Environment

Translated by Sandhya Raju கோடை காலம் தொடங்கும் முன்னரே, ஏப்ரல் மாதத்தில் சேலையூரில் உள்ள எஸ். வேலு வீட்டிலுள்ள இரண்டு ஆழ்துளை கிணறு வற்றிப்போனது. மூன்றாவதாக, 600 அடி ஆழத்தில் மற்றொரு கிணறு தோண்டியதில், அதிலும் தண்ணீர் ஊற்றெடுக்கவில்லை. தற்போது தண்ணீர் லாரி மற்றும் நகராட்சி நீர் வழங்கலை நம்பி உள்ளார் வேலு. 2019-ம் ஆண்டு போல் சென்னையில் தண்ணீர் தட்டுப்பாடு இல்லையென்றாலும், நகரத்தின் பல்வேறு இடங்களில் நிலத்தடி நீர் வற்றிப்போக தொடங்கியுள்ளது. இதனால், குடிநீர் வாரியம் வழங்கும் தண்ணீரையே பெரும்பாலான வீடுகளும், தொழிற்சாலைகளும் நம்பியுள்ளன. வீடுகள் மற்றும் தொழிற்சாலைகளின் கூடுதல் நீர் தேவையை பூர்த்தி செய்வதில் நிலத்தடி நீருக்கு முக்கிய பங்கு உண்டு. ஆனால், இதன் தொடர் உபயோகத்தால், சென்னயின் நீர் அட்டவணை கடும் வீழ்ச்சியடைந்துள்ளது. 1970-ம் ஆண்டு வரை, சென்னையில் பெரும்பாலான பகுதிகளில் நிலத்தடி நீர் திறந்தவெளி கிணறுகளிலிருந்து கைகளால் இறைக்கப்பட்டதாக ஒரு அறிக்கை தெரிவிக்கிறது. 70ம்…

For restaurateur Abhilash VK’s seven-year-old and four-year-old children, the idea of waking up every morning, running up to their balcony, and picking fresh strawberries from their kitchen garden has been an exciting one. Their breakfast was incomplete without them.  Abhilash, a home gardening enthusiast, plans to create an aviary to his terrace garden. Pic courtesy: Abhilash VK Abhilash started his terrace gardening project a little before the pandemic. He enlisted the service of a gardening firm to set up the garden. They took care of the soil and other infrastructure, and provide monthly service for applying fertiliser and managing pests.…

This is a time of immense grief and loss for me. Unable to face the harsh reality of my mother gasping for each breath in the ICU, I was drowning myself in work. Coincidentally or so I think, I was working on a report analysing asphyxiation of Vrishabhavathi, Arkavathi, and Cauvery rivers, and suffocation of aquatic lifeforms the rivers supported. As the dissolved oxygen graph took shape, I realised: The million times I had held the dissolved oxygen meter underwater to measure oxygen saturation levels across rivers was no different from the million times we plugged the oximeter to my mother’s…

Uma Mani, in her 50s, is a Chennai-based self-taught artist. She used to paint tulips and roses until 2010, the year in which she learned about coral reefs in Juan De Nova, a French documentary film, screened by Alliance Française Maldives for Earth Day. Fascinated by the world of corals and underwater life, she decided to paint them. “Until then, I was unaware of the fact that the presence of corals in the ocean is extremely important. It made me realise that they are on the brink of extinction,” shares Mani. Some of the most diverse ecosystems, coral reefs are threatened by…

As one of India’s largest and most populous metros, Chennai exhibits all the traits and vulnerabilities inherent to a developing, high-density city. Rapid urbanization has led to pollution, poverty and energy and water scarcity.  However, one of the key issues with the city is a pronounced lack of civic consciousness. Resilience working group sessions (led by the  Resilient Cities Network chapter in Chennai) involved experts from government, civil and academic bodies. They concluded that in order to achieve sustainable development goals and build resilience, civil ownership and participation was essential. These are the top three areas where citizen participation and involvement…

The theme for World Environment Day observed earlier this week was ‘ecosystem restoration’ and it presents a good starting point for an important conversation – one about urban agriculture (UA) and its potential to revive and restore highly diverse ecosystems in cities. Initially, a majority saw urban agriculture largely as a hobby of a scarce few with enough time and a ‘green thumb’ practice. But today, many recognise its vital role in building more sustainable, climate-proof urban futures and are taking active interest in the same. The pandemic and consequent lockdowns have, in fact, spurred an interest in urban agriculture…

Even before summer had set in officially, the two borewells at S Velu’s residence in Selaiyur turned dry in April. In search of water, he dug another borewell as deep as 600 feet, but that too failed to yield any water. Velu is now at the mercy of water tankers and municipal water supply and uses water sparingly. Although Chennai’s water situation is not as alarming or critical as it was in 2019, groundwater resources in several pockets of the city are reportedly drying up. As a result, besides using water supplied by the Metrowater agency, many households and industries…

These are no ordinary trees. These are the birds, the butterflies and the bees. These are where our kids sat immersed with books, stories and workshops in the annual children’s book festival. A fellow mom asks me, Where will kids have beautiful story sessions now? True, it wasn’t just the books but the magic of being in the lawns of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) each spring season, frolicking and giggling under these angel guardians. And yet, 1,838 of these trees in and around the IGNCA campus, and the road in front of National Archives, are…

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast 2021 to be the hottest summer season in recent years in many parts of the country. On March 24th, Delhi recorded the hottest day of the month in  76 years. In fact, 2019 was the seventh warmest year in the history of humankind after 1901.  Summers in India are becoming increasingly unbearable and cities are finding it hard to cope with heat wave related incidents. A study by scientists at IIT Gandhinagar has forecast an eight fold rise in heat wave related incidents in the country if the global community fails to check…

According to some citizens, the biodiversity in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) is under threat as the government officials are turning a blind eye to the violations happening in daylight. With an aim to raise a voice against the destruction of holding ponds area, wetlands and mangroves in MMR, environmentalists have come together for #MumBiodiversityBacho campaign started by NatConnect Foundation. Through the campaign, they plan to amplify their voice against the destruction of the CRZ (Coastal Regulation Zone) areas including in Panje, NRI Complex amongst others. The campaign appeals to the environment ministry and other authorities involved, to take steps to…