures — whose patterns of migration and breeding change as the ecosystems change — watching birds can teach us many things about climate change, ecological degradation and the ways we can respond to these phenomena. Every year during Pongal time, birders and nature enthusiasts around Tamil Nadu participate in the Pongal Bird Count, a state-wide annual bird monitoring programme, which is an initiative of the Tamil Birders Network. This year as a part of…

As Chennai citizens are slowly trying to get back to normalcy after the destruction from floods following Cyclone Michaung, another disaster is unfolding in North Chennai. A few days ago, locals in the Manali area of the city, which was flooded following heavy rains, reported finding high amount of oil residue in the waters in the region close to the Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL). A viral video has since been circulated that shows volunteers who went to distribute food and essentials to families in Ernavoor, wading through flood waters that was totally contaminated by an oil spill. While local…