CHENNAI-

A LIVABLE CITY ?

Coovam

Chennai is one of the fastest growing cities in India today. With the ever-growing urbanization and the policies, which cannot check it – the state of the city’s living conditions are bad to worse. The elite civil society of the city has hardly taken any concrete initiative to put pressure on the civic authorities to improve the situation.

Chepauk Palace

The city is simply too big to handle and the wherewithal is absent with the local self-government.

Presently, the city can boast of possessing the “Seven Wonders” of pathetic modern urban living.

Chaotic Traffic

Overflowing sewers

Increasing temperature

Chocked rain water drains

Constant power cuts

Stinking river

&

A haven for mosquitoes

The government of the day and the city resembles more like the Roman Empire and the city of Rome. The Coliseum kept the citizens away from the affairs of the state , but atleast the city of Rome had a character. Chennai, which used to be the exemplar of “Indo-Saracen” style of architecture, has lost its character and the most recently added mega buildings to the cityscape contribute not to the benefit of the city but to the deterioration of the urban environment and character.

It is pathetic to note that there was no debate or discussion on such additions, which has completely destroyed the very cultural fabric of the city. One should understand that architecture and urban design plays a vital role in development of the city and the psyche of the citizen who lives there. Cultural identity through architecture has influence on generations and becomes part of life. The destruction of any cultural edifice is the feeling of a loss of a part of the human body. These are the elements, which remind us of the roots and establish the link, which provide the emotional satisfaction. Take the case of Chepauk Palace, once a residence of the Nawab of Arcot has been completely defaced and desecration of the skyline by constructing the horrible looking “Ezilagam” a few decades back.

If the buildings become an emotional content then the aspects of environment becomes equally important for a healthy living. In Chennai we see that once the “Waterways” Coovum and the Buckingham canal are eyesores now and the filth that they collect everyday is the breeding centre for mosquitoes. Take the case of Han river in Seoul. The once polluted river is now a place of public gathering with gardens and promenades with cafes and is a place of cultural activity. When can one see such a change in Chennai?.

The Chennai like most of the cities in India has overgrown and has constantly evolving like a mighty octopus when our own breed of planners and architects were dozing off, not realizing the fact that evolution has the capacity to grow faster than the very aspect of physical development. The city is a living organism and it reacts exactly like any living creature. The monuments we create, the river that flows and the flora and fauna of the city with its citizens create an ecosystem, which are mutually complimentary to each other. But it is unfortunate that the relationship hardly exists today. The morality to respect the immediate surroundings is missing. Hence the citizen is highly undisciplined and lost the moral character to question himself, his actions and the happenings around him. The result is the deterioration of the city and its environment. It is high time that the one dozen odd schools, which impart architectural education in the city, start a campaign to create a common platform to address the issues. It would be appropriate at this time to initiate a strong citizen movement to save Chennai from the brink of disaster otherwise living on stilts will become a common way of life.

Remember ….the planet earth is gift to mankind and the creator entrusted the responsibility to man to take care of it. Man as the ultimate of creation had the wherewithal to take care of it, but greed took over him to engulf the planet. Hence the mother earth has no other option but to revolt against his actions, in order to maintain the balance. So the man need not complain about the fury of the planet in the recent decades or the ones coming very soon.

Jaffer AA Khan RIBA

Feedback: Jaffer@sify.com

Buckingham Canal-One wishes that the British Empire should have continued to rule over us!!