Chennai: In a move that would serve a dual purpose, the authorities manning Marina beach are contemplating to rope in nomadic families living on the sand area for cleaning up the Marina beach. For years, there has been a floating population of nomads migrating from Western India on to the Marina beach, where they erect makeshift tents. This has become an irritant for tourists as the nomads are spotted catching birds to make a quick meal while spoiling the beauty and peace of one of the world’s popular beaches.
To address this issue, the Corporation of Chennai has now decided tobuild night shelters for them and shift them away from sand area. A majority of these migrants is Hindi-speaking people from Nagpur in Maharashtra.They sell toys and other snack items on the beach to make a living. Ten tents made of polythene sheets accommodate around 100 people, including several small children. They are clustered on the sand area close to service lane near Vivekananda House entry gate. They are seen in good numbers even during the hot summer months.
When Deccan Chronicle spoke to them, they expressed their willingness to work and vowed to keep the Marina clean. Ramki Bagicha, a migrant, said she has been living on Marina beach for past 7 years. “Most of us are from Nagapur and are homeless. I lost my husband and have two children. We don’t want to beg. We work hard to earn small sums. If the authorities can provide us with shelter and livelihood we would be obliged”, she said.
NGO Shuddha, which was entrusted with the job of keeping Marina free of garbage by the corporation, is more than happy to provide a sourceof livelihood to them. A functionary of Shuddha said there is a shortage of labour to pick up the garbage due to the summer heat. As reported by the Deccan Chronicle in the first of its ‘Oh! Marina’ series, out of 128 sanctioned workers only 60 are attending the work due to various reasons. These migrants can be roped in for the job.
“They can also get an income and the Marina can be kept clean to some extent. A proper verification will be done before employing them. We tried this earlier also but failed. They attend to work for couple of days and then stop”, the Shuddha functionary said.
When contacted, Mr G.K. Arun Sundar Thayalan, Regional Deputy Commissioner (Central), Chennai Corporation, said the council has already passed a resolution to renovate a dilapidated building, an erstwhile school located close to the beach, into night shelters for the migrants. “We will begin the work shortly and complete it in a month’s time.The migrant issue has been perennial and we propose to put an end to it”, he said.
