Greater Chennai Corporation officials on Thursday started a mass cleaning programme on the Marina.
The initiative has been taken to tackle the problem of garbage and prevent an epidemic of diarrhoeal cases in the city.
Following an emergency meeting of senior officials, civic body officials at the central region have been asked to reduce garbage on the Marina beach.
As many as 563 workers of the civic body collected 10 tonnes of garbage from the Marina sands on Thursday. Officials have also started taking action against unauthorised eateries selling unhygienic food.
Samples were collected from more than 200 food stalls on Thursday, for informal testing of shelf life and ‘carcinogenic’ cooking oil. The growth of micro-organisms such as coliform, clostridium, yeast, E. Coli, salmonella and mould in these samples has also been tested. “This is a preventive measure. More than 2 lakh people gather on the beach. Traders selling unhygienic food products will be monitored,” said an official. Food stalls on the beaches are illegal, but the civic body has been unable to regulate them.
The civic body will also intensify the housefly control programme in the city. Decaying material in market areas is reportedly leading to a rise in the number of houseflies in and around habitations.
