Cyclonic storms on Tamil Nadu’s 1,076-km coastline are
not unusual, and at least once in two years there is some disaster or
the other. The common thread running through every such instance is that
all claims of preparedness are invariably exposed as either hollow or
woefully inadequate. The focus, as well as any claim to administrative
efficiency, is solely on rescue and relief operations. What the
government is able to demonstrate is only some good mobilizing of human
and material resources after the event. Rarely is there a
reconsideration of the policy of civic planning, especially the tendency
to place real estate and commercial interests above those of nature and
ecology. The latest disaster to hit Tamil Nadu was not a cyclone, yet
it highlighted the inadequate level of preparedness. The inundation(flooding) in
Chennai and its neighboring districts exposed all the flaws in its
urban planning, housing and real estate policy and water management.
Scenes of large sheets of water spread across hundreds of localities,
cutting off tens of thousands of people from the rest of the city,
provided grim(unattractive ) testimony to the appalling(shocking) mistakes of the past. As rain
battered(injured by repeated blows or punishment) the city, it was clear that the drainage system was either too
weak or non-existent. Compounding the problem of urban waste clogging(blocking)
drains was widespread encroachments that have whittled(reduced) down the carrying
capacity of many water channels.
A big factor behind
the flooding is the rampant(spreading unchecked) construction of buildings on water bodies,
wetlands and areas that were originally floodplains. Large tracts of
land in the suburbs(an outlying district of a city, especially a residential one) have seen a real estate boom. None should have been
surprised by water flowing into such areas, creating islands out of
apartment complexes and making whole colonies resemble fields under
irrigation. There is a good deal of official patronage(support) for the
establishment of habitations on lakes and ponds. Even the Housing Board
implements such projects, and planning authorities approve them
routinely. Such disasters could have been prevented through planning,
curbs on occupation of water bodies, and pre-monsoon desilting(to remove suspended silt from) of drains
and water channels. A key factor that ought to be taken into account is
that the city needs an intricate(very complicated or detailed) drainage system to match its
burgeoning(begin to grow or increase rapidly; flourish) development. With the city’s municipal limits expanded in
recent years to take in dozens of smaller villages and townships, the
only remedial step can be significantly enhancing civic infrastructure
in the added areas. But it is a daunting(seeming difficult to deal with in prospect; intimidating) task for the government to
implement the real solution – keeping water bodies free of construction
and habitation. Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has sanctioned Rs.500 crore
for immediate relief, and sought further Central assistance. The
government must also look for sound hydrological solutions to address
the shortcomings in the city’s water storage and drainage system, and
revisit present policy priorities. There can be no smart city without
intelligent planning.
Data that may be helpful:
Meanings:-
Data that may be helpful:
Meanings:-
- inundation :- flooding
- grim :- unattractive
- appalling :- shocking
- battered :- injured by repeated blows or punishment
- clogging :- block
- whittled :- reduced
- rampant :- spreading unchecked
- suburbs :- an outlying district of a city, especially a residential one
- patronage :- support
- desilting :- to remove suspended silt from
- intricate :- very complicated or detailed
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