An ordeal by water ( Jal-Pariksha) in Chennai.
We happened to be in Chennai on that fateful day - December 1, 2015. I and my wife were staying there with my son and his family to celebrate the 5th birthday of our grand-daughter in one of the bungalows on the ground floor in Krishna Enclave, a new cluster of buildings in the suburbs of Chennai - Manapakkam. Adyar River was just two furlongs away. Ever since our arrival on October 30, there have been rains intermittently throughout the month. Everybody said we have brought rain to the city.
In the last week of November there were floods in some areas of Chennai. We saw on our TV screen people going up the terrace of buildings and waiting for the helicopters to drop foodstuffs and water bottles. It never occurred to us that our colony could be the next one to have a similar experience. I have seen many such videos on the TV screen from all over India during the heavy rains.
On December one, we had no electricity, not even from the inverter. It was dark, and we lit a candle in the evening and chatted about my village life and the joint family with many cousins.
The Tamil Nadu Electricity Board had denied power to our area several times to protect us from short-circuit, and so we did not suspect anything will happen to us. We all slept at about 11.30 p.m. Early in the morning, my wife went to the restroom and felt that some water was coming in. Suddenly all of us were awake, and decided to go up to the upper floors. We took some essentials like toothpaste and brush, purse etc. We all thought water will not inundate our three-bedroom flat. Later, when we saw water gushing up, we took some eatables, milk, some clothes etc.Our flat had water up to six feet and submerged all our rooms and kitchen including fridge, washing machine, microwave, most of our clothes, TV set, laptop, bookcase, rice, vegetables, and many other things. Car was also submerged in the garag.
We stayed on the second and later, on the third floor the whole day. Next day morning, when the water receded, the volunteers of Sri Ram Chandra Mission, an organization which offers meditation course - Sahaj Marg ( The Natural Way to God), which has an Ashram nearby, helped us wade through the knee-deep water in front of our house, and took us to the flat of one of their abhyasis (members). We stayed with his family for a night, and next day we were accommodated by them in a school bus to Bengaluru - a journey of nine hours with two breaks. We reached Bangalore at 1 a.m. and one of our good friends picked us up and took us to the house of a close relative. This 'three-day and two-nights' were unforgettable for us. Thank the Lord, who gave us, both senior citizens, strength to bear the privation - little water, little appetite and little food, disturbed sleep and no bath. Our experience with the Chennai flood fury is nothing compared to the deaths and destruction wrought by the flood on the poor, especially those who stay in the hutments that surround the canals and roads of Chennai.
The Deluge….
If only the local governments - both municipal and state - had given us some advance notice of a few hours, we could have saved most of the things that we lost. Apparently, release of water from Chembarambakkam Lake was announced by the authorities, and we were not aware of it as there was no power, no TV, and no communication through the landline/ mobile/ laptop. We were literally in the dark. I wish the authorities had announced the message through loud-speakers or through NGOs in the area. Much of the deaths and destruction could have been avoided.
We are fortunate to have escaped with our lives but many have paid with their lives. The newspapers mention some 400 deaths, and it could be more. Lakhs of people were displaced. Flood waters surrounded schools and hospitals, and people had to depend on boats to go to safer places. Some three hundred students of an International School in Chennai which was inundated had to use boats to evacuate the children from India and abroad. Some of the hospitals had to close down their operations due to power failure, and they could not keep even dead bodies in the mortuary. This dance of death and destruction is more man-made than created by the nature. Uncertain and unusual rain is also man-made, and it is called 'climate change'.
The deaths, the destruction and the climate change are the results of man's greed - the politicians blinded by power, bureaucrats who break and bend the law, and the builders for whom one inch of land is more precious than a life. This reminds one the great bard Shakespeare's stinging words :
As flies to wanton boys are we to th' gods,They kill us for their sport.
( King Lear, Act 4, Scene 1).
……..And after
After the deluge all governments - city, state and central - started the relief operations.The Chennai city officials claimed to have put up some 199 rain-relief camps all over the city, and have removed over a lakh tonnes of sludge and garbage from the city. Some 300 pumps were used to pump water from 859 localities. The total loss to the city and other parts of state is estimated to be of the order of Rs. 50,000 to Rs.100,000 crore. The central government has announced an amount Rs.1000 crore and the state government, Rs.500 crore for the relief of affected people. The Chief Minister has announced a grant Rs,10,000 for all displaced persons as a measure of relief. How much of this meagre sum reaches the right people is to be seen now. Relief measures, whether it is a flood or a drought, gives opportunities to unscrupulous to fleece the poor.
Many NGOs and even individuals have organised relief operations before the officials reached the flood-affected people - with food-stuffs,water, blankets etc. Some 20 to 30 units of the NRDF ( National Disaster Response Force) had rescued more than ten thousand people and they deserve all the encomiums heaped on them. Army, Navy and the Air Force earned goodwill with their relief services - food and transport.
It is not just the failure of governance but there was also lack of milk of human kindness.. It was reported that some political parties pasted photo of their leaders on the relief materials coming from other cities & towns, and delayed the distribution of the same. It was also reported that candles were sold for Rs.60 each, tomatoes for Rs.140 a kilo and onions for Rs.100 a kilo by some shop-keepers.
In times of crisis both the good and the bad in man manifest themselves.
The reasons for the flood fury.
The Centre for Science and Technology (CSE) has pinpointed the reasons for devastation caused by the floods in Chennai. It said that Chennai could have fared better if it had protected and preserved its natural water bodies and the drainage channels. Chennai had more than 600 water bodies in the 1980s, and the master plan published in 2008 mentions only a fraction of them in good condition. CSE points out that Chennai is not just water-scarce city but is prone to floods as well. It is to be noted that Chennai has 2870 km of roads and that it has only 950 km of storm-water drains (39%).
The politicians, the builders and the bureaucrats have built over most of these water bodies instead of around them as is the case with some other countries. I have seen it in Minneapolis, USA, where everything is constructed around the lakes which abound in the city. A boat ride in the canals of Amsterdam provides the glimpses of the city to the visitor. Venice is famous for its canals. Here in Chennai, canals have become dirty channels for sewage and garbage. Chennai has two small rivers - Adyar River and Cooum River, and Buckingham and Captain Cotton Canals. There are about 12 waterways and canals which pass through the city. There was a PWD project costing Rs.80 crre to clean some of the canals in 2014. Nobody knows what happened to it.
One wonders why nobody, not even the leading architects, the captains of industry and the environmentalists take up this issue with the authorities. How one wishes that Rs.1000 crore of the Central Government and Rs.500 crore of the State Government could have been used to clean up the rivers and canals, and prevented the flooding instead of using it to rehabilitate the dishoused and distressed after the floods.
The betterment of the city cannot be entrusted to the whims and fancies of politicians, bureaucrats and the builders alone. People have to take it as their social responsibility. The corporate sector can take it up as their CSR activity. Funds may also be available from the Central Government's 'Clean India' campaign funds. Now is the time for the public-spirited citizens of Chennai assert their right to clean city and dignified life. Responsible citizenship demands active participation by people, especially the elite of the society - captains of industry and business; professionals like doctors, lawyers, teachers; NGOs as concerned citizens.
Everybody knows who are the culprits, and nobody has owned responsibility. There is conspiracy of silence. Success has many fathers but failure is an orphan. Common people have passed the agni-pariksha with flying colours but the administration has failed
How to control flooding in Chennai ?
" It is the standard practice", says A.Srivathsan, professor, CEPT University,Ahmedabad, " in cities across the world to prepare for 100-year flood recurrence period." In some cities in Canada are preparing once in a 500-year flood possibility, he adds. In view of this, the argument that Chennai floods happened after 100 years holds no water. Writing in the Indian Express (Mumbai,Dec.12,2015) under the title,' In Chennai, a disaster foretold', he emphasises the need for reclaiming the natural water bodies. He says that preparing the hazard map is the easiest thing. The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction has collected data for three decades on this for Chennai and other cities of Tamil Nadu. This could be the starting point. However, he observes that the state government has repeatedly condoned building and land use violations, and the coastal regulations have been overlooked. The compliance of these regulations is the challenge for the state and the local governments.
Srivathsan says the first task is to enhance preventive measures. Flood zones could be mapped with field surveys, historical records and satellite imagery. This data could be shared with the citizens to help them decide the location of their house. This data could be used to regulate construction. In England, he says, cities have clearly demarcated flood zones based on the level of flooding - development is allowed in a zone of low risk area and construction in other zones is strictly regulated. Construction in areas where flood depth exceeds 600 mm, the construction has to be wet and flood-proof.
India has experience and expertise in planning a city. Most of the cities have data on the land and have a set of regulations. The challenge is to obey the rules. If we do not follow traffic rules, we will have accidents sooner or later. If we do not follow environmental regulations, we are bound to have environmental disaster such as Chennai floods. Truly, where there is no vision or no regulation, people perish. However, the sad truth is, it is the poor and the vulnerable who bear the brunt. The time has come for people with conscience to stand up for them.
Journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step. Who will take the lead ? Duniya jhukti hai, jhukane wala chahiye. People follow if there is a leader. Is there a leader ?
Jan.15,2016.
*********
