Chennai
Xavier Benedict of Art and Architecture Research Development & Education (AARDE) Foundation, one of the main organisers of the Pulicat Day event, tells us, “We will be having an interesting line-up of activities like kolam competition, chess and drawing competition for children, heritage walk and street folklore programmes. Through these engaging activities, people will get to know more about the lagoon and its importance in attracting rainclouds during monsoon.”
The Pulicat lagoon covers an area of 759 square km located in the north of Chennai and is double the size of the city. The lagoon has lost more than 315 sq km in the last four decades to developmental projects, and its depth has reduced from 11 feet to 1.5 feet causing a geographic disaster. This has raised the alarm about many critical environmental issues which can directly impact Chennai.
“It has also led to loss of livelihoods of the fishermen who have been practising traditional environmental management system called padu since the 13th century. Padu means rotational rights to fish in a particular area of the lagoon, as a sustainable practise shaped over years and helped maintain a well-balanced environmental system until two decades ago. It is also one of the two North-East monsoon clouds-attracting wetlands in India,” he remarks.
According to Xavier, the economic boom and unplanned industrial expansions have led to overexploitation of the water basin. “The expansion of urban areas and modern fishing activities have diminished the economic source of the fishermen. This lagoon balances the water of the Buckingham Canal, which acts as a shock absorber during calamities. The wetland is dying very fast due to unplanned urbanisation and by celebrating Pulicat Day, our intention is to create awareness on the need to save the lagoon and bring back its lost glory. We need to save Pulicat to save Chennai,” he stresses.
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