Following the massive floods of 1976, the first vice-chancellor of Anna University and former chief engineer of the Public Works Department (PWD), P Sivalingam, submitted a report to the government on how to stop flooding of the city. The report has never been made public even 45 years after...
The people of Chennai bore heavy losses in the 2015 Chennai floods. Loss of life, property and livelihood was common. Among the precious belongings lost were collector’s items. One such loss was Rengiah Murugan’s collection that included publications giving details of non-brahmin mutts in Tamil...
A group of volunteers have revived waterbodies in Coimbatore city by retracing an Chola irrigation system plan that fed the waterbodies. With the Western Ghats at its backdrop and blessed with a salubrious climate round the year, Coimbatore is one of the best places to live in Tamil Nadu. The...
Chennai city is drowning after a single day's rain. The low-lying areas in Chennai city and surrounding areas resemble rivers and lakes. With Puzhal and Chembarambakkam, the main drinking water supplying reservoirs reaching their full capacity, excess water is being released from the two...
KP Suresh Babu, a senior section engineer at ICF, had started helping people facing flooding in November of 2015. Chennai was seeing sustained heavy rains. He and his friends would cook food and distribute among people whose belongings were under water. Little did he know that worse was to...
It’s that time of the year now when the dragonfly flies in formation. But, why now? This is the time the ecological balance goes askew and the dragonfly appears to set it right. In a few weeks, the northeast monsoon will set. We are already seeing signs – hot, humid air. Such air is best for...
The neutrino project is once again in the news. A delegation led by Lok Sabha MP TR Balu met Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal ahead of PRAGATI meeting chaired by the Prime Minister and conveyed the state government’s opposition to the project. Chief Minister MK Stalin had...
A debate is ongoing in media as well as in Supreme Court if Mullaperiyar Dam played a role in increasing the disaster proportions during Kerala floods this year. This debate is not about the safe water level in Mullaperiyar dam considering its structural safety, it's more about the operational...
British multinational Vedanta Resources' Sterlite Copper smelter emitted between 2 and 21 tonnes (average 7.8 tonnes) of cancer-causing arsenic into Thoothukudi's environment every day while in operation, according to an arsenic mass balance made using Sterlite's own data, says environment...
Among the key contributors to dwindling fish catch is trawling that catches the hatchlings too. The target of trawlers is not hatchlings but they get caught in the nets and are scooped up. While hatchlings that come along with the fish are not consumed as food, they fetch a price as fodder for...
