Chennai and flooding
There is a “social media forward” that goes this way: “The story of a mega city is this. January to October: water scarcity; November and December: water scares the city.” This sums up how Chennai and the monsoon are. The biggest issue most residents face is water logging (Tamil Nadu, Pages 1-4, November 8). One of the important reasons for flooding is the poor maintenance of roads. There is also the collection of garbage and plastic waste that ends up clogging water drains and channels. The Chennai Corporation should address these priority areas. The services of ex-service men and NGOs can be sought. There needs to be a panel of experts to look into the state of the city before the rains.
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Venugopalan S.,
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Chennai
While the State administration led by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has initiated timely relief measures, the significance of long-term solutions aimed at building a climate/disaster-resilient infrastructure cannot be lost sight of. Adoption of a zero-tolerance policy toward encroachments of the city’s wetlands and indiscriminate dumping of waste in drains brooks no delay.
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M. Jeyaram,
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That such a great city is left reeling after heavy rain is sobering. I had a great chance to live in Chennai for 12 years, and flooding during this time of the year is not something new. When it rains, a sense of helplessness prevails.
For a coastal city with wetlands and marshes, booming real estate activities and encroachments are factors to look into. The world is facing climate change and the administrators of Chennai must realise that it is time for concrete and practical steps to alleviate the suffering the people face.
The sewerage lines and waterways created in North Chennai during the British Raj are great examples of visionary steps before today’s authorities.
Jayasekharan V.P.,
Payyanur, Kannur, Kerala
One wonders why various governments in Tamil Nadu have not been able to solve the problem of flooding and the draining of rain water. Crores of rupees are reported to have been spent on the construction of storm drains, but the problem has never been fixed. Don’t we have efficient engineers and experts to offer a permanent solution to the perplexing problem of almost the entire city getting flooded during the rainy season?
N. Ramachandran,
Chennai
The UAPA chill
The draconian provisions of the UAPA do result in the prolonged violations of the fundamental rights of many of “the accused” (Editorial page, November 8).
But one must add that it would be no exaggeration to say that the law and order agencies and at times the government in question sometimes fail to understand the law. The political class, irrespective of ideology, needs waking up to the nuances of the UAPA provisions in the absence of which social and student activists, political rivals and journalists and poets and priests who do not conform to the views of the governing class will continue to be at the receiving end.
Abdul Assis P.A.,
Kandassankadavu, Kerala
India’s campaign ends
The bowling coach’s reasoning is nothing short of an excuse (Sport page, November 8). The IPL was the most ideal platform for preparation just before the World Cup. Except for Pakistan, members of the other teams have participated in the IPL and have had no complaints. One mistake was not playing R. Ashwin from the beginning. By and large, there were mistakes on and off the field.
V. Lakshmanan,
Tirupur, Tamil Nadu