Chennai’s residents are once again at the receiving end of the aftermath of a cyclone– homes flooded, roads submerged and their lives and livelihoods at peril. And even as they look towards the government for answers, Nityanand Jayaraman, an environmental activist says that if the current scheme of things continues, Chennai should brace itself to be hit by floods regularly in the future too.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin told TNM that the authorities were better prepared this time to deal with the heavy rains predicted because of Cyclone Michaung. Nityanand says that while the civic authorities sprung into action more readily this time, responding to SoS calls better, no lessons have been learnt in terms of rectifying the actual mistakes. “I think no lessons have been learned. On the contrary, I believe that people have gone ahead with business as usual, or probably even more aggressively,” he says, talking about encroachment of marshlands and unplanned urbanisation.
The district administration has mostly placed the blame on the sea pushing back the water through the canals and thus causing the floods. Nityanand says that in a coastal city like Chennai, high tides are expected and the excuse given by the authorities does not hold good. Nor is the reason that the rains were unprecedented. “That is the nature of the monsoon, you've decided to locate your city over here,” he says.
He says that while the current problem is something that has been inherited because of mistakes of the previous government, the ones in power today are in the process of contributing to future disasters.
The water levels are yet to recede in Chennai but thousands have lost their homes and their livelihoods. “The situation today is such that it is not just a minor blip for people who have spent decades trying to build their lives. They have gathered small assets like a washing machine or grinder, or a scooter that is very crucial for their livelihood, to drop their children at school, it is all gone. The government's compensation is not even going to be scratching the surface and rebuilding their lives is going to be horrendously difficult,” Nityanand says.