Abysmal deficit of water, food waste recycle treatment 'impacting' Chennai life

By Simi Mehta*
We are living in a state where the most basic needs like food and water are not assured to the people residing in the urban areas, which account for the biggest sources of food and water wastage. Socio-economic inequality in society which is pervasive in urban areas is one of the main reasons for this.
To highlight more on this, the Centre for Habitat, Urban and Regional Studies (CHURS), Impact and Policy Research Institute (IMPRI), New Delhi, organized a #WebPolicyTalk, The State of Cities – #CityConversations on Urban Water, Food and Waste Cycling and Socio-economic Equity.
Chaired by Dr Shyamala Mani, professor (retired), National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), New Delhi, and senior advisor, Centre for Environmental Health, Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), Gurugram. she spoke about major problems with food and water accessibility in urban areas and how water is exploited and polluted by some communities in urban areas.
She enlisted the problems of waste management and the key issues and highlighted recent problems in the field of waste management like proper management of plastic and electronic devices. She highlighting problems from the Indian administrators’ perspective, and how it affects the lives of the people, said that some of the key issues of climate change are ignored at the implementation level.
The main speaker, Suhasini Ayer, co-founder of the Auroville Centre for Scientific Research, a planning and architectural design studio, started the talk with a case study of Chennai to discuss the issue of water and food waste recycling in urban India. Focusing on water and sewage situation in Chennai, she said that the projected sewage in the city is in deficit and the ability of the sewage treatment facility is abysmal compared to the level of waste.
Growth in the population of the city between 1997 and 2006 is one of the major reasons for it. Since the sewage capacity is the same as it was in 1997, it largely affects the city by degrading the water bodies in the city. This has affected the marshlands and the forests near the city, she added.
She reviewed policy decisions taken by the government of Tamil Nadu and highlighted the project Sponge Park of Chennai, stating, the issue associated with the degradation of water resources near the city is caused by dump lands, which leads to degradation of health and quality of life. The deprived sections have been deeply affected by it.
According to her, the huge labour population is coupled with lack of new formally established slums in Chennai. The transformation of Chennai’s area, where the marshlands and the greens have been occupied and changed into either residential or commercial use, has distorted the whole water cycle of the city.

She reviewed various projects concerning urban infrastructure and governance for Chennai in the past 25 years. She underlined how 40% of the storm water management projects, which also include rainwater management, lead to mixing of sewage and drainage water, wasting massive amounts of decent quality rainwater released in water bodies.
Talking about the distribution of sources of food items for Chennai which come from various nearby cities like Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Coimbatore, she said, one of the largest food wholesale markets near Chennai, Coimbatore, is a major hub for food waste, too. Food waste is not only affecting the shortage of food, but also the nutritional cycle of the people in the city.
Chennai accounts for one of the highest production of waste in the nation. While waste management budget is continually increasing, its management required attention, especially the dumps in various fields like Perungudi and Kondungaiyur.
She reviewed water harvesting and desalination activates in Chennai, unplanned development of which has led to the inaccessibility of public transport in the city. The vegetation of the city has reduced dramatically and there is increase in air pollution. At the same time, she talked about how lack of planning like during the flood of 2015 affected Chennai.
Participating in the debate, Dr Fawzia Tarannum, assistant professor, Department of Regional Water Studies, TERI School of Advanced Studies, New Delhi, said that lack of accountability and awareness is one of the central issues for urban planning. She talked about the importance of city dwellers and how they face most issues in a city, and basic problems in civic and water infrastructure, which she has dealt with as a researcher in various projects.
---
*CEO, IMPRI

Comments

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu. He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

Uttarakhand tunnel disaster: 'Question mark' on rescue plan, appraisal, construction

By Bhim Singh Rawat* As many as 40 workers were trapped inside Barkot-Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi after a portion of the 4.5 km long, supposedly completed portion of the tunnel, collapsed early morning on Sunday, Nov 12, 2023. The incident has once again raised several questions over negligence in planning, appraisal and construction, absence of emergency rescue plan, violations of labour laws and environmental norms resulting in this avoidable accident.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Civil society groups unite to oppose Rajasthan anti-conversion Bill, urge Governor to withhold assent

By A Representative A coalition of civil society organisations, rights groups and faith-based associations has strongly condemned the passage of the “Rajasthan Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion Bill, 2025” in the State Assembly on September 9, calling it draconian, unconstitutional and a direct attack on the fundamental rights of minorities. The statement was released at a press conference held at Vinoba Gyan Mandir, Jaipur, where representatives of more than a dozen organisations declared that they would actively lobby against the bill and urged the Governor not to grant assent, but instead refer it to the President of India under Article 200 of the Constitution.

India's health workers have no legal right for their protection, regrets NGO network

Counterview Desk In a letter to Union labour and employment minister Santosh Gangwar, the civil rights group Occupational and Environmental Health Network of India (OEHNI), writing against the backdrop of strike by Bhabha hospital heath care workers, has insisted that they should be given “clear legal right for their protection”.

Job opportunities decreasing, wages remain low: Delhi construction workers' plight

By Bharat Dogra* It was about 32 years back that a hut colony in posh Prashant Vihar area of Delhi was demolished. It was after a great struggle that the people evicted from here could get alternative plots that were not too far away from their earlier colony. Nirmana, an organization of construction workers, played an important role in helping the evicted people to get this alternative land. At that time it was a big relief to get this alternative land, even though the plots given to them were very small ones of 10X8 feet size. The people worked hard to construct new houses, often constructing two floors so that the family could be accommodated in the small plots. However a recent visit revealed that people are rather disheartened now by a number of adverse factors. They have not been given the proper allotment papers yet. There is still no sewer system here. They have to use public toilets constructed some distance away which can sometimes be quite messy. There is still no...

Supreme Court: Outsourcing jobs in public institutions cannot be used as a tool for exploitation

By Raj Kumar Sinha* Ahead of the Assembly elections in Bihar, the issue of contract workers has heated up. A few days ago in Patna, around 9,000 land survey contract workers arrived at the BJP office demanding their jobs be made permanent and for the payment of outstanding salaries. These contract workers, who are involved in land measurement, were then subjected to a police baton charge. The protest had been going on for a month at the Gardanibagh strike site in Patna, Bihar. According to the contract workers, they have been working in various government offices, including the Revenue and Land Reforms Department, for years but do not receive the same rights and benefits as permanent employees. Their main demands are "equal pay for equal work" and guaranteed service until the age of 60.

Ongoing hunger strike in Ladakh draws fresh attention during PM’s Arunachal visit

By A Representative Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Arunachal Pradesh recently for two days. During his speech, a student from Keladha Adi District displayed a banner that read, “Stop the hunger strike, give Ladakh their rights,” in support of Ladakh climate activist and innovator Sonam Wangchuk. The student was later detained by the police. The incident drew attention to the ongoing hunger strike in Ladakh.

Counterview

Search This Blog