Relevance : GS Paper III
The Chennai floods are a symbol of consistent human failings and poor urban design.
The water scarcity in Chennai
- More than 30 waterbodies of significance have disappeared in the past century.
- Concretisation has depleted groundwater levels to a point of no return.
Urbanisation without vision
- Urbanisation at the cost of reclaiming water bodies is a pan-India as well as international phenomenon.
- In Bengaluru, 15 lakes have lost their ecological character in less than five years.
- In Mexico city, what was once a network of lakes, has given way to a downtown city centre.
- In Telangana, tanks and lakes built by the Kakatiya dynasty has disappeared.
Lessons to be learnt
- Telangana launched “Mission Kakatiya” to restore irrigation sources.
- Hyderabad is now moving towards a sustainable hydraulic model.
- Mexico city has created a new executive position of a “resilience officer”.
- Bengaluru has reclaimed Kundalahalli lake (once a landfill).
Conclusion
What has happened in Chennai now or what happened in Kerala last year should wake up us now.
