CHENNAI: The Pallikaranai watershed complex in Chennai is an area under ecological threat. Now, a climate activism group based in the city is trying to pull back the curtain on this environmental disaster through immersive eco-tours.
“We’re hoping that creating more awareness will help,” says Karthik G, an organic farming and livelihoods advocate, who founded Aram Thinai, which offers guided tours of the city’s critical ecological zones and rural communities. “We want to show people the destruction of wetlands and the loss of nature-based livelihoods,” he says.
The ‘wetland tour’ takes participants in a van (to make it accessible for all) through key water bodies, including three to four lakes, the Pallikaranai marshland, and Buckingham Canal. The idea, say the organisers, is to demonstrate how unchecked urban expansion and IT sector developments along OMR in Chennai have led to massive encroachments, says co-founder Benisha B M.
“We work on preserving nature-based livelihoods and collaborate with farmers, fishers, palm tree climbers, handicraft workers, slum dwellers and marginalised communities facing caste and gender-based discrimination. We want to show people how these groups not only rely on nature but also do their bit to preserve it.”
The tour also delves into the socio-political consequences of these changes. “In the name of flood mitigation, marginalised communities were evicted and relocated to areas like Perumbakkam, which, ironically, also face flooding,” says Karthik.
The livelihood tour focuses on nature-based jobs that sustain peri-urban communities on the outskirts of Chennai. Participants visit organic farms, eco-construction sites, and fishing villages to witness how traditional livelihoods are being threatened by industrialisation, pollution, and climate change.
“The beautification of beaches displaced fishing communities, while industrial pollution affected marine life,” says Karthik. “People need to understand that IT is not the only source of income in Chennai; rural livelihoods are as important.”
The group conducts these tours once a month. “We hope these experiences will make people more conscious of their consumption patterns and their role in shaping a sustainable future,” says Karthik.
Activism tourism seems to be picking up in the city of late. At the Chennai Book Fair in January, the reading group ‘Read Will Rise’ hosted guided tours of literature by Periyar, Ambedkar, and Karl Marx. Several youngsters and students have been showing interest in learning about leftist thought leaders but don’t know where to begin, says Ilandevan R, coordinator.