2466 MM XVI No. 15.Pmd

Reg. No. TN/PMG (CCR) /814/06-08 Licence No. WPP 506/06-08 Registered with the Registrar of Newspapers for India under WE CARE FOR MADRAS THAT IS CHENNAI R.N. 53640/91 INSIDE Short ‘N’ Snappy Rules of attribution MADRAS Another heritage walk 2 pages of letters MUSINGS Traders & artisans Rs. 5 per copy Vol. XVI No. 14 November 16-30, 2006 (Annual Subscription: Rs. 100/-) The rain in October That always leaves a battered Chennai (By A Special Correspondent) he monsoons came to to death in an airconditioned TMadras that is Chennai in car stranded in water. the last two weeks of October. The authorities found that I have studied the satellite picture It rained incessantly for two the easiest way to drain the wa- and cant see any rain clouds over the days and with that the city ter was by opening the man- house so, we can have the party threw up its hands in despair. holes and this only added to the One battered Chennai road and there are scores more like this. (Photograph outdoors! For the residents of the city it hazards on the roads. courtesy: Nandanam News) brought back memories of the Under a cloud North Chennai and subur- Yet another problem was the not suited to the violent mon- The morning newspaper. last years floods at the end of a uprooting of trees. Several fell soons of the South is cited as bountiful monsoon. And, as ban south Chennai, in particu- Everyone has his pet reading pat- lar areas such as Velacheri, were across arterial roads, resulting in another reason. terns. usual, the administration was more chaos. Residents and tree- Chennai also carries with it caught napping. the worst hit. The Taramani Some start with the Sports Page; Link Road, which is used by lovers are of the view that the the legacy of several failed mon- some are inveterate headline- The worst affected were the authorities are themselves to soons when dry lake beds began subways and underpasses, most most commuters going to the readers; and others, displaying all-important IT Parks, was blame for the weakening of to be looked at as ideal sites for a rather Stephen King-ish ap- of them vital arteries for road trees by the covering up of roots encroachment and illegal prop- proach to life, begin with the completely flooded on October transport. While the ones at st with concrete despite a govern- erty development, to all of obituary columns. Vyasarpadi, Perambur and 31 , making it impossible for people to reach their workplace ment regulation banning this. which the administration In Chennai, during the last few Mambalam are old and it can be In addition, the planting of trees weeks, the average citizen, hav- argued that they need structural on time. (Continued on page 6) ing received the cheery news repairs before water can be that the NE Monsoon is active over Tamil Nadu, invariably drained, it was amazing that starts with the INSAT picture. flooding took place in the sub- To transplant or Those ominous, distinctly swirly, way on Harrington Road, com- dollops of white bring mixed pleted after many years of inac- feelings. tion and a cost overrun of 30% On the one hand, the rains have over budget and inaugurated hen around 50 mature not? that trees grow and mature over arrived and water problems ap- with much fanfare a few months Wtrees on the Gandhi many years. Where a particular pear solved for now. For once, Mandapam Road in Kottur- tree affects the visibility of a ago. It was then announced that for instance. How best to go Nature and the Human Being puram were shorn of almost all road user and becomes a threat the subway had been provided about it, and whom to involve. are in sync. their verdant, shade-giving to movement on the street, it with two wells to drain rainwa- And, most important of all, a On the other hand, you now need branches, enquiries revealed necessarily should be removed ter, but apparently these had serious call for participatory de- a boat to leave your house. that the Highways was involved or transplanted if possible, BUT failed for some reason. cisions involving citizens in ur- Knee-high water in the living in transplanting the trees to in a participatory manner in- room was probably not some- The roads were also very ban planning measures, at least within a campus close by. The volving local citizens/groups, thing architects or builders had badly affected. The very meth- in their own localities. root systems, rather shoddily ex- etc. in mind. And the thought of ods used for filling up potholes A spokesperson for Nizhal, placing even your smallest toe posed, were peremptorily cor- An urban development ex- loose debris and stones, with an NGO that speaks for trees in in that unhealthily coloured improper packing caused big doned off with tape. About a pert feels, The trees certainly liquid moving menacingly craters to open up. A classic ex- month later, they still remain in were not originally in the road! around your front step creeps you out. ample was the Madipakkam that state. l by But since it was the planners Around ten days ago, a who were responsible for their Those who have unwisely Main Road where the Highways SHOBHA MENON planned outdoor events in this Department had dumped gravel couple of other trees were re- presence on the road, the least season develop an eye-condi- to increase the height of the duced to stumps in front of a they can do is incorporate them tion, which forces them to gaze road to prevent flooding. The school on Besant Avenue by the urban areas, says, Generally, into future development plans fixedly at the INSAT picture, gravel worked loose and the Corporation authorities. Offi- trees are the first casualties in a sensitive manner. trying to convince themselves road got flooded, in turn caus- cials confirmed that five trees when roads are widened, sup- Technically speaking, tree that that minuscule clear dot on the same road were to be posedly for increasing mobility transplanting involves remov- in the middle of that thick, ing gridlock. Buses, in particu- white patch is positioned stra- lar, found it extremely difficult transplanted at another loca- of traffic. But traffic consists of ing a fully grown tree from its tegically over their chosen to negotiate huge chasms, re- tion. The move, however, gen- not only motor vehicle users but original location to a new one, venue. sulting in major traffic jams. In erated much protest from also cyclists and pedestrians. It for the sake of protecting the But Destiny, clearly in a mischie- addition, when water filled the schools and citizens in the lo- is possible to incorporate cer- tree. This operation should be vous mood, draws its patterns potholes it was impossible to cality. While many felt the trees tain traffic/infrastructure man- carried out in phases after suffi- firmly in black and white. gauge road levels and many a should not be removed, others agement solutions so that, cient pre-curing (treatment And not even the strongest, long- car and two-wheeler was felt that trees had no place on wherever possible, old trees that includes root and shoot est gaze can lure IT into chang- stranded. roads and had to go. The inci- need not be considered as in- pruning, excavation of the tree ing even the tiniest cloud into a Chennai this year has also dent raised larger issues, and terfering with vehicular move- with the ball of earth, etc.) of bright, dry ray. been witness to the ghastly trag- not just about the five trees! ment. Developers have to take the root system and canopy by Ranjitha Ashok edy of three people suffocating Whether to transplant or not, into account the crucial fact (Continued on page 6) CMYK 2 MADRAS MUSINGS November 16-30, 2006 Ever rising levels f you thought water and only hindering worship but also bient air? Most likely. And yet I noise are the only two phe- posing a threat to our architec- not many of the areas resi- nomena whose levels are rising tural heritage. He has de- dents appear to be unduly in the city of Madras that is manded that original road lev- worried, judging by the atten- Chennai, think again. The Man els be restored. But such pleas dance at a meeting called by from Madras Musings, who usually fall on deaf ears. Namma Mylapore, an NGO, lives in a modest bungalow to discuss the issue at the which is about 40 years old, Rising manholes, too Srinivasa Sastri Hall in Luz. speaks from first-hand experi- MMM would like to think ence. he PWD and the Chennai that the rain may have had The road outside MMMs TWater Supply and Sewer- something to do with the thin house is topped every year, age Board (CWSSB) appear to attendance. But, at times, be in a fight to the finish when thanks to it being the route that MMM does wonder about it comes to increasing heights. many VIPs often take when public apathy. MMM, how- Shortly after any road is topped ever, was heartened to see the Armenian Church they go about busily on what- up, the CWSSB sends in its ever errands they go on. The local MLA in the gathering army of diggers, layers and mix- and note his concern over is- Breezing through road is never re-laid, in the ers and raises the height of the sense that the top layer of sues affecting the area.

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