Signs of the Times

From excessive land encroachment to natural-grown forest felling, from over-commercialization of real estate to the wilful rejection of urban flood-conscious infrastructure, from destabilizing ecosystems and local species to greenlighting projects that destroy forests and animals' homes, the warning has been sounding for years but the work has yet to begin. TamilNadu and Chennai's flood situation is proof of how ill-prepared we all are for continuous heavy rains, how ill-designed our damns and reservoirs are to handle high-capacity storage, and – if the IPCC report is to be factored – how guaranteed our beautiful state and city is for not just rains and flooding at the end of this century but full-fledged submergence. If policies are not drastically and 'organically' modified to reconnect us with nature's 'formula for living', and if new 'green' infrastructure fails to be implemented, we can all sit back and consider our homes a 'sinking city' and a 'sunken state'. forget santa claus coming to town, climate change has come to Tamil Nadu. Hopefully, Governments wake up and choose radical urban and societal evolution. we're already late, but Better late than never.