Urban Environment

“In my eight decades in Chennai, I have never faced such cold weather for so long”, says 86-year-old S Krishnamurthy, a resident of Alandur. Chennai residents have felt the effects of winter linger longer than usual this year, well into the early weeks of February.  Frequent floods, drier summers and longer winters are all now a part of life in Chennai. Could climate change be behind these anomalies? Read more: More rainy days, more rainfall: CSTEP report predicts climate change impact on Chennai Winter trends in Chennai K Srikanth, an independent weather blogger running the platform Chennai Rains- ‘Chennayil Oru…

The mere mention of Cooum conjures up images of a dirty, smelly water body. The pollution of the Cooum river has been an issue that takes centre stage in all discussions around improving life in Chennai. The fate of Chennai's other water bodies, the Adyar river and Kosasthalaiyar river and the Buckingham canal also mirror that of the Cooum. Many attempts have been made over the years to clean up Chennai's polluted rivers. Allocations running into thousands of crores have been made for these projects by various governments, but progress has been slow and incremental. Read more: Sewage lorries polluting…

Shanthi*, a domestic worker, who lives in Thideer Nagar near the banks of the Cooum river, fell sick a few days ago. She was diagnosed with dengue. "We have been living on the river banks for years now as this is the only place where we can find affordable rental houses. Unlike previous years, the mosquito menace in Chennai is very high this year and many of us, mostly children, have been falling sick frequently," she says. Being the sole breadwinner of her family, Shanthi lives with her her son, who is in class 10. "The number of mosquitoes that…

A monument to pay tribute to former Chief Minister and DMK supremo M Karunanidhi for his contributions to Iyal, Isai, and Nadagam - the three pillars of Tamil language and literature - has evoked mixed reactions in the state. The 134 feet tall 'Muthamizh Arignar Dr Kalaignar Pen Monument' is proposed to be built in the Bay of Bengal 360m off the Coast of Chennai's Marina Beach near Triplicane. The key opposition to this monument has hinged on its impact on the environment and marine ecology and the livelihood of fishing communities in Chennai. Read more: Women of Ennore are…

Translated by Sandhya Raju “அதிகரித்து  வரும் பெட்ரோல் விலை, எலக்ட்ரிக் பைக்கை வாங்க தூண்டியது: என்கிறார் சென்னையில் வசிக்கும் வி ஆகாஷ். இவர் ஏதர் 450X எலக்ட்ரிக் பைக் உபயோக்கிறார்.  இதே காரணத்தை பகிரும் எஸ் கௌஷிக், ஹீரோ எலக்ட்ரிக் ஆப்டிமா HX பைக்கை உபோயக்கிறார். “புதிதாக முயற்சி செய்ய வேண்டும் என நினைத்தேன்.மேலும் இதற்கான மானியம் இதன் விலையை கட்டுப்படியாக்கியது. கடந்த வருடம் நான் இந்த பைக்கை வாங்கிய போது ₹40,000 முதல் ₹45,000 வரை தள்ளுபடி கிடைத்தது.” என்றார். EV வண்டியை வாங்கும் பலர் பெட்ரோல் உயர்வே உந்துதலாக அமைந்ததாக கூறுகின்றனர். “பராமரிப்பு செலவு இல்லை. முறையாக பராமரித்தால் பெட்ரோல் வண்டி போல் அடிக்கடி செர்வீஸ் செய்ய வேண்டியதில்லை, எனக் கூறும் ஆகாஷ், இதில் உள்ல கூகிள் மேப் கூடுதல் பயனளிப்பதாக கூறுகிறார். எலக்ட்ரிக் பைக்கிற்கு மாற சேமிப்பு ஒரு பெரும் காரணமாக உள்ளதால், இதன் பயன்பாட்டை…

Chennai has taken several strides in climate action in recent years with the setting up of the Green Climate Company to tackle climate change challenges and through the formulation of the Chennai Climate Action Plan.  While the intent to fight climate change has been made clear, how climate action plays out in the city’s streets is the key issue. Key climate issues such as the destruction of Pallikaranai Marshland, the pollution caused by the Thermal Power Plant in Ennore and the recent gas leaks in Manali have shown that urgent measures are the need of the hour. Climate rallies in…

Nearly three years after the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification, 2019, the State Environment Department published the draft Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) and land use maps for Chennai and other districts in October 2022. The National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) prepared the base maps that have the demarcation of eco-sensitive areas (ESAs) like mangroves, coral reefs, sand dunes, mudflats and turtle nesting grounds and other coastal infrastructure in different colour codes. However, the fishing communities in Chennai have registered some strong objections to the draft Coastal Zone Management Plan as they have found many mistakes in the…

The Chennai Climate Action Plan (CCAP) is a document prepared and released by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) with the support of C40 and Urban Management Centre and aligned to C40’s Climate Action Planning framework. CCAP has some alarming findings that should make Chennaiites sit up and take notice.  According to the document, 100m of the coast is at risk of submersion as a result of a likely rise in sea levels by as much as 7cm in the next five years. North Chennai Thermal Power Plants are going to be impacted as well, which will require replacement by 2050,…

"Rising petrol prices motivated me to buy an electric two-wheeler in Chennai," says V Akash, who rides an Ather 450X electric scooter. S Kaushik, who owns a Hero Electric Optima HX scooter, has a similar tale to narrate. "I wanted to try something new. Plus, the subsidy also substantially lowered the cost, making it a very viable option. There was a discount of around Rs. 40,000 to Rs. 45,000 when I bought my scooter last year," he says. Many electric two-wheeler users have almost the same motivation for buying an EV. "There is hardly any maintenance cost. We do not…

The power of consistent campaigning and pursuing a movement to its logical conclusion can be seen in Dattatraya T Devare's and his team's efforts. Since 2007, Devare, trustee of Bangalore Environment Trust (BET), has been working to preserve trees in the city, as part of which he filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking amendments to the Karnataka Tree Preservation Act, 1976. This eventually translated into path-breaking legal amendments to preserve Bengaluru's trees. "When I moved from Pune to Bangalore in 1986, I remember the city was very green," says Devare, "But it began losing its trees due to development…