New Delhi, July 1 -- A picturesque coastal neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, is surrounded by the Kosasthalaiyar river on two sides and the Bay of Bengal on the third. Once rich in mangroves and waterbodies that shielded it from storms and erosion, Ennore is now at the centre of a deepening ecological crisis.

A report submitted to the National Green Tribunal in 2022 reveals that the area's wetlands and mangroves have shrunk by nearly 70 per cent - from 889 hectares in 2016 to just 278 hectares by 2022. The damage extends offshore too: The National Centre for Coastal Research documented in 2006 that the coastline north of Chennai port, including Ennore, had already lost 350 hectares to the advancing sea.

While residents say the const...