CHENNAI: Not only did the Chennai floods affect residents emotionally, but also exposed the lapses in urban development. Despite limited knowledge about how to tackle such disasters, Chennai emerged strong with the help of numerous rescuers, volunteers, NDRF personnel and social media.
To answer questions on how we can re-fashion our economy, Vettiver Collective organised an open discussion for youngsters on ‘Beyond Relief & Rehab: Reclaiming Chennai; Reclaiming Democracy.’ Over 100 youngsters and many others shared their thoughts and experiences at the event.
Who knew that Chennai had a fifth major reservoir? The impromptu quiz by Satwik Gade informed the audience about the city, waterways, and administration.
Though no VIP speakers were listed, one person received a hero’s welcome — Pradeep John, widely known as Tamil Nadu weatherman. He was praised for his constant and precise weather updates during the recent floods. Pradeep spoke about Doppler radar images and showed the audience statistics of rain over the past 200 years. He emphasised that the disaster could have been averted. So how did the rains turn into floods? T R Shashwath displayed a series of maps that showed how waterbodies and drainage channels had disappeared over the last 100 years.
At the end of the session, over 28 people shared their views on the disaster and how it had changed them. They spoke about how people have now become conservative and reasonable about how resources should be used, and how to work towards a better future by working with the judiciary, executive and legislative.