Environment

People make a landscape their city and their home. Garden City, Victory City, Steel City and many such identities are rightfully linked with urban centres across the country. When there is a mention of the most rainfall, our mind immediately travels to our middle school textbook pages that introduced us to Cherrapunjee. Water is said to be an element of nature with a memory. Often, the best of our memories of nature also happen to be related to water. The first time the waves crashed at our feet, the first time we took a dip in that meandering river, the…

In its earlier avatar, Mumbai was known as ‘Heptanesia’, denoting a collective of seven islands, as named by Ptolemy in 150 AD. With the city being transformed from a cluster of islands into a unified mass in early 18th century, its enduring connection to the coastline beholds captivating marine biodiversity that lies right at our doorstep.  There exists a facet of Mumbai that remains shadowed within the towering buildings and lost between the burgeoning crowds. Often hailed as a ‘city that never sleeps’, it also holds a hidden truth: its shores too remain in a perpetual state of wakefulness.  The…

Urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) is gaining popularity in Indian metropolises to encourage climate action and sustainable development. Though the climate mitigation of UPA may be overstated, an IIT-Madras study found that UPA “can play a small, but not insignificant role” in augmenting carbon stock and bringing down land surface temperatures in cities. However, researchers say UPA has other benefits that make it critical for urban planning, such as promoting individual and community well-being, increasing urban food security and creating green jobs. Every few weeks, 53-year-old agricultural entomologist Rajendra Hegde addresses a large gathering in Bengaluru, where he puts forth…

Black, foul-smelling, stagnant water - this is what one will find when they go in search of the Mambalam Canal which was once one of the significant freshwater canals in the city.  In its heydays, the canal used to carry surplus water from two major tanks - the Nungambakkam tank and the Mambalam tank - that existed some four decades ago. Due to urbanisation, the entire watershed area of these tanks now has residential and commercial establishments in it.  The path followed by the original canal starts near Valluvar Kottam and passes through T Nagar and CIT Nagar before draining…

In July of 2022, the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) introduced the ‘Shoreline Renourishment and Revitalization Project,’ a large-scale version of many beach beautification projects introduced in past. The overall project will cover just over 50 km of Chennai’s coastline with various sections being developed along various themes. A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) has been constituted to carry out the project with the body comprising officials from various departments. Chennai citizens have consistently brought forth concerns surrounding beach beautification projects in past years, mainly as it had to do with fisherfolk and the environment.  Will the planning for the extensive…

"My children's certificates, the first ever bike my son got on his own and our wedding album was among the many important things that we saw float away when more than 12 feet of water entered our home," says Varadharajan as he recalls the nightmares of the 2015 Chennai floods. Varadharajan lives on the floodplains of Mudichur Lake in Chennai which was one of the worst hit areas during the 2015 floods when the water was released from Chembarambakkam lake into Adyar river.  The 2015 floods came as a wake-up call for the government and the residents of Chennai. Since…

As a young person growing up in Delhi, access to urban green spaces has been a rare treat. However, one place that holds immense sentimental value for me, as for countless other Delhiites, is the city’s much-loved Deer Park in the Hauz Khas area. The Delhi Deer Park is not just a recreational spot, but a sanctuary of peace in the heart of the bustling city. But now, much to our dismay and disappointment, this mini zoo is set to close, as the Central Zoo Authority has cancelled its recognition. Nearly 600 deer living in the park shall now be…

In June of 2021, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin introduced ‘Singara Chennai 2.0,’ an ode to past projects not finished under Singara Chennai 1.0. These initiatives have been centred around giving various parts of the city a facelift. As part of these efforts, beach beautification has been one of the areas of focus. Under Singara Chennai 2.0, the plan to revamp the city’s beaches has been dubbed ‘Project Blue.’  Agencies such as the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) and Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) have since begun chalking out plans for the city’s various beaches. But these ideas come with some concerns for…

Earlier, a single get together of about 200 parishioners of the St. Francis Xavier Church would generate heaps of plastic waste. One can only imagine the amount of waste generated at multiple gatherings held throughout the year. As an ecology enthusiast and an educator, I was concerned about how we were harming the environment. I have mentored students about biodiversity and ecosystem loss, climate change, sustainability as part of the curriculum. I realised it was time for us to take collective action as a community.  In the words of Pope Francis, "As stewards of God's creation, we are called to…

Recently, Chennai has lost many trees to rains, cyclones and civic work. But the act of preserving existing tree cover and carrying out urban greening activities is only happening in pockets of the city.  There have been instances of tree felling for work on stormwater drains across the city. Many avenue trees were lost in areas such as K K Nagar. Very little has also been done to protect old trees in the city, with the instance of the felling of a centuries-old baobab tree on Greams Road being a prime example.  In order to prevent a repeat of such loss…