Ever wondered where the garbage packs you neatly put away into those big green bins down the street end up everyday? Pallikaranai. This marshland outside Chennai, which used to be one of South India's largest, was also once home to many migratory birds among other flora and fauna. For the past few years though, it's been converted into a convenient dumping ground of the Chennai Corporation. Now, its ecosystem is almost dead and the shrinking wetland is one of the causes for major flooding in the neighbouring suburbs.
Ideas for change
But then again, the 3500 tonnes of garbage collected in the city ever day has to go somewhere. Sounds like a major problem? Pallikaranai and its side effects is just one commonly quoted example of the lack of basic civic infrastructure. Besides waste management, Chennai has an obvious congestion problem; then there's the question of recycling building material.Once that's dealt with, you've got the road work on.
Can you roll up your sleeves and arrive at solutions? If you have smart ideas for changing the way the city is managed, Vision Chennai 2020 is your big opportunity.
Vision Chennai 2020 is an “endeavour to provide a platform for the student community to develop fresh and innovative ideas to turn Chennai clean and green.” In this competition for college students, teams have to send in their proposals for evaluation by a distinguished panel of judges.
The two best teams will win cash prizes and be taken on a study trip to Singapore. There, they will be mentored by an expert environmentalist who will help them convert their ideas into workable projects.These projects will then be presented to the Tamil Nadu Government's civic authorities for execution.
The proposals, which can relate to any aspect of urban civic management, need to be thoroughly researched, practical, sustainable, and must also include a detailed cost-benefit analysis. The proposals will be judged by the likes of Gangadhar Rao Dattatri, former Chief Urban Planner for Madras and UN Advisor on Sustainable Development of Chennai, and M.B Nirmal, the founder and chairman of Exnora International.
Understand the problem
At the launch last weekend, Dattatri called on participants to “take a bus or train and travel from one end of Chennai to the other and understand what's ailing the city” before starting work on their proposals. M.B.Nirmal referred to Copenhagen's grim predictions for the world in 2020, and how fighting this domestically should be primary.
Whether you're the type who flaunts ‘I heart Chennai' tees or not, the city's still counting on you to give it the facelift it needs.
Now, it's your call. For more information, visit >http://ishahomesvc2020.com .
Get ready!
Entry to the competition is free and open to students of Chennai city colleges only.
All Teams will comprise of 2 students each. No limit to the number of teams from each college.
Interested parties can register via the online entry form found on >www.ishahomesvc2020.com . Entry forms must be completed with all relevant information; incomplete entry forms will not be accepted.
Topic and synopsis of the presentation for all registered teams should be submitted within the given time. The topic that you have to work on is “Ways to make Chennai Cleaner”.
Tanya is a III Year B.Com. student at the Stella Maris College.
