Environment

Translated by Sandhya Raju தமிழ் மொழி மற்றும் அதன் இலக்கியத்தை பறைசாற்றும் விதமாக முன்னாள் முதல்வர் மு கருணாநிதி அவர்கள்  இயல் இசை நாடகம் ஆகியவற்றிற்கு ஆற்றிய பங்களிப்பை போற்றும் வகையில் அமையவிருக்கும் பேனா நினைவுச்சின்னம், பல்வேறு தரப்பிலிருந்து பல விதமான எதிர்வினைகளை தூண்டியுள்ளது.   சென்னை மெரினா கடற்கரையிலிருந்து 360 மீ தொலைவில் வங்காள விரிகுடாவில் 134 அடி உயரத்தில் “முத்தமிழ் அறிஞர் டாக்டர் கலைஞர் பேனா நினைவுச்சின்னம்” அமைக்கப்படவுள்ளது.  இதனால் சுற்றுச்சூழல், கடல் சூழலியல் மற்றும் மீனவர்களின் வாழ்வாதாரம் பாதிக்கப்படும் என எதிர்ப்பு எழுந்துள்ளது.   மேலும் படிக்க: Women of Ennore are living testimony to the many costs of pollution பேனா நினைவுசின்னம் கட்டமைப்பு சென்னையில் கட்டப்படவுள்ள பேனா நினைவுச்சின்னத்தில் இடம்பெறவுள்ல கூறுகள் பேனா பீடம் பாதசாரி மற்றும் கண்ணாடி நடைபாதை பின்னல் வகை நடைபாதை உயரமான நடைபாதை  PWD வெளியிட்டுள்ள முன்மொழியப்பட்டுள்ள திட்ட…

You've probably seen the Ulhas river on your escape from the city, as it flows through Mumbai’s favourite holiday haunt in Khandala valley in interior Karjat. But there is a lot more to the river, which originates in the Sahyadri hill ranges of Raigad district to the south of Mumbai. It is fed by multiple small rivers, rivulets, and streams and then flows through Neral, Badlapur, Ambernath, Ulhasnagar, and Kalyan. Before joining the Arabian sea, it splits at Balkum, one going to Vasai creek and the other to Thane creek. The river supplies drinking water to 45 lakh people in…

As with Joshimath, the ecological crisis threatening an already sinking Shimla and other hill towns in neighbouring Himachal Pradesh was long foreseen and predicted. Prof A K Mahajan, a geologist at Central University of Himachal Pradesh, Shahpur (Kangra) undertook a scientific study in 1998 on the twin-towns of Dharamshala and McLeodganj. “There is high similarity in the land subsistence crisis at Joshimath and McLeodganj town,” says Professor Mahajan. “Since 1998, I have been repeatedly highlighting the warning signals relating to the sinking threat at McLeodganj. Recently, when a road, ‘Khara Danda’ connecting Dharamshala with  Mcleodganj started sinking, it was a…

In the past few months, Mumbai's worsening pollution levels have made headlines. It has even been compared to Delhi, which has one of the worst winter pollution levels, year after year. Increased construction activity, industrial pollution and vehicular emissions continue to worsen pollution in Mumbai. To understand this better, Citizen Matters spoke with Ronak Sutaria, Founder and CEO of the Climate Tech startup Respirer Living Sciences in an interview that is now available on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtLkl7WkyFQ In the discussion, Ronak explained that Mumbai’s pollution levels were lower than Delhi but emphasised the need to increase monitoring in Mumbai. “Mumbai has…

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…

A day before this year's Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) budget, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced that he would urge the corporation to install air purifiers as a solution to Mumbai's worsening Air Quality Index (AQI). And the very next day, a substantial amount was allocated to the installation of air purifiers in the city. Estimated Rs 3.5 crores for one, there are plans to set up 14 air purifier towers, two each in seven municipal zones. Read more: Mumbai’s AQI worsens every winter, who is responsible? Additionally, there are plans to install air purifiers at 5 crowded areas of the…

You travel on a road in Chennai. You notice smoke from other vehicles and a mound of unsegregated solid waste on the side of the road. Maybe you are in a hurry to reach your destination, and you may not process these scenes. But next time, take in those sights. They are polluting Chennai's soil with heavy metals. Heavy metals are those metals that have greater atomic weight in the periodic table of elements. Moreover, in higher quantities, these metals can become toxic. Examples of heavy metals include Lead, Cadmium and Mercury. Soil pollution due to heavy metals studied in…

This is the second of a two part story looking at the soil subsidence incident in Joshimath and all the warnings that were ignored leaving residents fearful of what the future holds for them A little known fact is that the soil subsidence vulnerability of Joshimath has has been known for over 35 years. In 1976, the then undivided Uttar Pradesh government ordered formation of a 18-member committee headed by Garhwal Commissioner M C Mishra following the devastating floods of 1970. The committee report emphasised that Joshimath is situated on a moraine of a landslide and prone to landslips and…

This is the first of a two part story looking at the soil subsidence incidents in Joshimath and what the future holds for the affected residents Probably for the first time in recent years, the 20,000 plus population of Joshimath, a picturesque town situated at a height of 6000 feet in the Garwal Himalayan foothills of Uttarakhand, prayed that there should not be any more rain and snow. But their prayers went unanswered. It did snow heavily in the past week, and the meteorological department offered no consolation with prediction of “heavy rain and snow from January 23rd till January…

“The pace of the Char Dham road project must be reduced to four kilometres a month from the present 40 kms a month. That is the only way to preserve the ecology of the region.” That was one of the many policy and governance issues recommended by Dehradun-based Dr Anil P Joshi in an exclusive interview with Citizen Matters in the wake of the land subsidence incident in Joshimath. Which, Dr Joshi emphasised, is very different from land slips, which are a completely different phenomenon. The interview covered a range of issues and recommendations for preserving the fragile Himalayan ecology.…