That the waterways in Chennai are stinking cannot be denied. Starting from Cooum, which has become a synonym for stench and stink, all the six major waterways like Adyar, Otteri nullah, , Buckingham Canal, the Mambalam Drain and the Captain Cotton Canal have little or no maintenance. When one motors by the side of any of these canals, the stink is intolerable. Imagine the plight of the nearby dwellers. Sewage water overflowing on roads and residential areas is a common sight in Chennai In many areas, ground water is already polluted.

Though many of us ignore the stink, close our nostrils and suffer in silence, a sensitive citizen has gone to the Court. V Ravichandran, founder-chairman of the Citizen's Guardian filed a PIL in the Madras High Court, alleging that the State Government was not implementing the Chennai City River Conservation Project(CCRCP) in letter or in spirit. His writ petition blames the administration for releasing untreated sewage water into these waterways, posing serious health problems. .

The Government had allotted nearly Rs 500 Crores for the CCRCP, as part of the National River Conservation Plan. .Yet, the project doesn't seem to be properly implemented. Hence the writ.

The High Court has now issued notice to the State Government. One hopes that work to make the water-bodies clean will be accelerated.