When a vendor put up a temporary structure on the sands of the Neelankarai beach a few months ago, regular walkers objected to it.
The Knight Walkers Association represented the matter to the Greater Chennai Corporation, but it took some time and a lot of patience before the encroachment was removed.
“Now, another tea shop has come up, this time on the road leading to the beach,” says J. Ragupathy, vice-president of the Association which includes many residents of Kapaleeswarar Nagar and Blue Beach Road.
Members of East Coast Walkers, a running group that meets regularly at the Palavakkam beach, avoid meeting immediately after the weekend as the sands would be strewn with plastic and food waste.
“On weekends, over 40 vendors flock to the beach and the space around the stalls is littered with waste,” says G. Suresh Kumar, member of the running group.
An evening out at the beach is enlivened by purchases from vendors selling a variety of wares, but there’s something called too much of a good thing, say regular at the beaches on East Coast Road. In other words, they don’t want vendors to “take over” these beaches.
“We have no problem having the 10 vendors who conduct business at the Neelankarai beach on weekends, but they must stick to a corner and not be scattered across the beach,” says Ragupathy.
With many schools having closed for summer, the beaches will witness an increase in visitors. More visitors would also mean more vendors. So, residents are chalking up strategies to regulate vending at the beaches they frequent.
Lane for hawkers
Chander Swamy, chief executive officer, Rialto Enterprises, the company responsible for transforming Thiruvanmiyur beach, says that at a beach, a separate lane or stretch should be allocated for hawkers.
“We have 60 vendors doing business during the weekends on the beach. They can do business but must leave it clean, for which, we have given each vendor dustbins. We appease them, but are also strict about enforcing rules,” he says.
Building a rapport
Virginie Vlaminck, a Belgium photographer and founder of ‘Namma Beach, Namma Chennai —Keep Waste Out of Reach’, says groups that clean beaches must work closely with the fishing community. On the Injambakkam beach that she visits every day, Virgnie says, “Volunteers have built a rapport with the vendors and people from fishing hamlet to ensure is kept clean.”
Periodic checks
According to the corporation engineer of Ward 185 at Palavakkam, around 20 vendors are given an “in-principle” agreement to operate at the beach.
“They have assured us that new vendors will not be allowed and we conduct periodic checks along with the police,” says the official.
