Morning walkers along Elliot’s and Palavakkam beaches are missing their regular exercises as the shores are littered with all kinds of trash and muck following the heavy downpour.
“It is simply not possible to walk along the beach. We are sure to stamp on a broken piece of glass or on dead rat or a cat,” says Natrajan, a resident of Besant Nagar.
Another resident Ramakrishnan says “Usually, I walk on the sands. Now, as the shore is in a very bad shape I walk on the road. But even that is difficult as a foul smell permeates the air. So for the last few days, I’m walking on the interior roads of Besant Nagar.”
“Corporation should remove the eateries from the beach and it should strictly prohibit the practice of bringing and having food on the beach. Plastic packets containing water are a menace. Few weeks from now, the nesting season of Olive Ridley turtles will begin. So, it is essential the beach is cleared of the muck at the earliest and a fertile ground should be provided to the species,” says Kamakashi, a member of SPARK, a civic activists group.
It is a similar scene at Palavakkam beach as well. Bhakthavathsalam, a resident of Quadi-Millat Street in Palvakkam says “Liquor bottles, aluminium food containers, are littered all over the beach.”
