De Pluim: 'What you do in the Netherlands with water is really dizzying'
Summer category - Jealous looks from abroad: we are doing well
In the Netherlands we already find it almost common: the dikes, the mills, the thunders and locks, the whole system that regulates our water management and prevents the land from falling. But Indian hydrologist Balaji Narasimhan, 42, teacher at the Indian Institute of Technology, looked his eyes. "We can teach many of you."

Narasimhan was invited this week at the invitation of the German Goethe Institute with an Indian delegation in Nijmegen for a look at the Lent River Park. He had been to the Netherlands twice before, for example, for a visit to the Delta Works.
What has made you the most impression during this trip?
'Nijmegen has created a side street next to the river. It is intended for water safety. But what I found so interesting is that it invites people to all kinds of activities. The next leg is used for swimming and sailing. It has even become a tourist attraction. What you do here with water is really dizzying. We can not do that in India. "
You are from Chennai, the capital of the southern province of Tamil Nadu. There three streams flow through. Will there be another deal with the river?
'In India, most people are living back to the river. We would like people to build a tire with the water. Then they will be better off. With us the rivers are an open sewer.
"What I found so interesting is that such a project in Nijmegen a
has a very long breath. I have understood that ten to fifteen years have been spent on making the plans. And that all stakeholders are involved in the decision-making on the establishment of such a large project. "
Is that different in India?
'In India everyone has their own opinion, it is difficult to reach agreement. Many projects are therefore not implemented at all. I was surprised that in the Netherlands, so much time is being spent for consultation. Authorities who consider such a project must have a lot of patience. I thought it would go faster. But at the end you have something that everyone can be proud of. That's a good lesson for us. "
What is the plume?
The news is often governed by misunderstandings and other things that are not going well. But fortunately, there are also many things we've got together in the Netherlands. And often we do not even notice that. In the section De Pluim we are looking for these things. Our cycling culture, our waterworks, our rail network: what can count on jealous cans from abroad? And why actually?

Balaji Narasimhan ©
Polder model?
There we have a typical Dutch word for: polder model.
"I do not know that word You have to write that for me. I think we can learn something in India. "
Chennai was underwater in 2015 when the rivers flooded. The airport was closed for five days. The city was declared a disaster area. Could such a cousin like that at Nijmegen help?
'That is difficult. The problem in Chennai is that we do not have space around our rivers, they are completely built. Chennai was originally a fishing town and later became a metropolis. Our rivers are seasonal: water is only flowing during the rainy season. That runs from October to November. Floods are difficult, but they occur in five years.
"Our main challenge is to ensure that the people in the city have enough drinking water. One problem is that the mouths of the rivers are slipping down. That has contributed to the floods. There we could do more space. "

Flood in Chennai, December 2015.
Tamil Nadu consists largely of low plains. Do you also have polders?
'We do not. But I know that in our neighboring Kerala, marshes are dry ground to grow crops like rice. There I also included Dutch engineers involved. I think it's quite successful. "
Which image do you stay the most from the Netherlands?
"That there is water everywhere! Of course I had heard about that. But you really have a lot of water in the Netherlands and know how to manage it very efficiently. "

Flood in Chennai, December 2015

Low water at the sealing dike.
Tamil Nadu
Area: 130,058 square kilometers
Residents: 72 million
Capital: Chennai
Coastline: 906 kilometers
Average rainfall per year: 958 mm, most of which are in the rainy season
Rivers: dozens of which the Kaveri is 760 kilometers long. The Kaveri is also called the Ganges of the South. Other important rivers are the Palar and the Ponnaiyar.
Highest point: the Doddabetta, a mountain peak in the Nilgiri hills of 2637 meters high
Climate: tropical
The Netherlands
Surface: 41,543 kilometers (of which 18 percent water)
Residents: 16 million
Capital: Amsterdam
Coastline: 523 kilometers
Average rainfall per year: 880 mm
Rivers: dozens, with the Rhine, the Meuse and the Scheldt as the most important. Longest river is the Linge with a length of 108 kilometers.
Highest point: Vaalserberg with a height of 322,4 meters
Climate: sea climate
Capital: Chennai
Coastline: 906 kilometers
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