The fate of the marsh area in the immediate vicinity of the dumping yard in Pallikaranai was for long shrouded in uncertainty. Campaigns by conservationists to get this area protected elicited little response. Activists were worried that the area would be gobbled up by the ever-expanding dumping yard. Therefore, the recent move to declare the 131.55 hectares of land abutting Velachery Main Road and Thoraipakkam-Pallavaram Radial Road as reserved land for development of the Pallikaranai marshland came as a pleasant surprise.
The Conservation Authority of Pallikaranai Marshland has initiated the preparation of a development plan for the wetland.
The authority will commence construction of flood bunds. Roadside parks will prevent illegal dumping of municipal solid waste in the area. The Chennai Corporation has already dumped waste in 60 hectares of land and 112 hectares of marsh abutting the dumpyard is likely to be affected if alternative sites for waste management is not finalised.
There are proposals to convert the existing dumping yard into an ecopark after alternative site is identified.
The civic body is planning to start remediation of the land where garbage is being dumped. This move will facilitate the integrated management of the Pallikaranai marshland. The Forest Department is trying to get the Pallikaranai marshland declared as a Ramsar site.
The declaration of the marshaland area as a Ramsar site will make it a natural wastewater purification system, decrease water pollution, preserve biological diversity, check floods, mitigate the effect of cyclones and tidal waves. The southern portion of the Pallikaranai Marshland has already been notified as a Reserve land under the Tamil Nadu Forest Act, 1882.
Remediation of the dumpyard will begin only after alternative facilities for solid waste management are commissioned for the city.
Workshops:
Pdfs of presentations made at Clean Chennai @ Home workshops in Adyar (Sep 7) and Nungambakkam (Sep 8)
>Composting by Navneeth Raghavan
>Garbage segregation by Navneeth Raghavan
>Managing garbage effectively by Srinivas Krishnaswamy & Preethi Sukumaran
Here is a quick guide to start composting and recycling: >http://thne.ws/cc-fridgesheet
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