Tales of irony and harvest along the OMR

On the road that cuts right through the Pallikaranai marshland, a sign read,

‘Pallikaranai : a hot spot of biodiversity’

Just when I thought it couldn't get more ironical, a State government office dedicated to protect the marshland has been built on the swamp itself.

After the recent floods in Chennai, much has been written about how we have encroached lakes and marshlands around the city. But, when you travel along the Old Mahabalipuram Road, you realise that its too late a realisation.

I had to report on the ‘ghost houses’; houses that were left unoccupied for years in Siruseri, Sholinganallur, Padur and other suburbs on the OMR.

A narrow muddy road, at least four feet above the ground level, led to the innumerable concrete buildings that had sprang up on the Perumbakkam lake.

In the midst of a newly emerging concrete jungle, there it was, one of the last pieces of land in Perumbakkam still fighting for agriculture. The man who held on to his ancestral land, while most of his neighbours had sold their property to builders, was irrigating the paddy field.

With a majority of the villagers moving away from agriculture, it must have taken enormous grit and passion to do what he was doing.

I wanted to speak to him. I knew it had nothing to do with the report that I was supposed to write, but a tale of courage has to be heard.

“This is the land where my great grandfather cultivated paddy. How can I let some builder ravage our family property?”

Kaniappan.K said pointing to the buildings abutting his field. After a few minutes, one of his relatives who also practices agriculture joined us.

Meenakshi Sundaram.S still manages to farm 10 acres of land in the same area.

“After a hard day’s work we would drink crystal clear water directly from that canal ( pointing to one adjacent to Kaniappan’s field ). Today, even goats cannot drink water from there.”

Meenakshi also accused the apartments of emptying sanitary waste into the same canal.

Just when I was about to leave, I noticed a private water-lorry emptying into the well in Kaniappan’s field. Puzzled, I turned to him. Before I opened my mouth, he said,

“ There are too many bore wells here and the lake has disappeared. So, I am forced to buy water. This. This is agriculture today. ”

After that, I had to start reporting for the assignment. I travelled through Thalambur, Siruseri and other areas to collect information for my story.

But, the story that remained in my heart was Kaniappan’s.