CHENNAI: Organisers of private beach party ‘Spoken Wave’ have violated a Madras High Court order and conducted the event within 100 metres from the beach and used bright lighting that harms turtle nesting, animal rights activist Shravan Krishnan has alleged. The High Court order said the festival should be held on the lawns of VGP Golden Beach resort maintaining a distance of 100 metres from the beach. The party organisers should not put up bright lights facing the sea, which might disturb the Olive Ridley turtles and they should ensure that no vehicles are used on the beach.
However, the lawn area used by the organisers fell within 100 metres from the beach and no care was taken to avoid bright lighting facing the sea, Krishnan said. He also alleged that the founder of ‘Spoken Wave’, Nimisha Sara Philip, who is the daughter of a senior police official, instigated policemen to assault him when he went to measure the distance between the beach and venue.
“I went to the spot in the afternoon along with two other environmentalists to verify if the court order was being complied with. We discovered that the stage was being set-up within 50 metres from the beach. I went on Facebook live to report this and highlight the violation. At that time, about 25 police personnel in uniform rushed towards us. I was abused and roughed up by one sub-inspector Anbazhagan, and threatened,” he claimed and said he would approach the court on Monday in this connection. He said he had also sent a complaint to the police Commissioner.
Several activists condemned the police action. When contacted, DCP (Adyar) Rohit Nathan said he was not aware of the incident and would look into the issue. Meanwhile, a video surfaced showing Nimisha asking security guards of VGP Golden Beach Resorts not to stop couples who came for the party from entering the beach around midnight.
‘Organiser urged police to attack’
Animal rights activist Shravan Krishnan has alleged that Nimisha Sara Philip, founder of ‘Spoken Wave’ and daughter of a senior police official, told policemen to assault him when he went to measure the distance between the beach and venue. He also said he was abused and roughed up by SI Anbazhagan. Several activists condemned the police action. DCP Rohit Nathan promised to look into the issue