Kaveri Vellam

After a long long time, cauvery is in spate, and Trichy is flooded. The last time it happened was in Nov.1977.

There was a time when trichy was flooded in 1994, but it was largely due to rain water and not cauvery. Same was the case in 1999 November, when lakes around trichy had breached and the city was flooded.

But this time, Not only trichy is flooded but so is Kaveri.After a thought, it dawns, that, water has not entered the city, but the city has entered into the river.

Yes, in the 1930s, my maternal grandfather used to bathe in cauvery north bank which is 2 kilometers further north of what it is today.

After the building of KRS and Stanley, the river was made to a trickle. All those lands that were amphibious, that is they are considered as river, during monsoon, and as land during summer, became residential colonies.

All the inundated parts of the city, mainly thillainagar, vayalur road, new nagars around srirangam are specifically classified as such reclaimed areas.

This is not a problem with Trichy alone, it is prevelant in all cities, Chennai, Bangalore, etc etc.. When the cities grow, and the demand for residential colonies are on the rise, the low-lying aspect of the locality is hardly considered for decison making. Not jus low-lying, but also, lying in the way of waterflow is equally bad.

For the sake of clearing up of these encroachments, public support has to be accorded to the municipal authorities. If it is not being provided, then the only way is to ask for the floods to come year after year, to let people know which is what.