4 months ago
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Around 9.30 a.m. connected January 23, a ample fig of vendors, mostly women, gathered adjacent the Vinayakar Temple connected the sands of Marina Beach arsenic shops remained shut. A fewer vendors who tried to reopen the shops aft tourists requested drinking h2o closed them again wrong minutes amid the commotion. The vendors had met to sermon the connection of the Greater Chennai Corporation to trim the fig of shops connected the formation from 1,417 to 300, arsenic portion of a beautification and Blue Flag Certification initiative, pursuing an bid of the Madras High Court. About 45 minutes into what was expected to person been a three-hour meeting, the vendors began marching towards the bureau of Udhayanidhi Stalin, the Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni constituency MLA and Deputy Chief Minister, to taxable petitions demanding that the authorities support their livelihood.
On the Marina Beach, it has taken generations of protests, judicial intervention, and civic activism to onslaught a equilibrium betwixt the livelihood of vendors, biology protection, and the information of visitors.
‘We support the transgression down’
M. Sakthi Vel, a vendor, said, “We request 1 store for each household by verifying ration and Aadhaar cards. We cannot judge the 300-shop restriction. This is simply a conflict to support the livelihood of implicit 4,000 section families who beryllium connected the beach. We, the vendors, guarantee that women and children are harmless and unafraid portion they sojourn the world-famous beach. When the vendors support the shops open, determination is debased incidence of crime. We person saved galore radical from drowning, and we person reunited children with parents. We enactment the constabulary successful promoting information and information of the beach.”
“Each store present is simply a root of livelihood for 4 to 5 families. Many vendors person completed assemblage acquisition and beryllium connected the formation for their livelihood. I did my graduation successful Economics astatine the Nandanam Government Arts College and was caput of the Union successful the 1990s. I continued to enactment astatine my father’s store arsenic I did not get a job. Vendors adjacent the Labour Statue saved the lives of galore radical during the Air Show connected the formation erstwhile they collapsed,” said Mr. Sakthi Vel.
R. Anbu Mani, caput of the Anna Dr. Kalaignar Sirukadai Vyaparigal Sangam, who manages his father’s shop, said, “We person decided to petition the authorities to support our livelihood. The vendors person been present for generations. We are an integral portion of the beach, providing indispensable items to visitors, redeeming lives, and helping successful information and security.”
Again and again, the vendors accent it is purely a question of protecting their livelihood. G. Venkatesan said his household would suffer its lone root of income if helium closes his shop. “My woman and I person been moving a nutrient concern successful accordance with the guidelines of the Chennai Corporation Health and Food Safety Departments.”
Cleanliness and sanitation issues are not caller astatine the Marina. In the study Will the Marina Regain its Beauty?, published connected March 14, 1980, The Hindu noted: “Rubbish is strewn implicit everyplace connected the sand... Pedlars and hawkers selling a wide scope of fancy goods, ready-made garments, household wares, and mobile eating stalls lend a batch to spoiling the quality of the beach. Foodstuffs exposed to ungraded and flies, sold by the mobile stalls, permission a bitter way of rubbish. The vendors roam astir everyplace unrestrained.”
With this agelong past of a littered shoreline, the Chennai Corporation hopes to bring astir a alteration done the 2nd signifier of the Blue Flag Certification initiative. As portion of this effort, it removed 28 shops successful the country identified for certification. “Blue Flag Area Phase 2 is coming up connected the Marina. It volition screen much than 50 acres with a no-vending zone,” said Corporation Commissioner J. Kumaragurubaran. In total, 121 acres of the formation volition beryllium developed nether the initiative. Pollution of the formation sands and the polluted groundwater therein person reportedly been causing a hold successful obtaining Blue Flag Certification. While civic officials person projected measures to forestall contamination of the beach, the determination has elicited mixed response.
‘Great improvements’
V. Suresh, a regular jogger, said, “For the past 2 years, aft the Pongal festival, monolithic heaps of garbage that remained connected the sands had been an eyesore. This year, determination person been large improvements. The sit-outs, playareas, and sculptures person been a large deed among the people. Several bins person been placed successful the Blue Flag area, truthful radical bash not litter connected the soil arsenic overmuch arsenic they utilized to. Also, officers astatine the formation repeatedly punctual visitors, particularly during weekends, astir the ₹5,000 good for unfastened dumping. There is fear, and hence much cleanliness. The formation is regaining its beauty.”
However, helium cautioned that it mightiness beryllium hard to trim the fig of shops to 300 arsenic determination are much than 1,400 vendors connected the beach. “Without alternate space, the vendors whitethorn rise objections and whitethorn instrumentality aft a while. Therefore, vending spaces successful immoderate portion of the formation indispensable accommodate them too,” helium adds.
Clean-up: The Marina is dotted with petty shops and eateries that litter the beach. The Chennai Corporation proposes to trim the fig of shops arsenic portion of formation beautification. The vendors are up successful arms against this exercise. | Photo Credit: Harini S.
Kumar (name changed connected request), a vendor affiliated to the ruling party, said 8 formation vendor associations were readying to attack the Supreme Court seeking further clip to vacate the beach, arsenic the existent deadline of March-end was not feasible. The petition volition besides question a vending abstraction that tin accommodate each vendors who person been asked to vacate. The associations are Anna MGR Manarparappu Sirukadai Viyaparigal Sangam; Kannagi Silai Sirukadai Viyaparigal Sangam; Subash Chandrabose Manarparappu Viyaparigal Sangam; Marina Vivekanandar Illam Manarparappu Viyaparigal Sangam; Avvaiyar Silai Sirukadai Viyaparigal Sangam; Tamil Nadu Netaji Subash Chandra Bose Kattumaram Matrum Meenpidi Thozhilalar Amaippu; Kamarajar Silai Sirukadai Viyabarigal Sangam; Gandhi Silai Sirukadai Viyaparigal Sangam; and Anna Dr. Kalaignar Sirukadai Viyaparigal Sangam.
Along with his brothers, Kumar has been moving tiffin centres connected the formation for implicit 30 years. “Such evictions person taken spot repeatedly, adjacent successful the 1990s. However, vendors person protested and returned. Most precocious In 2019, during the AIADMK government, erstwhile vendors were offered carts by the government, they refused, insisting connected remaining connected the beach,” helium added. In May 2017, the Corporation started a thrust to modulate commercialized establishments connected the Marina, removing caller encroachments, conducting nutrient raids, and restricting shops to a fewer rows connected the sands.
‘Clear argumentation is needed’
Advocate Sudha Ramalingam said removing encroachments indispensable beryllium a recurring workout and the authorities indispensable guarantee it is not simply a knee-jerk reaction. She called for a wide argumentation to forestall specified encroachments. “The beingness of disposable encroachments connected a nationalist spot itself shows the inefficiency of the government,” she said, alleging that amerciable transactions betwixt vendors, section elements, and authorities — not lone connected the Marina Beach but crossed Chennai — led to encroachments passim the city, beryllium it astatine Nungambakkam or connected the banks of the Virugambakkam Canal astatine Arumbakkam. She suggested 4 measures to code the issue: transparent demarcation of vending zones, azygous execution of policies for removing encroachments, governmental and administrative willingness to enforce regulations, and subjecting officers to stringent punishments for dereliction of duty.
Arul Doss, nationalist convener of the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) and convener of the Tamil Nadu Manual Workers’ Trade Union, said galore vendors beryllium connected selling balloons and nutrient to wage rent and children’s schoolhouse fees and grip regular expenses.
He said a due abstraction indispensable beryllium identified and allocated for each vendors, including those who merchantability items specified arsenic balloons and toys and tally tiny establishments. He pointed retired that not each shops connected Ranganathan Street (T. Nagar) oregon Ritchie Street (near Anna Salai) are regulated; yet, they are not removed. “Many malls and buying complexes are built on, oregon adjacent to, waterbodies, but nary enactment is taken against them,” helium said, stressing the request for transparency and strict enactment against anyone flouting norms, and not conscionable those surviving beneath the poorness line.
He further alleged, “Illegal transactions and predominant removal of shops origin losses to morganatic vendors. Further, erstwhile store allocations are made successful vending zones, vendors with governmental affiliations often predominate slots. Hence, determination indispensable beryllium strict monitoring.”
Solar-powered rope-car
Ward 104 councillor T.V. Shemmozhi, who had projected plans for a solar-powered rope-car astatine the beach, said, “Food and recreation are portion of the formation experience, but determination indispensable beryllium immoderate regularisation and boundaries to forestall proliferation of shops,” helium said. He added that the tenders volition soon beryllium floated by the Corporation.
Deputy Mayor M. Magesh Kumaar said, “The Corporation volition beryllium afloat guided by retired Jammu and Kashmir High Court Chief Justice N. Paul Vasanthakumar, who was appointed by the Madras High Court to caput a monitoring committee for drafting tons to allot shops.”
Being ecologically delicate zones, beaches on the metropolis besides request peculiar attraction from authorities to forestall degradation. In January, Additional Chief Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Forests Supriya Sahu had posted connected X: “Chennai, let’s invited the archetypal acceptable of turtle eggs connected the Marina Beach arsenic the nesting play begins. An bonzer infinitesimal reminding america astir the occurrence of nature. Look astatine the tracks connected the soil marking the nesting by turtles. Let’s support beaches cleanable and undisturbed.”
“The tussle betwixt preserving quality and regulating shops connected the Marina has been a long-drawn issue. Some shops person travel up lone precocious and volition beryllium inspected, portion those functioning for respective years and are identified legally volition beryllium fixed owed consideration. Issues specified arsenic a azygous household owning aggregate shops volition beryllium addressed based connected Justice Paul Vasanthakumar’s suggestions, and the process volition besides beryllium monitored by the retired judge. Neither councillors nor immoderate different elected typical volition person a relation successful this matter,” Mr. Magesh Kumaar added.
