Chennai - Waterways Cleaning and Restoration Project Updates

[arunv]

so many lives lost due to dengue and other vector diseases.. i dont see a point in having a man made canal like buckingham canal in chennai..

and i think its impossible to use it for transportation. there is very little narrow water body in south chennai.. MRTS has encroached this b canal fully

[Merina]

These diseases arise due to improper maintenance and unhygenic keep up (by us the great Chennaities).

[venkatm]

We let sewage, tannery effluents, dyes etc. into our existing rivers like Cauvery, Bhavani and Tamirabharani in addition to all our lakes. Until we clean up our act, we cannot covet thy neighbour's water!

[Chebang]

Cleanliness has to begin as a behavior and then become a character of the city and its residents. Currently it is not either of this..it is just only in the minds of the people and sadly not even that for the politicians.
What pisses me off is why the hell CM has to give orders for everything and anything..are there no separate ministries, departments, looking after these. Has anyone seen a minister, MLA, corp commissioner give a press meet regd the developments, plan etc etc..everything is slow here because f***ng everything is being engulfed and controlled by the CM..which is not a good way of running things..every MLA / MP gets a fund from CG for the development of once own constituency..sad part is most of these funds are underutilized coz these politician morons do not know what has to be done on priority for their constituencies...the govt officers hands are tied coz they are just lifeless puppets.If you ask me, only our children can change the fate of the city's cleanliness.. teach them not to litter, not to spit and urinate in public places..teach your family and friends..atleast the future generation will keep this city clean..

[sridhar_n]

http://toi.in/PYbEsa

[Chebang]

Releasing tenders is a hobby for the cursed govt of ours...what were they doing all these years? whenever a question is thrown at them they *&^%$% come up with a motherhood statement that we are looking into this, tenders have been released..etc etc.. why not the TN govt look at the process itself..if the process of tendering delays critical projects why the hell cant they look at ways to speed up things..why cant they form a independent body to work with the companies directly if no response is received on time instead of putting the projects on hold ..? We are heading towards a shameful state of future where we will be surrounded by concrete structures that can support only cockroaches and lizards before the last few spots like the marshlands are converted to garbage yards..

[sridhar_n]

Chebang, I understand your frustration....the best way is to stop expecting govt to all what is requried and we as citizens, collectively through some group/organisation, have to do it ourselves. Kannan sir is involved with quite a few of those organisations. There was a post sometime back in one of the forums as to how a NGO is spearheading the cleaning or addressing the issues of garbage dump in Kondingaiyur.

[Chebang]

Puriyudhu sir..
I had even posted long time bck that this awareness has to be converted to a mass campaign and for this govt should be involved..moreover..not just cleaning water bodies but the whole city..for ex: namma rippon building oppsidela I see 100s of people urinating..and doing all kind of shit..as a common man if I ask them they will treat me like a dog..my concern is the govt is not doing anything to stop things happening right in front of their eyes...these useless grp of citizens who pollute and litter the city must be punished severly..

[ceeznic pirate]

marshand/dumpyard

[murlee]

Local green warrior gives it all for cleaning lakes

Twenty-five-year old microbiologist and Chennai resident Arun Krishnamurthy has become the youngest recipient of the prestigious Rolex Young Laureate Award for Enterprise. He, along with four other under-30 social entrepreneurs from all over the world, has won prize money of 50,000 Swiss francs for his ongoing workon restoring lakes in Chennai. The diminutive yet articulate green warrior, with twinkling eyes and a heart-warming smile, was felicitated at a ceremonyin NewDelhion Tuesday.

Krishnamurthy runs an NGO, Environmentalist Foundation of India, which is involved in conservation work in various cities. In the past three yearshisNGOhas restored nine lakes across Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata and aims to take the number to 20 by 2016. Now, with the prize money he plans to bring Lake Kilkattalai near Tambaram back to life. He plans to do it in four stages: map it; clean it of garbage and pollutants; desilt it and strengthen the periphery and plant native herbson bunds,whicheventually will attract birds, insects and other organisms that make up a healthy lakeecosystem.

“The lake, which feeds the Pallikaranaiwetland,ishometo several species of birds and pondturtles.Itisbeing choked,” saysKrishnamurthy,whose passion for naturewasstokedwhile growing up in Tambaram surrounded by beautiful lakes. “The lakes used to support a variety of birds and insects. As a child, I remember spending hours spotting birds like herons and egrets. But over the years the water in the lakes has receded and surrounding flora and fauna has alsotaken a hit.”

His first clean-up act was in 2008 in Hyderabad,wherehewas working with Google. The city was dotted with lakes but many of them were slowly getting filledwith garbage and pollutants. It reminded him of what was happening in Tambaram. When faced with another dying lake, Gurunadham Cheruvu, he decided to take action. He convinced the city municipality to give him a garbage collection truck and gottogether a bunchof excited school children to manually clean up thelake.

The second one was Lakshmi Pushkaram in Chennai in 2009. “When we clean up a lake, we remove garbage with the help of volunteers. The actual restoration entails protective fencing, deepening of the water body and cordoning it off from encroachments,” hesays.In 2010 he decided to quit Google and turnfull-timeconservationist.

Tofundhiscommunity work he set up Krish Infomedia, a small communications firm, after doing a media course atIIMC in Delhi. His company advises enterprises on how to invest in social and environmental campaigns to improve their public image. Half of his income from thefirm goesintoEFI activities.

Apart from lake conservation EFI also cares for stray animals, works to increase awareness about wildlife and save disappearing species of birds and animals. He is helped by close to 900 volunteers, mostly school children and teenagers. “These children are my role models.They never let me rest.If I have just helped an injured cat, they bring me 20 more strays to take care of. They are innocent withunconditionallovefor environment,” says Krishnamurthy who also counts primatologist Jane Goodall as a defining influence on his life. During an India visit, Krishnamurthy, a nineyear-old then, met her and she wrotein hisdiary. “Thatdiary is my most prized possession.” The meeting alsosethim on path of life-long conservation.

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Defau...&ViewMode=HTML

[krishnaswamy]

Sewage outlet turned into a freshwater pond in Ambattur

During weekends, people throng the area with fishing gear

A pond which served as an outlet for sewage for nearly seven years is now a freshwater source in Ambattur.

The water body was originally a shallow pond used to treat waste water from Ambattur Industrial Estate. After the sewage treatment plant in the south phase of the industrial estate was upgraded recently, the pond was deepened and converted into a source of freshwater.

Rather than release the treated water into the civic body’s infrastructure, the Ambattur Industrial Estate Manufacturers’ Association (AIEMA) decided to store the water in the pond and supply it for industrial use.

The water body, which is four metres deep and spread over an acre, is fed with nearly 20 lakh litres of treated sewage from the plant every day. This is one of the green initiatives undertaken by the industrial estate as part of its golden jubilee celebration.

Members of the Association said residents from neighbouring areas visited the water body regularly for fishing. During weekends, people thronged the area with fishing gear. Water quality in the surrounding areas, too, has improved as the pond aids in groundwater recharge.

“We have added tertiary treatment plants to the facilities in the south and north phases of the industrial estate. We store water for a few days and supply it to various industries, including garment and dying units,” said a member of AIEMA. The Association is also considering fish culture in the pond.

Highlighting other initiatives undertaken to keep the industrial estate ‘clean and green,’ AIEMA president, P.S. Ramesh, said, there were also attempts to manage hazardous waste. Land for setting up a transit point in the estate has been earmarked. About 50 tonnes of hazardous waste is estimated to be generated by about 700 industrial units in the estate.

The Association is also installing a dozen solar street lamps as a pilot project. More streets will be illuminated with solar lamps based on the performance of the existing ones, Mr. Ramesh said.

[n70arun]

Originally Posted by krishnaswamy

Sewage outlet turned into a freshwater pond in Ambattur

Great initiative..

[barrykul]

Managing water, power and environment (garbage, etc) is the duty of the Govt of the day. These are not some insurmountable problems. Many nations have solved them to high standards. Why do we have problems in the first instance. Merely because, the govt neglected to do the basics. In most nations there is a city planning dept which has the responsibility of forward planning the needs of future development. In India this city dept hardly functions since there is corruption and political interference. Also the budgets are unrealistic. Hence there is no sewage treatment, roads are not planned (taking traffic projections) out in advance, water pipes are not laid out, power conduits/transformers/poles are not erected. It is often a mess and an after thought. Simple projects to have storm gutters, electrical conduits, water pipes become major stumbling blocks. They are added later and cause a mess on roads since there is no cleanup after the work. This in turn causes the roads to crumble.

The current political dispensation if serious about righting the problems can easily solve garbage, sewage, water and power issues. But they are not sincere or are wanting their usual graft money to implement these changes. Sadly it is left to brave individuals who take it upon themselves to engineer change. Kudos to them. We need a "kick ass" political party to stop the rot that has seeped into Indian Governance. Since the old style was invented by the Brits who in turn groomed Indians in the Art of "Saying No" to anything that made common sense or was a requirement of the people being governed.

[ranga]

Originally Posted by barrykul

Managing water, power and environment (garbage, etc) is the duty of the Govt of the day. These are not some insurmountable problems. Many nations have solved them to high standards. Why do we have problems in the first instance. Merely because, the govt neglected to do the basics. In most nations there is a city planning dept which has the responsibility of forward planning the needs of future development. In India this city dept hardly functions since there is corruption and political interference. Also the budgets are unrealistic. Hence there is no sewage treatment, roads are not planned (taking traffic projections) out in advance, water pipes are not laid out, power conduits/transformers/poles are not erected. It is often a mess and an after thought. Simple projects to have storm gutters, electrical conduits, water pipes become major stumbling blocks. They are added later and cause a mess on roads since there is no cleanup after the work. This in turn causes the roads to crumble.

The current political dispensation if serious about righting the problems can easily solve garbage, sewage, water and power issues. But they are not sincere or are wanting their usual graft money to implement these changes. Sadly it is left to brave individuals who take it upon themselves to engineer change. Kudos to them. We need a "kick ass" political party to stop the rot that has seeped into Indian Governance. Since the old style was invented by the Brits who in turn groomed Indians in the Art of "Saying No" to anything that made common sense or was a requirement of the people being governed.

But in Great Britan rural,semiurban,urban and the metro areas are well planned and well maintained.Why do you blame the Brits for every ills of our country even after they left us 65 years back.All our problems lies with the Indian mindset.The other day in the Koyambedu bus stand the locals littered every where but a group of foreigners searched for the dust/garbage bins to throw the thrash.Old style or new style who stopped you to keep ur surroundins clean with better laid out infrastructure for which u also get overseas grants.

[satchitananda]

Sewage outlet turned into a freshwater pond in Ambattur

Good step, but so belated. For more than 3 decades, they have abused by letting sewage, destroy all the feeder ponds. Korattur side, all the ponds and mini lakes that fed the Korattur lake were all destroyed due to idiotic shortsighted selfish people. Although this step is merely cosmetic in my mind, it is a good step.

AIEMA and Chennai Corp needs to work on storm drains, as many of these areas are low lying, also ground got levelled due to sewage, landfills (of erstwhile ponds), construction debris etc.

High time, AIEMA, focusses on more greenery, more storm drains, allow zero discharge of pollutants into nearby waterbodies.. In years of the past, I have witnessed even ambattur dairy letting out waste, which is real big NO NO...

The canal that used to run from Korattur to I guess all the way up north, near Tirumangalam side.. entirely got silted and filled with all junk.

Waterways and waterbodies seem to be the most abused resource in TN

[satchitananda]

Originally Posted by ranga

But in Great Britan rural,semiurban,urban and the metro areas are well planned and well maintained.Why do you blame the Brits for every ills of our country even after they left us 65 years back.All our problems lies with the Indian mindset.The other day in the Koyambedu bus stand the locals littered every where but a group of foreigners searched for the dust/garbage bins to throw the thrash.Old style or new style who stopped you to keep ur surroundins clean with better laid out infrastructure for which u also get overseas grants.

Very true, we can keep blaming legacy forever. We can also extend to the invading arabs for destroying this and that.. doesnt help anyone..

Time to pick up the loose ends.. One thing we seem to lack is individual responsibility. As a (recent) culture, we want someone else to do everything. How many of us have seen folks littering in our very presence (including family and friends), but chose to keep quiet. We must spread civic sense. We must set an example for our own kids.

RESPECT - not merely people, but all resources is a value that has been forgotten. During my college days, during my drive near Sterling road area, there used to be a corporation school, never ventured inside, but with nice quotes from Kural and spic n span.. from a distance, once could feel the kids got some values.

I still feel it will be lot easier to create a fresh start with kids, with small changes by increasing the tribe of responsible adults.

[sridhar_n]

^ +1. We need to make a start, though late and inculcate basic civic discipline amongst our kids. It's not so difficult...we need to make concerted effort. Spreading awareness by local groups , in schools and by awareness campaigns will help.

[arun82]

Originally Posted by satchitananda

Very true, we can keep blaming legacy forever. We can also extend to the invading arabs for destroying this and that.. doesnt help anyone..

Time to pick up the loose ends.. One thing we seem to lack is individual responsibility. As a (recent) culture, we want someone else to do everything. How many of us have seen folks littering in our very presence (including family and friends), but chose to keep quiet. We must spread civic sense. We must set an example for our own kids.

RESPECT - not merely people, but all resources is a value that has been forgotten. During my college days, during my drive near Sterling road area, there used to be a corporation school, never ventured inside, but with nice quotes from Kural and spic n span.. from a distance, once could feel the kids got some values.

I still feel it will be lot easier to create a fresh start with kids, with small changes by increasing the tribe of responsible adults.

+1 It is easy to teach the Kids. For Adults it will work if they are punished.

A fine will not work ..they must be made to clean the litter they do. It will teach them the lesson.

They spit, urnite , release the sewage in the nearby water bodies, throw garbage in the road and want the govt to clean them.

Even the newspapers which report this area is not clean and govt not doing the job does not spare any wall in the city. They paste posters with some semi naked women or actress to grab attention. They complain govt is not able to maintain the city clean

[barrykul]

Originally Posted by ranga

Why do you blame the Brits for every ills of our country even after they left us 65 years back.

Please reread what I have written before coming to the above conclusion. Until recently the common public did not have RTI, hence we cannot question anything the Govt does. But who is the Govt? It happens to have some IAS bloke in charge of 1 or more departments whose job is to ensure civic norms. This bloke is schooled in the old sarkari attitude way of dealing with things. He is at the beck and call of Politician of the day who bark some inane request. He is busy fulfilling the "bark". Does he care whether garbage fills up. No. The rot is in governance. Stuff like individual responsibility is nice but at the end of day it is about a dept discharging their intended job. Sadly they fail. You want to control indiscriminate garbage flung on streets, impose a fine and enforce it through law and order. Make a few examples of these characters, perhaps they work 1 month picking garbage of the streets. Bottom line these are easily fixable problems. Singapore used to be similar, but now Singapore has good governance, strict enforcement and voila no garbage. I think I can do it within 1 month if given the charge for a "no garbage" city/state.

[arun82]

Kolkata Planning Canal Top solar panels.

Kolkata is walking the Gujarat way – at least in harnessing renewable energy resources and has decided to install solar panels over all the canals flowing through Rajarhat area on the eastern fringes of the city.

The Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO) will install solar panels over the canals flowing through Rajarhat as a part of the Rajarhat – New Town solar city project. Officials at Hidco recently reviewed the progress of the solar city project and a report in this regard is; likely to be completed in January.

“There will be a component in the report on installation of photovoltaic panels over canals through New Town – Bagjola canal as well as other link and periphery canals,” Hidco chairman-cum-managing director Debashis Sen was quoted as saying in the Times of India newspaper.

Street lighting, entertainment and community lighting are the standard areas where solar power is used while developing solar city; Rajarhat will witness two related new concepts – energy efficiency and green building – being incorporated in the project. Authorities are working on solar water heater, solar staircase light, solar streetlight and green building as well. All these exercise is being done to develop Rajarhat into an energy-intelligent township, minimising the use of conventional energy and adopting the renewable energy as much as possible.


CANT THEY COVER BUCKINGHAM CANAL AND COOUM WITH THIS SOLAR PANELS