A troubled natural heritage

THE TRANQUIL atmosphere is shattered by speeding vehicles. In a flash, a flock of birds rises into the cloudy skies. After hovering for sometime, the birds gradually settle down again on the reed beds in the marsh.

This is Pallikaranai marsh. Spread along the Velachery-Tambaram Road, it is perhaps the last of the wetlands close to the city, and is gradually disappearing from the map.

Thanks to the rapid urbanisation, a large portion of the wetland is being used as a dumping yard by the CES Onyx on the Perungudi side. The latest threat is the new double-lane road connecting East Coast Road, Old Mahabalipuram Road, Pallikaranai and Pallavaram. It has been laid right on the marsh, further reducing the vast water body.

Noted wildlife cinematographer, Mr Alphonse Roy, who visited the stretch with his crew recently, says many look at the area as ideal for constructing buildings. ``They do not realise that it is a perennial water source. As it is low-lying, it helps recharge the groundwater table in the South Chennai region''. Its extensive catchment, which includes about 90 wetlands, serves as a natural drain for flood waters during monsoon, he says. Encroaching upon such a crucial water body will certainly affect the next generation, he feels.

For the water-starved Chennaiites this is a perennial water source. So it is the bounden duty of every citizen to initiate measures to protect and conserve it, he opines. Having just completed a project on tigers, Mr Roy plans to produce a short film on the last wetland near the city, which may not remain there if measures are not taken to protect it, he says.

Already various organisations, including the IIT, have taken over major portions of the marsh and raised buildings. The time has come to take the issue seriously to protect the place from shrinking further, feel the conservationists.

Members of the Madras Naturalists' Society (MNS) say carving portions off the wetland and allowing construction activities on it will destroy the fragile ecology. Not only birds, the marsh attracts innumerable smaller life forms, which are part of the wetland eco-system. It is a unique habitat requiring adequate protection than the lakes, tanks and other water bodies, says Mr K.V.Sudhakar of the MNS.

Originally, the total area of the marsh was about 80 sq km with a width of three kilometre and length of 15 kilometre. Due to increased human interference and construction activities, the marsh has been reduced to a small area, say nature lovers.

Tampering with the wetland now will reduce its water bearing capacity drastically, leading to flooding and inundation in south Chennai during monsoons, a study by the Salim Ali School of Ecology, Central University, Pondicherry revealed.

Apart from the bird life, varied species of plants are found in and around the wetland area. Each of them has some importance or the other - economic or cultural.

The Government should immediately take a serious view of the threat faced by the marsh and act to halt mindless development that will irrevocably change the ecology of this part of the city, they say.

By P.Oppili

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