Articles by Shobana Radhakrishnan

Sponge parks are quickly becoming a prominent element of Chennai’s flood mitigation efforts. Spearheaded by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), the project now boasts 78 sponge parks in the city, under the Sponge City initiative. While these structures are designed to manage surface runoff and prevent urban flooding, a closer examination reveals significant deviations from the holistic, nature-based designs that typically define a sponge park. Unlike the sponge park in Porur (Dr MS Swaminathan Wetland Eco Park), that integrates nature-based design and ecosystem restoration, most GCC-implemented sponge parks function more like glorified rainwater harvesting systems. The critical question remains: Are…

As the lunch bell rings at Greater Chennai Corporation’s (GCC) Chennai High School in Adyar, students line up eagerly for their midday meal. Seated in groups, they chat happily while enjoying vegetables grown in their school’s terrace garden, which they helped plant and nurture. Once lunch is over, every student deposits food waste into a dedicated bin. This seemingly small act is part of a much larger system. The food waste, along with kitchen scraps, is fed into a biogas plant located within the school campus. The biogas generated powers the school kitchen, while the resulting slurry is used as…

They form the backbone of the country's seafood export industry, worth over ₹60,000 crore. However, Chennai’s coastal communities, especially fisherwomen, remain mostly invisible in policy and pay. Enduring punishing 15-hour days under sweltering heat, they clean, dry, and sell fish for just ₹200 to ₹300 a day. They work on blistering concrete without shade, toilets, or access to safe drinking water. Prolonged exposure to these conditions puts them at risk of sunburn, dehydration, dizziness, eye damage, and kidney issues. These health problems remain largely unaddressed. At sea, rising water temperatures and pollution continue to push fish further offshore. This forces…

Just a few metres away from the congested traffic bottleneck on Mount Poonamallee Road, near Sri Ramachandra University in Porur, lies Chennai’s first wetland sponge park, named Dr MS Swaminathan Wetland Eco Park. Unlike most parks in Chennai, this one stands out for striking a balance between ecological restoration and community use. Dr MS Swaminathan Wetland Eco Park, Chennai's first sponge park. Pic: Shobana Radhakrishnan What was once a marshy plot of land became a dumping ground and parking lot over the years. The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), along with the Sponge Collaborative, has converted this 16.63-acre site, part…

As Indian cities expand at an unprecedented pace, the consequences of rapid urbanisation are becoming increasingly visible: frequent flooding, water scarcity, heat stress, and the loss of natural ecosystems. Once-porous landscapes are now sealed with concrete, leaving rainwater with nowhere to go but into overburdened drainage systems. Even moderate rainfall events can now bring cities to a standstill. In this context, nature-based solutions, such as sponge parks, offer a timely and practical response to India’s urban challenges.  What is a sponge park? Sponge parks are engineered wetlands designed to absorb, store, filter and slowly release rainwater, mimicking the functions of…

Once a fiery trade unionist and now a seasoned people's representative, Chennai's Ward 4 Councillor R Jayaraman has been involved in electoral politics for over 35 years. Hailing from the village of Veeranapuram in Thiruvallur district, his journey advocating for people's rights began early. At just 16, he led a protest demanding higher wages for the farmers in his village. This led to a lifetime of grassroots activism and public service. He previously served two terms as the Councillor of Ward 46. In the most recent local body elections, he secured victory as the Councillor of Ward 4 in the…

Anthony Ammal, a 43-year-old fisher from the coastal hamlet of Pulicat in Chennai, begins her day long before the sun scorches the concrete beneath her feet. Her mornings are occupied with preparing her two daughters for school and ensuring they are fed before she steps out. She then makes her way to the Pazhaverkadu fish market, where she labours for approximately 15 hours each day. As she settles into her allocated spot to clean the day's fresh catch, the sun begins to blaze overhead, and the humid breeze offers little relief. Her sunburnt skin stings each time the salty sweat…

Legal action by concerned citizens has frequently played a crucial role in safeguarding India's natural ecosystems. One such initiative finally stopped Pallavaram Municipality from dumping waste illegally inside the Pallavaram Periya Eri, a once-thriving lake in Chennai’s southern suburbs. Advocate Surendranath Karthik took up a pro bono case in 2012 to restore Pallavaram Periya Eri. The case was initially filed with the NGT's Principal Bench and later moved to the Southern Bench. After over a decade, the case resulted in court orders for the lake’s restoration. "Though I am not a resident of Pallavaram, I have seen my father advocating…

In the midst of buzzing classrooms at the Government Higher Secondary School in Sholinganallur, a row of neatly arranged plants thrives in grow bags, slightly elevated from the ground. These are no ordinary plants; the fresh produce from this school garden goes directly into the mid-day meal preparations, providing nourishment to the students. Amidst Chennai's concrete sprawl, children, especially from marginalised backgrounds, may have little exposure to abundant greenery. However, a unique initiative is changing that, improving access to organic produce while fostering environmental awareness and a love for nature. Here, students plant seeds, watching in awe as they grow…

Encroachments on Chennai lakes often begin with the construction of religious structures, such as temples. Unless citizens take collective action, such encroachments are likely to persist. This is a key lesson from the citizen-led initiative by the Federation of Sunnambu Kulathur Residents Welfare Association to protect Narayanapuram Lake. For years, Narayanapuram Lake has faced encroachments, with four temples and a church gradually expanding into its area. Each monsoon, floodwaters engulfed the residential areas around the lake, sparing neither homes nor the religious structures. The local residents rallied together; they engaged with elected representatives, used social media to raise awareness, and…