Pallikaranai sediments as old as 27 centuries

Chennai, October 31: While the city corporation seems in great hurry to destroy it by dumping tonnes of garbage, the precious Pallikaranai marshland adjoining Chennai’s IT highway boasts of history dating back to 2700 years, scientists have found. Soil sediments picked by the Anna University and tested at the radiocarbon dating lab at New York 
showed that the place was flourishing with
 living organisms even 27 centuries ago.

Sadly oblivious of the eco-value of such marshland and the need to preserve it at all costs, the corporation has been dumping thousands of tonnes of Chennai’s garbage, the dangerous plastics included, in the area. Also, several private companies have been quietly letting in their untreated sewage, thereby harming biological activity in the marsh.

Result: the marshland, which would otherwise act as a bowl for carbon sequestration, is now emitting dangerous methane gas, says A. Ramachandran, director, Centre for climate change and Adaptation Research (CCC&AR) at the Anna University.