Pollution

Pushing a green-coloured tricycle in the blazing humid sun, Raju (name changed), a conservancy worker, blows the whistle at Prashanti Colony of Madambakkam. The high pitched sound is an alarm for the residents to wake up from their afternoon nap and bring their waste out to the tricycle. Men and women rush out of their houses, with at least four bags of rotten waste each and start screaming at the worker. “You haven’t showed up in four days. There are no bins in the locality. What do you expect me to do with the waste,” screams one lady. What this…

This article is part of a special series: Air Quality in our Cities If you were to go walking in Nagavarpalya area in the city, and take the inner by-lanes ahead of Gopalan Mall, you would come upon a sprawling settlement, home primarily to migrant workers from Northern Karnataka. They stay in small makeshift structures that are covered with blue tarpaulin sheets. Such settlements are present in several parts of the city, and they are usually devoid of basic facilities of sanitation, adequate supply of water, electricity etc. "If the migrant workers are staying with their families, they usually cook inside…

"Celebrating four years of changemaking"- this is what my good friends at Namma Ooru Foundation (NOF) Called the event. So naturally I expected to hear stories of the journey, milestones, troubles encountered along, successes hard earned, etc. And of course I knew that I would be meeting many of Chennai's environment warriors. I was looking forward to it. It was all that, and more. I met several of the remarkable individuals that we keep reaching out to, both for our writings at Citizen Matters, and in our personal capacity, for guidance in our efforts to refuse, reduce, reuse and recycle.…

Reports about a third desalination plant, with a capacity of 550 million litres a day (MLD), have raised hopes among Chennaites. Convinced that their water woes can be successfully addressed with advanced technology, citizens welcome the state government’s proposal of the plant that would make sea water potable. But, are desalination plants really the solution we need? Environmentalists are often deeply critical of pollution caused by desalination plants. But, even if we put aside the concerns around environmental damage  for the present discussion, desalination plants themselves do not appear to be economically viable for the city. An extravagant affair The…

Translated by Sandhya Raju தற்போது நிலவி வரும் தண்ணீர் பிரச்சனைக்கும் ஏரிகள் சுரண்டப்பட்டதிற்கும் சம்மந்தம் இல்லாமல் இல்லை. நிலத்தடி நீரின் அளவை உயர்த்த உதவும் இந்த ஏரிகளை மக்களும் அதிகாரிகளும் முறையாக பராமரித்து இருந்தால், தண்ணீர் தட்டுப்பாட்டை சந்திக்கும் நிலை உருவாகியிருக்காது என்பதே நிதர்சன உண்மை. நகராட்சி எல்லைக்குள் இருக்கும் பல்லாவரம் பெரிய ஏரி மற்றும் கீழ்கட்டளை ஏரிகளின் நிலை என்ன என்று பார்ப்போம். நட்டேரி, அன்னேரி, ஜதேரி என இங்கிருக்கும் பல ஏரிகள் குடியிருப்பு பகுதியாக மாறிய நிலையில், பல்லாவரம் பெரிய ஏரி, கீழ்கட்டளை ஏரி போன்ற சில ஏரிகள் மட்டுமே இன்று இருக்கின்றன. இந்த ஏரிகளும் பரிதாபகரமான அழிவு நிலையில் தான் உள்ளன. வணிக ரீதியாக முன்னேறி இருக்கும் பகுதியில் ஐந்து கிலோமீட்டர் தொலைவில் இருக்கும் இந்த இரண்டு ஏரிகளும் சந்திக்கும் சவால்கள் ஒன்று தான்: குறைந்து போன நிலத்தடி நீர் மற்றும் கழிவு நீர் குப்பைகளால்…

Are incinerators and waste to energy plants the solution to the city's mounting landfills? How are tenders for solid waste management issued by the Corporation? Can informal waste workers be integrated into the waste ecosystem? These were some of the pressing concerns at the centre of deliberations at a public meeting for solid waste management and the way forward, organised by city-based think tank Citizen, consumer and civic Action Group (CAG). Harsh realities on ground Speakers at the meeting highlighted the invisible ground realities of waste management that the general public are oblivious to. M Radhakrishnan of social service organization…

This article is part of a special series: Air Quality in our Cities The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change launched the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) on January 10, 2019 with the stated aim of reducing air pollution and bringing down harmful PM2.5 and PM10 levels by 20 to 30 percent from 2017 levels by the year 2024. The NCAP has provisions for the formulation of city-specific action plans to combat air pollution. The programme focuses on 102 non-attainment cities whose ambient air quality was found to be in violation of the national standards during the monitoring between 2011…

A wooden toothbrush, an eco-nozzle that regulates water flow from the tap and detergents and bathing products prepared and packed by eco-friendly methods. If you are environmentally conscious and looking for options to lead a zero or minimum waste lifestyle, Namma Green Sandhai is where you want to be on March 2nd, between 3 pm and 7 pm. The sandhai is yet another community initiative by Namma Ooru Foundation (NOF), to encourage mid sized entrepreneurs dealing with environment-friendly, sustainable alternatives. NOF is organising the sandhai at Adyar Shastri Nagar Welfare Association Community Hall, as part of the organisation’s 4th anniversary…

The scenic Pallikaranai Main Road with patches of greenery and occasional glimpses of migratory birds in winter would have been a treat for the passer by, but for the unbearable stench. The smell of rotten biodegradable waste and  noxious fumes from burning of plastic waste assail your senses every time you hit the road. A few metres from the marshland, a Chennai Corporation maintained earth mover dumps the mixed waste on to it. The wetlands of Pallikaranai were brought under the reserved region by the state government 10 years ago and are now under the jurisdiction of the forest department.…

There is a spot on the lake land where one gets a 180 degree view of the sprawling 445 acre Varthur lake. The lake is filled with water and emits a strong foul odour. The southern end of the lake is filled with snowy froth. A wire mesh is erected along a section of the road near the lake to prevent the froth from entering the road. "Till the 90s, several migratory birds from Russia, Ukraine, China used to visit Varthur Lake, which acted as food source for them before they headed to the Southern Hemisphere. Once the sewage started…