A ‘summer checklist’ for Perumbakkam wetland

From where the fire often started in recent years — particularly in the 2022 and 2024 fires — there is reason to believe it was the trigger and the intense summer heat did the rest.

Perumbakkam wetland is beginning to develop a “tan”. The bulrushes are beginning to shrink resembling ageing human skin drained of fat. These are nature’s aide-memoire on what next to expect. It is a “gentle reminder” — using a phrase that makes nudges to action palatable in polite society — that the Perumbakkam wetland is an easy target for fires during summer. And it is time to start efforts to scuttle that possibility, checking factors that can be controlled. Summer heat can cause fires on dry vegetation, but there could be something else at work. Before proceeding further, here is what is at stake. At risk of repeating the evident, Perumbakkam wetland is not the sole preserve of waterbirds. Certain parts of it host ground-nesting birds, and these are the parts susceptible to fires, due to a cocktail of factors — brown vegetation during summer, the summer heat and burning cigarette stubs. These parts — particularly a kuccha road that marks the western border of the wetland — are hoofed by humans, and unknown to themselves, some of them carry in their hands an agency to start a fire.

The Perumbakkam wetland is swamped by intense developmental activity on three sides. On its northern side, lined by the Sholinganallur-to-Perumbakkam road, Metro Rail pillars are rearing up their head. In addition to Metro Rail work, there is activity pertaining to the Water Resources Department. On its southern side is a neighbourhood that is “mobilising” residents at a rapid pace. Housing projects abound on this side and frequently, a project becomes a collection of homes. There is constant work and work presupposes the presence of workers. On both sides — the northern and the southern — there is a noticeable presence of workers. Some of them live in temporary shacks arranged for them next to their worksites. Perumbakkam wetland is known for movement of people down a kuccha road on its western side, a good number of them belong to this workforce. Besides, on the other side of the kuccha road that is housing construction activity, leading to movement on the road.

A careless cigarette butt thrown on the brown, dry vegetation before it has burnt out, can cause considerable mischief. From where the fire often started in recent years — particularly in the 2022 and 2024 fires — there is reason to believe it was the trigger and the intense summer heat did the rest. This spot needs to be seen for what it is: the wetland’s Achilles tendon, and needs to receive a pre-emptive cast of protection.

On the southern side, a breach in the wall in a couple of places used to be entry point for humans. Stones have been massed up to plug one breach, and dead tree branches to plug the other, but climbing over the stones and branches and setting foot in the wetland still remains an easy option. In fact, it does not take the pole-vaulting prowess of a Sergei Bubka to scale the protective wall, even where it is fully intact. Continual monitoring holds the key to addressing the issue.