Registered with the Reg. No. TN/CH(C)/374/15-17 Registrar of Newspapers Licenced to post without prepayment for India under R.N.I. 53640/91 Licence No. TN/PMG(CCR)/WPP-506/15-17 Publication: 15th & 28th of every month Rs. 5 per copy (Annual Subscription: Rs. 100/-) WE CARE FOR MADRAS THAT IS CHENNAI INSIDE • Short ‘N’ Snappy • Sangam age finds? • Remembering a Raja • Tamilvanan brothers • Madras Week contests Vol. XXVI No. 7 MUSINGS July 16-31, 2016 Why ignore our 200 km Canal? t would appear that our con- heightened pace of activity con- various aspects of its function- Itribution towards the Buck- nected with the new Andhra ing. The IWAI has consistently ingham Canal has largely been capital at Amaravati, that the been unsure of its mandate to let it go to seed. We have also IWAI has decided to shift its within Tamil Nadu. In the done the utmost damage that regional office from Chennai to aftermath of the floods of we could – by building the Vijayawada. The office was set November/December 2015, it MRTS on the bed of the water- was believed that there would way, thereby rendering ineffec- be closer coordination between tive all efforts to revive it as a the State Government and the navigable canal. Now it appears G by The Editor IWAI, especially as the Canal is that Andhra, our newly formed considered to hold the key for neighbour, has some really con- any future deluges. But this has structive plans as far as the Ca- not happened and now the up in Chennai in 2014, princi- nal is concerned. And has in the IWAI is itself moving. pally to oversee the develop- process ensured that the Inland While the shift will augur ment of the stretch of Bucking- Waterways Authority of India well for the Canal in Andhra, it ham Canal between Sholin- (IWAI), which had its office in can spell disaster for what is ganallur and Marakkanam. Chennai till recently, moved to there of it in Tamil Nadu. Much However the experience thus Vijayawada. of it within Chennai is already a far has not been a happy one, Early in April this year, the lost cause. But the rest of it, what with the State Govern- Andhra Government inked a which was clean and flowing till ment being fairly non-respon- Rs 3,000 crore agreement with recently has become stagnant sive to the requirements of the the IWAI by which the entire and polluted. This is chiefly be- IWAI and the latter also receiv- canal ecosystem that falls cause of the rapid developments ing considerable flak from the The repainted statue of the Rajah of Panagal in the Park named after him in within the State will be redevel- National Green Tribunal for (Continued on page 2) T’Nagar. (See page 4) oped as National Waterway No 4. With around 888 km of the 1,095 km of the canal being within Andhra, the State views it as a crucial component of its High Court rescues heritage, AGAIN infrastructure. A study has shown that it has the potential he Law has spoken once again, and it is yet another judge recommended that the Government set up a Heritage Conservat- to transport around 11 million Tment in favour of heritage conservation. The latest instance is ion Committee (HCC) that would go into the merits of protecting tonnes of cargo each year. Five the public interest litigation concerning the Royapuram railway 468 heritage buildings. It was thanks to that judgement that the districts, East and West Goda- station at present the oldest surviving station in the entire Indian Metro Rail had to give assurances that it would protect heritage vari, Krishna, Nellore and subcontinent. Their Lordships not only refused to countenance its structures affected by its drilling activities. It was also because of Prakasam – are expected to demolition to make way for development of a new station but also the same judgement that the Government had to take up the benefit immensely. Moreover, suggested that the railways take up modernisation keeping the restoration of Chepauk Palace after parts of it were gutted. In the Andhra has other plans – it heritage structure intact. absence of such a verdict, the Government and organisations such aims to link the Godavari and When this matter was referred to the High Court, we at Madras as Chennai Metro Rail would have razed buildings with impunity – Krishna rivers and the Eluru Musings had wondered if litigation was the only way to save all in the name of development and progress, of course. Given such Canal with the Buckingham heritage structures. We had stated that repeated recourse to the an impact of that single judgement it is rather ironic that the two Canal, thereby making for a parties against whom it was given – the LIC for Bharat Insurance and the Young Men’s Indian Association for Gokhale Hall, have comprehensive waterway net- G by The Editor work within the State. This is chosen to appeal against it. not a new idea, for the Buckin- Law puts conservationists on a confrontation path with respect to In the Royapuram instance too, it is that judgement that has gham Canal was declared a those in administration. But we are happy to have been proven played an important role. The HCC, despite its somnambulant national waterway in 2008 wrong. Clearly, if there is at all a saviour of heritage, it is the judicial working style, has actually succeeded in evaluating the historic when a Rs 1,500 crore scheme process. Those who are in the executive, on the other hand, have value of 66 buildings in the city. The Royapuram station happens for its revival was announced. largely wreaked havoc on our historic structures. And appealing to to be one of them. This has come in handy for the High Court to Since then nothing much has them does not result in any positive action. prevent its demolition. The petitioner had argued that permitting happened and the cost has Consider the facts. The DGP Building was saved by the Courts the bringing down of the station would sound the death knell for doubled but it is felt that the with express instructions given to restore the building and make all other heritage structures and this plea has had its effect. Andhra Government is in right use of it. True, the Express Estates case went against the conserva- In retrospect, the Railways’ desire to demolish Royapuram is earnest this time around. It also tionists, but even there the Judge observed that this was because rather puzzling. This is an organisation that has preserved most of has plans to develop tourism there was no law that mandated the protection of built heritage its station buildings, though purists would cavil at the manner in alongside the canal. not covered under the Ancient Monuments Act. When it came to which this is being done. Still, its track record is far better than It is in the light of the above the Bharat Insurance Building and the Gokhale Hall, the judgement many other Government ministries, departments and under- developments, and also the was most emphatic. Not only did it forbid demolition but it also (Continued on page 2) CMYK 2 MADRAS MUSINGS July 16-31, 2016 How old are Footwear in the House of God he Man from Madras forms several, until there are as the shoes are missing when the finds T Musings is a regular at the many lines as there are people they return. To this the inevi- temple dedicated to the God of outside the windows. To any- table response of the intruders Skulls, located in Peacock one not familiar with what is is that in case the shoes are near Madurai? Land. You can see him there happening it would appear that missing, they, the erstwhile almost every Sunday. The besiegers were trying to break owners of the shoes, would (Excerpted by A Staff Reporter) place has been witnessing in and one man was defending ‘attend to’ the man in charge record crowds of late, but the the room. Thus, with the divi- on their return. More curses eezhadi is a village 12 km from Madurai. The staff of the administration ensures that sion between in and out queues are then exchanged. In short, KArchaeological Survey of India (ASI), scouting for infor- everything is ship-shape and getting blurred, the man at the the atmosphere is charged and mation on potential ‘dig’ sites in the districts of Theni, Dindigul, functioning at the height of counter gets all confused. He you could expect the God of Madurai, Sivagangai and Ramanathapuram and along the Vaigai efficiency. The temple, in never knows for certain as to Skulls to strike with thunder- river from 2013, heard of Keezhadi as a village where potsherds short, has not had it so good in whether he is collecting foot- bolts at any time. were regularly found while tilling the soil. Amarnath Ramakrishna, quite a while. But there is wear or returning them. If that The process of collecting an ASI superintending archaeologist, followed this up, dug 53 always the thorn among the were not enough, the man per- footwear is no joke either. roses and in this case it hap- petually runs out of numbered Having navigated the crowds trenches and has nearly 60 people digging carefully, collecting pens to be the place where you tokens. That means people at the window and furnished shards, antiquities and other clues to life from an ancient era.