The video begins with an overview of the map of Chennai, going on to describe it being surrounded by a staggering 43,000 water bodies at the beginning of the 20thcentury.
By 1990, Chennai had just 650 water bodies and now only 27 water bodies remain.
Encroachments are the reason behind the Chennai floods, so says the video.
It cites examples of the Mugalivakkam, T Nagar, Pallikarni and Medavakkam areas and how they were built on the city-lakes.
It also talks about the 2000 IT boom and how buildings were built in and around the small lakes in OMR.
Environmentalist Nityanand Jeyaraman says, “We have done wrong by constructing buildings on lakes. Water will always flow in areas it has flowed through for a long time.”
31 water bodies were connected through the Buckingham canal, but its usage gradually reduced over a period of time and now the canal is a mere garbage-dump.
Here is the video:
Prof Dr. Kaarmegam, Former Director, Centre for Water Resources avers, “We can’t do anything about the encroachments but we can surely start using the Buckinghim canal again.”