Why Chennai is going under

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 2

Describing the unprecedented heavy rainfall in Tamil Nadu this year and Jammu and Kashmir in 2014 as instances of climate change episodes, environmentalists on Wednesday warned the urban planners to start respecting the rules of urban planning in the country before it is too late.

As Chennai experiences its worst rain in 100 years, the IMD has predicted more rain in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry for the next four days.  

As per environmentalists, the rain misery in Chennai, Srinagar and Mumbai was more of a man-made creation rather than caused by Nature.

According to Manoj Mishra of Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan, the increasing episodes of intense events throughout the country are the proof that India is most vulnerable to climate change. Disasters in Chennai, Srinagar and Uttarakhand occurred due to man-made follies.

“Chennai is the story of mismanaged city planning, a revisit to Srinagar 2014 and Mumbai 2005. The rising water level in Chennai is a proof of its ravaged urban planning. It will be the same story elsewhere, be it Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Patiala in Punjab or Ambala in Haryana,” says Mishra. 

“In these cities natural drainage systems have either been restricted or completely blocked. Water needs a place to drain out but in most of the cities in the country, including Delhi, they have either been blocked or restricted,” adds Mishra.  

Even though Chandigarh is often quoted as an example of modern urban planning, the Rajiv Gandhi IT Park in the city is also situated over a natural drainage system, says Mishra.

“It is the same story everywhere throughout the country, whether it is the Commonwealth Games village on the Yamuna riverbed or the construction over the Barapulla nallah in Delhi. Central government guidelines issued in 2010 clearly say what is required to prevent urban flooding. Our urban planning is not as per landscape or topography, but as per the convenience of builders,” he says

Notable, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar has called Chennai, Srinagar and Uttrakhand a wake-up call for urban planners.

Before leaving for the Paris climate change summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also made a special mention in his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme about the unprecedented, excessive rain this season in Tamil Nadu, linking them to climate change.

IMD predicts more rain for Chennai

The Indian Meteorological Department said on Wednesday that Chennai would continue to receive more rainfall for at least a week.

Rain is likely to restart later this evening, IMD’s director general LS Rathore said in a media briefing on Wednesday. 

It will continue to rain over the next three days due to a trough, the IMD director said, adding that the next 48 hours will prove crucial and warning over-saturated districts of northern Tamil Nadu to remain alert.

Rainfall is then likely to abate but will continue for a week due to a possible anticyclone in the area, the IMD director general said. 

IMD had predicted above normal rainfall from the northeast monsoons this season.

“One individual episode should not be connected to global warming and climate change," Rathore said.

The number of troughs has increased this month: there have been five back-to-back troughs this month, he said.