Madras Week Events by Madras Musings

Chennai Heritage Programmes for Madras Week

PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF SPEAKER FOR THE 17TH OF AUGUST 

Heritage Tours: All Chennai Heritage tours are priced at Rs 250 per head and require reservations in advance.

 

Date	Theme	Starting Point & Time	Time Duration	Contact for reservation
15/8/09	The Justice Party	6.15 am at Panagal Park entrance	2hrs 30 mins	editor@madrasmusings.com
16/8/09	Some Dubashes of Madras	6.15 am at the High Court Compound, NSC Bose Road	2 hrs	editor@madrasmusings.com
16/8/09	The Story of the Beach	6.15 am at the Mahatma Gandhi Statue	2 hrs	editor@madrasmusings.com
23/8/09	Swami Vivekananda’s Madras	6.15 am at the Ramakrishna Math, Kutchery Road, Mylapore	2hrs 30 mins	editor@madrasmusings.com

The Justice Party tour itinerary takes you through T Nagar and details the history of the party that was the founder of several present day trends in Tamil Nadu politics. Many of the leaders of the party are commemorated with streets names in this area. Many more have been forgotten. Come to celebrate the roles of Sir Pitty Thyagaraya Chetty, the Rajah of Paanagal, C Natesa Mudaliar, Dr TM Nair, J Venkatanarayana Naidu, Gopathi Narayanaswami Chetty, Sivagnanam Pillai, Sir AP Patro and many more. Led by Sriram V

 

Dubashes, or men who knew two languages – Dvi Bhashis played a tremendous role in the creation of Madras that is Chennai. Though largely forgotten, their contributions are worth commemorating, whether positive or negative. Come and celebrate the histories of Cassa Verona, Thambu Chetty, Alangatha Pillai, Sunkurama Chetty, Avadhanam Papaiah, V Perumal Chetty and family, Ketty Narain Dewan Bahadur V Shanmuga Mudaliar and a couple of other surprises. Led by Sriram V

 

Swami Vivekananda’s two visits to Madras that is Chennai were studies in contrast. In the first he was completely unknown and the story of his movements here is a study of the citizens gradually discovering a treasure in their midst. When he came the second time, he was an international celebrity and the city rose in jubilation. Let us trace his path from through popular locations such as Ice House to the unknown sites such as Rahmat Bagh and Patters Gardens. Led by Karthik Bhatt and Sriram V

 

All three are tours by van with short distances on foot. They all end with breakfast – a vital aspect of Chennai’s Heritage!

 

Talks

 

Date	Venue	Speaker	Topic	Time
16/8/09	Dublin, Park Sheraton	Randor Guy	Some scandals of Madras	4.00 PM
17/8/09	The Park	Aruna Sairam	A musician’s perspective of Chennai	6.30 PM
18/8/09	Park Sheraton	CV Karthik Narayan	Chennai- The Detroit of India	6.30 PM
19/8/09	Amir Mahal	S Anwar	Muslims and Mosques of Madras	6.30 PM
20/8/09	The Park	Mohan Raman	Madras Nalla Madras- Tribute to Nagesh	6.30 PM
21/8/09	Taj Coromandel	Vedant Bharadwaj	Music performance featuring songs from the city	7.00 PM
22/8/09	Rain Tree	Chitra Madhavan	The Four well-known temples of Madras	6.30 PM
23/8/09	Sir M Ct M Boys School, Puraswalkam	Zhayyn James	The Seven Wells and the Nicholas Family	5.00 PM

 All talks are free. Refreshments will be served for the first half hour after which the talks will begin

 

Roja Muthiah Library Talks- 17^th August 2009 – Saravanan on Arutpa Marutpa, 18^th August – Theodore Bhaskaran on Emden Potta Gundu. Both talks at 5.00 pm

Nizhal Walks

 

Both walks need registration in advance and are priced at Rs 50 per head.

 

Date	Venue	Time of Starting	Contact
16/8/09	May Day Park (opposite Chindadripet MRTS)	6.45 am (walk is for 1 hr and 15 mins)	9445258328 or 9840744453
23/8/09	My Ladye’s Garden, Sydenhams Road	4.45 pm (walk is for 1 hr and 15 mins)	9445258328 or 9840744453

 

 

People’s Park Vazhi Nadai Chindu – A dance performance based on the poem of the same name published in 1915 describing the sights and scenes of Madras city as seen by a young couple as they walk from George Town to Mylapore to participate in the Arupathumoovar festival. Date: 16/8/09 Time: 9.00 am, Venue: Tag Centre; Admission restricted to the invitees of the South India Heritage Series and their guests

 

South India Heritage Series – Madras as seen in early Tamil films – an audio visual presentation by Mohan Raman. Date: 30/8/09 Time: 9.00 am, Venue: Tag Centre; Admission restricted to the invitees of the South India Heritage Series and their guests

 

For more events log on to www.themadrasday.in

Madras Week approaches

Madras Week, which started off as Madras Day six years ago to celebrate the founding of the city on 22^nd August 1639, now looks like becoming Madras fortnight. This year though Madras Week will be celebrated between the 16^th and the 23^rd of August it looks like the celebrations will begin on 15^th August itself and carry on till the 31^st. For the small band of volunteers who began this concept, the response from corporate and public citizens of the city has given enormous satisfaction.

 

This year, the hotels of the city will, as usual be enthusiastic participants. The Taj Coromandel, the Taj Connemara, the Raintree, The Park and the Welcomgroup Park Sheraton Hotel and Towers will be hosting various programmes. We are hoping that they will also host exhibitions and organise food festivals. Schools with heritage clubs are already talking about hosting events and competitions centring on the city as their theme.

 

Plenty of heritage walks are being organised this year. At Madras Musings, we will be conducting heritage walks around the beach area over one weekend of Madras Week. In addition we are planning special thematic heritage walks around the subjects of “Swami Vivekananda in Madras”, “Some dubashes of Madras” and “The Justice Party”. More details on the schedule and itinerary will be published in the issue of Musings dated 1^st August 2009. As has been the practice in past years, Madras Musings will be hosting eight talks at various locations, on subjects related to the city. We are also hoping that like last year, we will be able organise talks in North Chennai as well.

 

Mylapore Times, led by Vincent D’Souza will be organising a wide range of events for Madras Week. These will include walks, quiz contests and talks. A tentative list is provided alongside and further details will be regularly updated on the site www.themadrasday.in Sashi Nair has been our man for West Chennai. He has been organising events in that part of the city at the Green Park Hotel and other venues such as the Jaigopal Garodia School. We are sure that he has very many interesting events planned this year too.

 

INTACH is planning an exhibition on coins dedicated to the memory of Raja Seetharaman its active member who was killed in an accident last year around the time of Madras Week. This year, the American Embassy and the Alliance Francaise are planning a series of events to commemorate Madras Week. In addition a whole host of other organisations such as Rotary Clubs and bodies such as the Indo American Association are planning out their own events. A group of dancers are coming together to choreograph and perform the People’s Park Vazhi Nadai Chindu, a synopsis of which first appeared in Madras Musings a couple of years ago. This will be staged on the 16^th of August at the Tag Centre to an invited audience. The Madras Book Club on the 19^th is releasing a book titled “The Madras School of Orientalism” which is a collection of articles written on the 18^th century movement that saw the establishment of Tamil as a classical language many years later. The Roja Muthiah Research Library will be organising an exhibition on the theme of Gandhi in Madras during the week. As these lines are being written, more events are being discussed and finalised.

 

       A few people interested in the history of Madras that is Chennai have been responsible for encouraging the celebration of the founding of the city by schools, colleges, various organisations and groups of like-minded individuals.  Participation is purely a voluntary effort by those wanting to organise programmes during the Week.  The role of the informal group of co-coordinators is only to encourage such participation, try to organise publicity for the events and, where possible, arrange venues.  Growing from about 15 events in the first year, last year’s celebrations included about 100 programmes, including talks, quizzes, exhibitions and performances, all centred on

the theme ‘Madras’. 

      

This information is being put out well ahead so that organisations/individuals/ volunteer groups who wish to celebrate the founding of this city can have ample time to plan their events. Madras Musings can provide advisory help where needed. For any queries please contact editor@madrasmusings.com . You can also see the website www.madrasday.in for details.

Metro rail threatens St Andrews Kirk

With work beginning this week on Chennai’s metro rail project the fate of St Andrews Kirk, one of the city’s landmark buildings and hailed as a feat in engineering, hangs in the balance. A portion of the underground corridor of the metro along Poonamallee High Road will run under the church land and within 25 metres of the church building itself. Can the church withstand the rigours of the construction work and also the sustained vibrations caused by rolling stock once the rail comes into operation?

 

Representatives of the church had attended public briefing sessions even in 2008 when the project was announced and the route was planned along Poonamallee High Road. At that time they were assured that the underground corridor would run beneath the road and so the church would not be affected. Later they came to know that the proposed route would run beneath the church land and close to the building itself.

 

Mr John Rajanayagam, Secretary of the Church says that the church immediately contacted Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), the company that is entrusted with the project. They were informed that CMRL was taking the help of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) when it came to heritage buildings along the route and that the general practice would be that no construction would take place within 100 m of such buildings. It was only later that members of the church realised that theirs was a building that does not come under the ASI’s purview as theirs is not an ancient monument. The absence of a Heritage Act in the city meant that buildings such as St Andrews are not protected by any legislation.

 

Letters were immediately dispatched to the Chairman and Managing Director of CMRL explaining the necessity to protect the church. A reply was received that the matter would receive attention once the consultants for the project Egis Rail SA of France come down in a couple of months time to advise on the project. Matters rest there for now.

 

Others concerned with the welfare of heritage buildings in the city have also approached the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) which is represented in CMRL through its Member Secretary. The CMDA was completely unaware of such a threat to the church building.

 

Consecrated in 1821, St Andrews was and is praised a feat of engineering as de Havilland, the engineer overcame the problem of subsidence in the area by sinking terracotta wells on which the church structure rests. These will be severely affected by the vibrations during any tunneling activity in the vicinity and the structural stability of the church will be threatened. The building which showed signs of wear and tear was renovated and strengthened a few years ago by a team comprising structural engineers from IIT led by Mr PC Verghese with advise from Karslruhe University, Germany. The team had studied the church and its design thoroughly and would be ideally positioned to help in situations such as this.

 

The CMRL’s web site http://www.chennaimetrorail.gov.in/index.html has a statement claiming that alignments and stations are tentative at present and subject to change during the actual execution. It is to be hoped that better sense will prevail when it comes to St Andrews. It is absolutely necessary that projects such as metro rail takes into account the effect they will have on stakeholders and any decision on this church and its ability to withstand construction in its vicinity must be taken only after consultation with the engineers who worked on its restoration.

Singara Chennai – full of posters and poll graffiti

General Elections have been announced and the model code of conduct for political parties has come into effect. With campaigning yet to begin, what with the list of candidates yet to be released by the political parties, what is in full swing is the defacement of walls of public and private buildings though is in gross violation of the code of conduct.

 

“No Political Party or candidate shall permit its or his followers to make use

of any individual’s land, building, compound wall etc., without his

permission , for erecting flag-staffs, suspending banners, pasting notices,

writing slogans etc.” says clause 6 of the Model Code of Conduct for Political Parties and their Candidates, released by the Election Commission of India. The entire document is available on the web site – http://www.and.nic.in/election/mcc-amendment. pdf

 

How effective is this provision? In reality it is more or less toothless, with political parties taking advantage of several loopholes in the wording. Firstly, obtaining permission is easiest as it only involves intimidating those in occupation of the building. Most property owners have no say in the matter and their approval is taken for granted. If a property owner approaches the police or the election commission itself for redress, response is slow and often not forthcoming. The most common excuse given is the lack of manpower to remove such slogans and graffiti.

 

Secondly, while election campaigning by way of graffiti or posters on walls is prohibited, those felicitating leaders on their birthdays or congratulating them on some award or the other apparently are not. And with birthdays of prominent leaders of Tamil Nadu happening to be in February and March, most parties have made the most of the time before the actual code came into effect and have liberally plastered the walls with slogans, posters and graffiti.

 

Curiously, the Chennai Corporation which has Singara Chennai as its policy does not prevent defacement of public and private properties by political parties. There is also the Tamil Nadu Open Places (Prevention of disfigurement) Act, 1959, as per which graffiti on private walls too are not permissible at any point of time, elections or not. But this is another law that has failed in implementation. Today defacement of walls is taken for granted that when an electoral code of conduct is not in place. Of course the chief violators are not only political parties.

However, the absence of any effective on such graffiti and slogans when an election process is not in effect has allowed political parties to get away with such defacement. When confronted with such violations parties argue that the poster or graffiti in question was done before the election code of conduct. Under such circumstances, it is left to the Chennai Corporation to spend money on removal of graffiti.

 

The civic body is planning to spend Rs 2 to Rs 5 per square foot to remove the graffiti from public and private properties. Needless to add, the taxpayer is the one who bears the cost of this wholly avoidable expenditure. How soon this will be done is open to question with the Mayor having stated that the process could extend well beyond the elections owing to shortage of manpower. With elections getting over, the code of conduct will cease to be in place and the graffiti will be allowed to remain. Irrespective of who wins the elections, the battle on graffiti and posters will always be won by the political parties.

 

Can we have the prison museum inside the city?

Can we have the Prison Museum in the heart of the city?

 

 

The Director General of Police (Prisons) has said that a museum for prisons will come up in Puzhal. This will have equipment presently housed in the erstwhile Central Prison premises which are slated for demolition to make way for several new developments. It is a most welcome development. However, the question uppermost on every conservationist’s mind is as to why the museum cannot be retained in part of the Central Prison premises itself in at least one block which can be preserved as part of the city’s heritage.

 

In 2003 the Government decided to close the Central Jail complex near the Central Station and shift the facility to Puzhal where there already existed a jail premises with extensive land registered in its name. Following this, it was also decided that the land occupied by the jail in the heart of the city would be handed over to the General Hospital and the Chennai Metro Rail Limited for their use. The latter have decided to locate one of the stations catering to the planned Metro service on this spot in addition to a commercial complex.

 

With the jail premises lying vacant since the shifting in 2006, the Government decided to throw it open to the public for viewing and visiting since early this year. Ever since, thousands of people have been flocking to the place each day, sometimes resulting in severe traffic blocks on the overbridge that connects the Central Station. It is however indicative of the interest that the public has in the Central Jail and its history. Available for viewing are various equipments of torture and punishment, the gallows for hanging and the cells in which several important personalities had been interned.

 

Overwhelmed by the response to this throwing open, the Government then decided that it would construct a permanent museum on the prison which would be located near the new jail complex in Puzhal. While the idea is good, the choice of location is not. It is necessary that museums be located in the heart of the city where they can be easily accessed. Puzhal does not fall within a tourist’s or even a city resident’s itinerary on any day and having it such a remote place will only mean that the museum will suffer from lack of patronage and will ultimately be given up.

 

On the other hand, if the museum were to be located in one of the restored blocks of the old Central Prison, even as the other blocks are demolished and the area developed, the museum could have splendid response. Located as it would be next to the Central Station, a (hopefully) restored Victoria Public Hall and within a stone’s throw of the Chennai Metro station, it would be ideally situated. In fact, the museum could be integrated as part of the Chennai Metro Station complex itself so that commuters and others who use the facility can also be tempted to step in and visit the place.

 

It is to be hoped that the Prison authorities will take a leaf out of the Calcutta Police’s notebook. In that city, a museum for the police has come up and it is situated not only right in the middle of the metropolis but also in a splendidly restored heritage building, the erstwhile residence of Raja Rammohun Roy. Here, in Chennai, with a ready made prison block at their disposal, the Police could think of no better spot.

 

 

CMDA all set for denser city

CMDA all for a denser city – new FSI rules give open spaces the go by

 

With the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority deciding to go ahead with the sanction for premium floor space index (FSI) within the city, Chennai is all set for more constructions and greater congestion in the metropolitan area. Strangely this sanction has been given despite a committee of experts categorically rejecting such a proposal. It is significant that the state government has all along been in favour of a premium FSI within the city and finally that is exactly what the CMDA decided to go ahead with.

 

The FSI is the ratio of the built up area to the total area of the plot on which the building stands. Presently the figure stands at 1.5 for ordinary buildings and 2.5 for multi-storey buildings in the metropolitan area. The second master plan of the city proposed a premium FSI within the city which will allow for an additional 0.5 FSI for special buildings and 1.0 FSI for multi-storey buildings. This additional sanction would be obtained on payment of a fee, the details of which are yet to be finalised.

 

With the city already facing severe congestion and stress in terms of general infrastructure, road space and water supply, this was considered an undesirable development by those concerned with quality of life within the city. The CMDA constituted an experts committee which met in January and rejected such a proposal. The main argument behind the rejection was that the city is dense even now and the impact of premium FSI for a particular plot is felt by all adjacent plots and the street on which the property stands. The present infrastructure in the city, felt the committee, was wholly inadequate to cater to premium FSI. On the other hand, such a policy the committee felt, could be encouraged in the suburbs.

 

The Government however chose not to accept the recommendation of the committee. The government is of the view that greater space is needed within the city for development and not in the suburbs. The government was perhaps not aware that such a view is outmoded and completely against present day city development plans internationally, where decongestion is the buzzword. The recommendation of the committee was consequently ‘returned’ for reconsideration.

 

That apparently is governmentspeak for a complete volte face. Within a week of its receipt, the CMDA gave the go ahead for premium FSI within the city. The 23 member authority toed the government line and gave sanction for this in the area of 1,189 sq km falling under one corporation, 16 municipalities, 20 town panchayats and 214 villages in Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts. That it chose to overrule a committee of experts nominated by itself speaks volumes for how the CMDA functions.

 

This is yet another instance of ground reality not being taken into consideration and the prevailing of pure commercial interests. A higher FSI will mean more vertical development, cutting off sunlight and ventilation leading to power hungry buildings that will be energy inefficient. There will be considerably increased stress on public transport and civic amenities. But all this appears to have no impact on the way the government thinks and acts.

 

 

Short and Snappy dated 16th February 2009

Graffiti galore

 

The city is decked out in colours, mostly of the red and black kind with a few minor variations. With general elections around the corner every political party is out to make its presence felt. Every wall in the city features political messages. These do not convey anything about achievements. There are lines and lines of encomiums heaped on leaders and then several lines of names of local functionaries who have sponsored the wall painting. It is the considered opinion of the Man from Madras Musings that the name of the poor soul who owns the compound wall ought to be added and a word of thanks to him/her should also be included. For after all, has he/she not gone to the expense of building a compound wall solely for the enjoyment of the parties and their local functionaries? And when the property owner has the honour of bearing the leader’s name on his or her compound wall, should that not be reward enough? But no! How terribly unreasonable are these property owners that they should want to complain and even quote the law according to which permission ought to be taken from them before painting their walls with political messages? And do the parties not send four or five very respectful men of menacing aspect to ascertain if the owner has any objection? He/she had better not is the general message that is conveyed. Most house owners prefer discretion to valour and suffer in silence.

 

Not MMM. He is of the kind that protests, and protest he did when he found that his compound wall had been daubed in colours, all announcing the soon to be observed birthday of a leader. He caught the party workers and the sign painters in the act and questioned their right to disfigure his compound wall. The spokesman of the group was most apologetic and requested that MMM allow the graffiti to remain for a month by which time the birthday would be over and he, the spokesman would return and repaint the wall (not with another political message) at his (the spokesman’s own) expense. MMM would not listen and matters remained deadlocked till a police car drove up and an officer very smartly stepped out ascertained the problem in a flash. Having obtained the spokesman’s name, address and phone number, he told him that he wanted the graffiti blanked out by next morning or else… MMM thanked the officer and then the crowd dispersed.

 

The next morning, a group of thugs arrived at MMM’s house. They were led by a ‘student’ leader whose sole education appeared to be in foul language, most of which MMM and other members of his household could not fortunately understand. But the rest of the message was clear. If MMM insisted on their blanking out the graffiti said the leader, the party would be glad to do so, but MMM and his family members had better watch out. Secondly, while MMM could claim absolute rights of ownership over the compound wall, he could not do anything about what they did just outside of it. And they proposed to put up huge vinyl signs blocking off the frontage of the house and also position a few high decibel loudspeakers all facing the residence. What could MMM do they asked? The battle was over with that. Elders in the family advised MMM to remain silent and there the matter ended. The smart police officer whose beat MMM’s road falls on must have noticed the graffiti remaining as it was and must have turned a blind eye to it. And as for MMM, his nerves and ganglions still vibrate each time he thinks of what happened. Whenever he steps out of his house he is literally hit in the eye by the graffiti. But there is very little that can be done about it. Ironically, all this happened on Republic Day! But as far as MMM was concerned, he as a citizen had lost his right to be protected.

 

And, a few days later came the second cruel twist in the story. The party supremo announced that there would be no birthday celebrations! So to what purpose was all this?

 

Parks that provide relief

 

The state government has done an excellent job in restoring the city’s major parks. As a writer on environment put it this is one of the success stories of the administration. But after spending large amounts on beautification, it is rather short-sighted of the powers that be that nobody thought of providing toilets inside parks. As a consequence, you find that the bushes that don’t screen amorous couples invariably conceal men relieving themselves. While the organic brigade may nod its head sagely and state that all this is to the good, the Man from Madras Musings would much prefer the parks to be clear of human refuse.

 

The Float Festival

 

The Kapaliswarar Temple tank, which has remained full of water in the past few years, witnessed the float festival a couple of weeks ago. To the Man from Madras Musings, the float festival always brings back happy memories of the time when he as a kid clutched his grandmother’s hand and stood in the queue and then boarded the float which would go around the tank and then come back to the steps when those on board got off and let others get on to the float. The joy of the festival lay in public participation when crowds travelled with the deity on the float. But times have changed and citing reasons of safety, the float was declared off limits to the public this time. People were allowed to stand on the steps and admire the float but were not allowed on it. To MMM it somehow robbed the festival of its usual gaiety. MMM hopes that wiser counsel would prevail next year and he and others will be allowed to tread the water with the Gods.

 

Night Service

 

There was a time when certain services were meant to be only in the night. No, the Man from Madras Musings is not talking about those kinds of services (lets keep MM clean) but of matters like garbage disposal and road laying and repair. But these have all become daytime activities now.

 

For the past few weeks MMM notices that arterial roads are blocked at peak traffic time by huge garbage disposal vehicles which move at a leisurely pace. They stop at all odd spots and then two men get down, rake the garbage that lies close the bins (we in Chennai never throw our garbage into bins. Rather like a game of darts we aim for the bin, but any where close to the bin is also acceptable), place it in the bin and then heave the bin on to a mechanical device which with much noise hoists the bin into a cavernous jaw like structure into which the garbage falls. The jaw then champs away with evident relish, taking care not to mangle the bin as well (O the joys of modern technology). Having had its fill, it returns the bin, which the men then heave off and place on the road side before waving the vehicle ahead. All this while the traffic behind waits, not so patiently. This is the time to give the rich Madras bhashai an airing and expletives are exchanged much to everyone’s delight.

 

And as for road laying the less said the better. But MMM who suffers from foot in mouth disease made bold to ask a supervisor who was loitering aimlessly even as a few men relaxed in a shallow pit as to why these jobs could not be taken up at night. “Because sleeping at night is not the privilege of you upper classes alone” came the answer. Obviously the supervisor has not heard of call centres.

 

 

 

A Forest Department for Chennai

Government creates a forest department for Chennai

 

Having struggled for years with the problem of creating an adequate green cover for the city, the Government has finally announced that it will set up an urban forestry division to tackle it. Employees of the energy wood division in Chengalpattu which is being wound up will be redeployed in the new division to be set up. While all this is most encouraging, it is not clear as to what this department will achieve which earlier efforts have failed at. Unless there is clear coordination between other vital ministries and departments nothing can succeed in greening the city.

 

On paper the planned unit is quite clear. It will comprise an Assistant Conservator of Forests with six rangers and twelve foresters under him and they will lead the effort. Their prime responsibility will be to grow saplings and ensure that these are distributed to people. They will also work towards creating eco clubs in schools and work with concerned government agencies and NGOs. For good measure, restoring of the rivers’ ecology has also been vested with this division though it is not clear as to this can be possible given the number of agencies that contribute to the present state of the river. At best, this new division can probably work towards greening the river banks. North Chennai will come in for concentrated effort in greening as it presently has the highest air pollution figures in the city.

 

The problems that face the new division are plenty. Chennai has had reforestation plans on paper for years and several half-hearted attempts have been made. Each year, Vanamahotsava is celebrated with fanfare and a few saplings are planted on main roads only to have them vanishing within a few days. It has been reported that presently the Chennai Corporation does not even meet 50% of the saplings targets while managing to spend large sums of money on such activities. Meetings between various departments are not held beyond once a year and that is an indication of how much importance is given to greening the city. However on paper, each of the city’s zones is given a target of planting 1000 saplings. It is significant that the plan does not go beyond planting, for the care of planted saplings is not thought of.

 

Those who are concerned with the green cover of the city also complain of the lack of any scientific basis for planting trees. Just about any species is selected and planted and many of these are completely unsuited to the city’s climate and weather patterns. Shallow rooted trees such as gulmohar find greater favour with authorities as they are probably fast growing but these are most prone to being uprooted during the cyclones in November/December. What Chennai needs according to these experts are more trees of the native variety such as the konrai, the neem and the mandarai. These are long lasting and strike deep roots and grow to good heights. NGOs have been leading campaigns to promote awareness about these trees and these appear to have borne fruit for the Corporation has agreed to grow more saplings of these trees.

 

But unless the new urban forests division is given a clear mandate and proper decision taking powers, its effectiveness is likely to remain a question mark.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Protecting Pulicat

Protecting Pulicat

 

A few years ago the Government launched a powerful campaign for rainwater harvesting in the city and it worked wonders. Not only did the groundwater table get recharged, the storage levels in various tanks and reservoirs in the city also improved. This is all to the good, for it answers immediate citizen concerns. But the news as far Pulicat Lake, a vital water body that plays an important role in the eco system of which Chennai is a part, is alarming and in the long run it could spell disaster.

 

A recent study done on the Pulicat Lake by the Loyola Institute of Frontier Technology has shown that the lake which was once 460 sq km and was hence the second largest water body in the country after the Chilka Lake in Orissa, has now shrunk to 350 sq km in extent and its depth has reduced from four metres to 1.5 metres. This shrinkage of the lake is largely due to the rapid silting up of its northern end. The reduction of water spread and depth has led to lower aquatic life. The silting up of the mouth of the lake through which vital sea water enters the lake has further endangered the aquatic life in the water body. This has led to formation of sand dunes and in summer when the inflow is even less, there could be greater loss to aquatic life.

 

While silting and deepening can be handled by quick action, there are several other factors that need going into in greater detail and this requires political will and putting into place certain policy decisions. Firstly there is indiscriminate dumping of plastic waste into the lake which needs to be stopped. Indiscriminate fishing is a second reason for loss of aquatic life. Fishing in the lake, which was a hereditary profession and which was allowed only in certain parts of it, has now become widespread. Farmers have taken to it and several among them use fishing nets of very fine mesh which go by the name of Padi Valai in local parlance. This net manages to capture even small organisms and eggs and also ensures a heavy catch. The tiny organisms being vital to the food chain in the lake, this practice does not therefore allow for recharging of aquatic life in the lake. The study has demanded that the tiny living creatures should be let back into the lake after the catch of fish has been taken.

 

Motor boats are used indiscriminately in the lake where only paddle and row boats were used earlier. Traffic continues throughout the day and night and this unsettles both aquatic and bird life thereby affecting the ecology. Prawns that traditionally entered the lake only late in the night when the water was relatively calm, have reduced in numbers now. The study has demanded the setting up of an independent organisation on the lines of the Chilka Lake Development Authority in Orissa for managing Pulicat.

 

Pulicat extends between North Tamil Nadu and South Andhra Pradesh and is 80kms away from Chennai. There are problems on both sides of the lake and decisions by both states have adversely affected it. In Andhra around 4700 ha of land has been released for a marine chemicals and salt manufacturing industry. On the Tamil Nadu side, the petrochemical complex, the power plant and the satellite port on Ennore Creek have been major threats.

The lake which is a salt water lagoon is home to over 60,000 migrant water birds and around 40,000 people living in 34 villages on the Tamil Nadu side of it depend on it for their livelihood. A water body that is perhaps over a million years old may well be on the verge of extinction.

 

Can something be done before it is too late?

 

 

 

A pilot street design for Chennai

A pilot design for Chennai’s streets

 

Chennai’s  poorly designed and improperly executed roads, with even shoddier maintenance may soon see better times, if the present attempt by Chennai City Connect (CCC) , an organisation set up by Janaagraha, a Bangalore based NGO and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) succeeds.

 

Janaagraha (Chennai) and CII (Tamil Nadu) have setup up CCC for various stakeholders of Chennai to interact and support the Government of Tamil Nadu for improvement of urban infrastructure. It is based on the success of a similar initiative in Bangalore which goes by the name of Bangalore City Connect.

 

In Chennai, CCC will aim to work on long-term and short-term projects. Among the latter, it has begun looking at street design in the city and the ways and means to improve it. The idea stems from the root belief that most street designs and their implementation follow a one-design-fits-all approach which does not look at ground local realities. Consequently, implementation of such plans do not offer any benefit to the local residents. Footpaths are often a foot high and even if present, are encroached by shops, two wheelers and squatters. As a result nobody is able to see any visible improvement.

 

CCC taking its credo from Janaagraha aims for a bottoms up approach and feels that the most manageable unit in any civic body is the zone. Each zone should be studied for the street plan and layout to be effective and this then has to integrate upwards via wards, councils and finally the city corporation. Therefore, each streets problems need to be studied individually and solutions identified for it.

In order bring make a difference and help the Chennai Corporation to improve the city’s pedestrian facilities, CCC, along with interested groups adopted the following methodology:

1. Consult with city officials, especially the Corporation Commissioner and explain the project to them and sign a detailed MOU with the government. This MOU will detail on deliverables from government, CCC and other participating organisations along with timelines. Such MOU will take existing government plans into account and hence will ensure our effort is not wasted by future changes in the area.
2. Conduct survey of footpath to identify the dimensions of the road, footpath, etc.
3. Conduct study, take digital photographs, of the corridor to document the existing issues and devise practical solutions. Compile international standards.
4. Employ an urban planner or architect to design the footpath, crossing, street furniture, etc. taking earlier observations into consideration.
5. Design proper bus bays and shelters to help passengers and bus operators; to ease congestion of road; to prevent crowding at bus shelter.
6. Design proper signs and locations to prevent accidents and improve citizen safety.
7. Optionally, conduct traffic flow study to arrive at optimum signal time and road architecture. This will ensure smoother traffic flow, lessen pollution, and reduce accidents.
8. Present the plans to Mayor, Corporation Commissioner, Police Commissioner for Traffic and other relevant officials. They can conduct public participation meetings to present the plans with diagrams to explain the project to the public.
9. Present international standards to city officials for use as guidelines.
10. Help implement by conducting periodic meeting with officials and help in monitoring.

The final deliverables included the following:

• Clearly defined road-footpath boundary that is visible to all road users even from a distance.
• Demarcate user-friendly footpaths that encourage maximum usage by pedestrian
• Proper pedestrian crossings to ensure safety and ease.
• Identify space for street hawkers to co-exist with pedestrians and other stakeholders.
• Proper signage, identification of no parking areas, landscaping, street furniture for safety and comfort, garbage bins, etc.
• Introduce bus bays or clearly marked spots as bus stops, for safety and comfort of passengers and to prevent haphazard parking of buses and congestion of road.
• Improve safety of pedestrians along the corridor.
• Involve all stakeholders in preparing solutions that is acceptable to most.

CCC has since presented its findings and recommendations to the civic body. The Corporation it is learnt, is delighted with the study and has begun the process of tendering for the actual implementation of the plan. The idea has now extended to getting corporate bodies in the vicinity to also chip in with funding for the execution. This if taken up and implemented effectively, could well be a blueprint for all city development to come.