Quicksand in Chennai’s Pallikaranai marshland

The first expansion of the city of Chennai in modern times happened along its southern stretch. As the government in its wisdom decided to locate the IT corridor in south Chennai, breathless development happened over a couple of decades, right around a rich natural reserve, the Pallikaranai marshland. Today, two decades later, there’s a conflict that pits development against preservation. This report attempts to pull together the several threads that have brought this particular tapestry to the fore today