Chennai: The weekend mood was electric at the Besant Nagar beach with hundreds of beach goers taking turns to gaze the athletic game of Frisbee tournament, for which the Chennai corporation initially denied permission citing environmental reasons.
“The struggle, we underwent last month facing bureaucracy had given us strength to face the future, the Frisbee teams that are getting trained along the coast of Chennai will soon get international accolades”, cheered the members of Chennai Ultimate Frisbee consortium who succeeded in conducting the annual Chennai Heat Frisbee tournament in Besant Nagar beach on Sunday.
“Our plea is to allow beach sports like Frisbee which are gaining popularity in Chennai to be played in our city sands” said K. Mukhesh, one of the organiser. In the past three years, the number of Frisbee teams in Chennai had doubled due to the sandy beaches that offer cost effective practice area, he said.
“Joy of playing in our sands was good but the fervour was trimmed due to International teams backing out and made this a less competitive national event, however we thank the Chennai corporation and the police for allowing us to play”, said T. S. Sudhir, a player of Chennai Chakraa team.
Meanwhile a corporation official attached to Ripon Buildings, the city civic headquarters, said instructions have been given to the regional corporation offices to entertain public and youngsters who want to use the beach for a good cause.
“Beach is a public place and there should be zero restriction for kids and youngsters who want to play in the sand. In my opinion both Marina and Besant Nagar beach should be accessible for public even during small hours without any restriction by authorities, but the police should patrol the sand area for public safety”, said web consultant K. Aishu, who resides in Besant Nagar Third Avenue.
