Chennai: Chennai corporation gets a new officer. In order to leverage the strengths and mitigate challenges in the city, the civic body announced the appointment of its first-ever chief resilience officer, Krishna Mohan Ramachandran, on Tuesday.
The chief resilience officer in the Chennai corporation, connected to officers in 99 cities globally, would work on the urban woes. He will also work closely with the public and private sector to further Chennai's urban resilience mission.
With a background in advertising and social enterprise, Ramachandran worked with the Palani Hills Conservation Council and is into garbage segregation initiatives.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Krishna Mohan Ramachandran said: “To begin with, we will conduct an online study using software programmes to understand the challenges different in different parts of the city.
There will be exchange of knowledge with other cities.” Citing an example, he said, “Chennai which is good in health and education sector lacks expertise in environmental issues. We can learn the technology from the officers in London on how they restored river Tha-mes.”
All chief resilience officers in hundred cities are connected through an online network and communicate on regular basis.
Stressing on the importance of a chief resilience officer for Chennai, commissioner of Greater Chennai Corporation D. Karthikeyan said, “The city has felt the struggle with water - both flooding and droughts. We feel the pain of gridlocked city and are worried about the increasing impact of climate cha-nge. With the appointment of chief resilience officer we are one step closer to building a brighter and secure future for Chennai though we still have a long way to go.”
