Chennai: Marina beach, the epicentre of Jallikattu protests in Chennai, is an eyesore as trash and garbage are strewn around. The Chennai corporation is facing a gigantic task of clearing the trash that has piled up over some days.
Though a section of protestors have volunteered and are clearing the accumulated waste, the large congregation of public, particularly at the beach link road and the sand area has made the situation tough for both the civic body and the volunteers.
“It seems that the corporation authorities are also lagging behind in making arrangements to clear the extra load of waste that is visible, might happen once the crowd moves out of Marina which is expected any time”, complained L. Balu, a resident of Triplicane who, along with his family was participating in the students protest.
“It is a fact that the crowd that turned up at Marina is huge, but you should not forget that our workers and volunteers are working round the clock without a break”, said a senior corporation official.
The waste has piled up by more than 400 times and it has been increasing till Saturday. “We are hoping that the protestors will vacate the beach by Sunday and an action plan to clean the beach on a war footing is ready. The coastal stretch will be ready for Republic Day rehearsal on Tuesday”, the official said.
The corporation had also reached out to NGOs like Team hope and Shuddha to rope in volunteers. About 200 night reflectors are provided to volunteers for their safety while cleaning the beach, he added.
“We are not able to use the big compactor vehicles to clear the waste as students are protesting at the service lane. However, small vehicles are put to use and to ensure the hygiene, the civic body is taking steps,” said a conservancy inspector.
