It’s a month since the city police made a section of the service road at the Marina beach off-limits for motorists during weekends, from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. The ‘no vehicle’ zone stretches from Netaji statue to Kamarajar statue. It’s certainly a great plan, but its execution leaves a lot to be desired. Not much effort seems to have been taken to create awareness about it among motorists and walkers. And, a sufficient number of volunteers has not been mobilised to sustain it. The end result: the rule is often flouted.
All the five entry points to the service lane are supposed to be barricaded. However, last week, when we visited the place the barricades had been been pushed aside, probably by motorcyclists. No police personnel were found at these points, which made it easy for motorists to use the stretch.
Many regular walkers were unaware of the new arrangement.
One of them, Srinivas begins his jog every day at 6 a.m. He had no idea about this arrangement meant to benefit walkers.
“I suggest they place large signboards at all the main entry points, explaining the arrangement,” said 60-year-old Srinivas, a resident of Gandhi Nagar, adding that the initiative is commendable.
According to V. Balakrishnan, DCP of Mylapore, mounted police personnels on horses prevent motorists from using the service lane.
“They have been instructed to ask motorcyclists to park their vehicles as soon as they enter, next to the entry point and are advised to walk on foot from there onwards. During the last few weekends, this arrangement was successfully executed with only a handful of cars found taking the inner lane. But, due to lack of volunteers to watch over the entry points, the system has not been effective,” he added.
While police regulate traffic on the inner lane from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. all days on a regular basis, during the weekends, the same routine fails to produce the same result.
“I had a juice stall at Elliot’s Beach for four years before shifting to Marina. The Car-free Sunday arrangement followed there is remarkable. If a similar routine is achieved at Marina, many walkers will benefit. Police are always on rounds to prevent vehicles from coming in during the weekdays, but during weekends I don’t see the same effort,” said Mohan, a fresh juice vendor at the beach.
