Corporation to clean Marina beach sands

Chennai: The shimmering Marina beach graciously hosts visitors in their thousands every day but ends up littered with plastic and paper, among other stuff.The garbage load on the sands became unmanageable over the last eight weeks as the school vacations and the hot summer brought in the droves. The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), in charge of cleaning the beach, has been grappling with the problem.

The CMDA has now written to the Chennai Corporation asking it to take over the cleaning from September, when the present contract ends. The CMDA took up the task in 2003. A beach-cleaning machine was introduced but the system was dropped after it turnedout to be too expensive.The Corporation, chosen to implement the `beach beautification' scheme, has sought government approval for it to take over the cleaning from September 22. This will mean it will have to spend more than the amount budgeted for the year.

The Corporation's Standing Committee for Works will seek a grant from the government. A resolution was tabled in the Council on Monday. After the approval is recieved, the cleaning would be done by means of an operations and maintenance contract, an official said. The private conservancy firm in charge of solid waste management in Zone 6 (Ice House) would be excluded.Visitors say keeping the beach litter-free is a basic requirement, more important than any costly beautification . "Even if one wants to dispose of litter, garbage bins are difficult to find ," said S. Devaki, a tourist from Kerala.