GENRE: In Focus

As the city woke up to heavy rainfall a fortnight ago, Korattur lake once again faced the threat of a fresh bout of contamination with sewage-laden rainwater. If not for the intervention of pro-active citizens, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) would have cleared the surplus water canal to the Korattur Lake, to allow toxic water into the lake.  This is not the first time, though. GCC officials have been doing it every monsoon so as to prevent flooding in the roads of Ambattur and Korattur.  The absence of an underground sewerage system in the area and effluent treatment plants results…

The approaching festival of lights was beginning to bring people out shopping to CP, Sarojini Nagar, Lajpat Nagar and every other market. But alarm bells started ringing when the daily COVID figures crossed the 6000 mark on November 3rd and stayed that way for the next few days. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal suspected it could be a third wave of the deadly virus. The timing was particularly worrisome. It was a double whammy, dampening the festival spirit and raising fears of poor air quality accelerating the spread of COVID-19 spread and its effects. The number of cases in the capital has surged again. Hospitals are…

With Diwali just around the corner, the debate around allowing the sale and use of crackers has once again taken centre stage. Apart from the alarming levels of air pollution, another consideration this year has been the spread of COVID-19. Since it is a respiratory illness, the overarching argument against crackers this year has been further strengthened by the fact that it could worsen the condition of those already afflicted by the virus. Several studies have already established the positive correlation between air pollution and COVID-morbidity.  In a recent study, six researchers from different European institutes have said that 17…

Ever since lockdown norms were eased, Chennai’s COVID tally has seen significant variations. Over the past few weeks, however, Chennai has been witnessing less than 1,000 cases in a consistent manner. What can we infer from the numbers? Is Chennai on course to see a continuous fall in the numbers?  Here are some of the key takeaways based on an analysis of data from August to October: Fluctuating number of positive cases per day  There has been a rise and fall pattern observed in the number of cases in Chennai over the last three months; if we take 1000 as…

Rains this year caused extensive damage in some areas. Pic: BBMP Commissioner/Facebook Towards October end, we saw heavy rains in different parts of Bengaluru – predominantly in the south and southwest – which led to flooding of many low-lying areas. Those rains have now given way to pleasant sunny days with partly-cloudy skies. It almost feels like winter is here.  How have the rains been this year? Flooding episodes in the last few months seem to indicate rains were in excess, but were they?  Rainfall was indeed in excess, but also erratic  The Long Period Average(LPA) annual rainfall for Bengaluru is 986mm…

It was October 23rd, 2020, 10 days since Hyderabad witnessed the highest 24-hour rainfall ever, resulting in a flood-like situation. The sun was shining bright and there were no signs of clouds. At noon, I left for Nadeem Colony, one of the worst affected areas in Hyderabad.  I live just 11 kms from Nadeem Colony, and yet reading about and watching the videos of people in distress gave me an alien feeling, as my area appeared to be in perfect shape. What ails Nadeem Colony, I wondered, as I waited for my Ola bike. As we proceeded on the Old…

The Supreme Court decided to increase the pressure on the Centre and states. Last winter, the apex court had ruled that stubble burning was a violation of people’s right to life under Article 21. But last month, it decided to take the matter into its own hands. “We just want that the people of Delhi-NCR breathe fresh air without any pollution”, a bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde said on October 16th, after appointing retired Justice Madan B Lokur as a one-man committee to take steps to prevent stubble burning in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. And set October…

A couple of days back, we had written about the areas in Chennai that are particularly prone to flooding and have even been identified by the Greater Chennai Corporation as 'vulnerable' in a list that they prepared in 2018. But it has been two years since then, and the city continues to be under threat of increased instances of intense rainfall, as highlighted by several studies and research. What is the civic body doing to prevent inundation? As part of flood mitigation measures, the GCC is constructing an integrated stormwater drain (SWD) network in the Kosasthalaiyar Basin in North Chennai…

The National Green Tribunal has ordered the removal of an oil storage facility in Chennai, highlighting that environmental laws were wrongly interpreted. The oil storage facility, which was violating coastal zone rules, was given clearance by the central government’s environment ministry. The project had got post-facto clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) which means it had started without a valid clearance from the authorities. In 2016, KTV Oil Mills & KTV Health Foods (a joint venture with the Adani group’s Adani Wilmar Limited) constructed an oil storage facility and pipeline in Chennai without the Coastal…

On October 28th, the northeast monsoon set in over Tamil Nadu and Kerala. On the 29th, Chennai recorded the highest amount of rainfall in 24 hours since November 2017, as called out by weather expert Pradeep John. AreaRain (in cm)Mylapore (DGP office)18Anna University14Redhills Lake13Chennai district13Alandur, Sholinganallur8Ambattur9Source: IMD Chennai Koyambedu saw heavy rains lashing their neighbourhood on October 29th. As a result of which, people had to wade through knee-deep water. Pic: Avinash D But the writing has been on the wall for some time. A study titled ‘Future changes in precipitation extremes during northeast monsoon over south peninsular India’ by…