Destroying Mother Earth in Thanjavur

(revised once on 3-Mar-2011 and again on 28-May-2011)

I was earlier horrified at the destruction of a garden maintained by the public beside the Grand Anaicut (GA) Canal road. Yesterday, while passing by, I witnessed the most horrid result. Not only has the garden been removed, but the banks of the canal and the side of the road have been changed into the worst possible garbage dump. There is literally little to write about, these pictures are evident of what has happened.

I had earlier written a post in February of this despicable act. Here is what has unfolded.

The once Green banks of the GA Canal in Thanjavur

This was how this place once looked, beautiful, greenery carpeting the banks of the canal. It was a pleasure taking a walk beside it. The work to maintain and keep the banks clean went (without assistance, but unhindered by the local municipality) for over 20 years. Recently, not by ignorance, but by planned, calculated work, they have swindled the town and its citizens of the greenery. The green vandals (who are supposed to engineers in the interest of the public - being part of the municipality and the public works department) have systematically destroyed the greenery, dirtied a water canal, and converted it into a garbage dump. This is not the legacy we wish to leave to the children of the future. This must be stopped now. They must pay and toil for what they have foiled.

On the last day the greenery remained, 24 January 2011

Greenery systematically destroyed

Greenery is now an engineered Garbage Dump!

The Garbage legacy, left for Thanjavur, once Rice Bowl of South India

Earlier, I was misinformed to think this was a mere act of deforestation to build something constructive. Only Yesterday I found that this was a plan to convert our water resources to sewers. This is evil, the devil lives in the hearts of the greedy. They are blinded and darkened by their lust for the sparkles. All that is gold does not glitter. This greenery and the clean waters were a treasure we had, one that nature kept replenishing. Destroying it, I hope nature's retribution will be swift.

Those responsible for this heinous act must be warned. This is not merely about reversing this. INDIA NEEDS A REVOLUTION! THE TIME IS NOW!

Death of a Canal, Destruction of the Earth!

I hear plenty of comments on Fukushima and the great environmental threat it poses. Yet, we the people in Thanjavur stand by while others destroy the city before our very eyes. We do not see the true threat that comes disguised as urbanization.

The government mutes a corrupt and irresponsible press who cares not about people, but serves only sensationalists. Where is the Press? It seems Press in India is officially DEAD, India controls media far more than all the dictatorships of the entire world. "Democracy" in India is a farce. Misplaced Capitalists steal freedom and destroy this land again, and again, and again.


We are known as a tolerant nation. Tolerance of evil, Tolerance of destruction of our soil, Tolerance of wrong action - that is the true cause of all pain, turmoil and suffering. This deed shall not go unpunished. The perpetrators will fall. They will either rebuild the greenery and clean the surroundings, or unto dust and ashes will they pass.

I am most angered and consumed by my inability as a citizen to take any action. I see politicians squabbling and wasting tax-payers money. A few people of the present stand to destroy the future of mankind - they want to lead us to extinction and fade the achievements of our greatness. If the sewage flows through a river, mother earth shall turn them to blood. The quakes in Japan and Thailand should only remind us not to play foul with nature, for the power of nature that shields us and protects us can as easily leave us vanquished.

Update (28 May 2011)

The claim of the PWD, with a carefully taken photograph that avoids the bank having all the garbage and trash is on the newspaper here - http://www.hindu.com/2011/05/26/stories/2011052661140100.htm

Anyone looking at the canal in summer will know that there is absolutely no flow of water - and the picture in the article from "The Hindu" is evident. I am not sure why de-silting works cannot be taken up without destroying all the ecology and turning the entire canal into a sewer.

The bigger picture is the NABARD has offered them a huge sum to put cement blocks on the canal flow - which is an ecological blunder. This will only make the canal maintenance more difficult in the future. There is also no certainty for the free flow of water here. The floor of the canal has to be specially designed to be water proof (concrete) and never impede flow of water. Looking at the pace, these machines are just waiting for the monsoon to wash them away.

Design has to be done with garbage disposal methods in place, which is not what they are doing here. Here is some information on water-proof concrete flooring on canals to avoid silt formation and therefore permit better drainage - http://www.cee.mtu.edu/projects/projects2006/Carmelo_Watts.htm

It is quite funny that similar concrete has been used to put up roads at several areas in Thanjavur - roads based on such concrete slabs. I have not seen such badly designed roads elsewhere.
The temporary halt of work, they say is due to the Assembly Election. That seems to be the convenient excuse for having halted all building work and should never be the case.

Bulldozing the Green Drive (Thanjavur)

"Going Green" has been a mantra, India seems to echo in every trend. The people of Bangalore want the Garden City back. The Government recently banned the use of plastic sachets for tobacco. Environmental initiatives have been aplenty. The impression that civic sense was returning, echoed through.  We have a cabinet minister, acting as an environmental crusader, Jairam Ramesh.

Living in Thanjavur, with 'The Big Temple', as a tourist attraction and UNESCO World Heritage site, I have been witness to the creation of new infrastructure. The National Highway links, have finally been made four-lane and bypass the city actually. Within the municipality, though, the roads next to my home have, for quite some time not been built (just after a starting a rain-water harvesting drive, and a proper sewer system that hadn't already been planned.)

The Green is gone!

Driving through the G. A. Canal road [google maps, satellite], a portion which had been made green and maintained earlier as an initiative of people with good civic sense; I saw all the greenery gone! Fences preventing people from misusing the canal as an open-air toilet, a garden that stood bordering the canal had been pulled out. This was no urbanisation, uprooting trees, but rather a misinformed and misdirected initiative. The greenery bordering the  road had all just disappeared! I had no idea, what strangeness chanced upon this place leaving it barren, devoid of all greenery.

I learnt later, that this was some urban development drive. "Some urban development drive," indeed. Is our sense of development so obscure and misdirected? Are people supposed to resume using this as an open-air toilet? (Shamefully, that was the case, at least two decades back.) On later enquiry, I learnt that the banks of the canal were being maintained as a garden by citizens of Thanjavur.

Once Green

A Saint once said, "It is impossible for us to sense God; for as human beings, we sense what is, and suddenly is not - like 'light' and 'darkness' (the lack of it); How can we know God, when he always is." That is wisdom indeed.

We ignore nature, and fail to notice initiatives that make our world a better place. It was quite difficult to find a photograph of the same, before this happened. As luck had it, I managed to find quite a few. The road, happens to be frequented by tourists as it is home to a hotel, and is geographically, quite close to the 'The Brahadeeshwarar Temple', our World Heritage Site (map).

Stranger, was the fact, that press had most ignored any mention of it whatsoever. Not a word had been published on any of the local dailies. "Free Speech" and "Expression" for the citizen, it seemed were blissfully forgotten.

The "Bulldozing the Green" drive

I inquired further, and found photographs taken when they had bulldozed through all this. They had done this on the 24th of January, 2011, just a day before the world's eyes trained on Egypt. I had driven past at least a dozen times, and had failed to notice all the greenery and the neatness with which it was maintained.

If they were planning an initiative to make the town greener, this definitely wasn't what I was expecting. Upon further search, I found that such urban "green demolition" (mumbai) was not uncommon.

To the outside world, Thanjavur is supposed to be the "rice bowl" of South India. Bangalore was the "Garden City". What is the legacy, that we can leave to the children of the future: Cars, Mobile Phone towers, Technology, Patents or the protection of nature?