It was an event that ran into rough weather even before it started. While it was conducted amidst strong opposition from the adjoining community, the food festival on Elliot’s Beach left residents of Besant Nagar fuming. Their rage erupted after they saw the sands heavily littered and leftovers dumped in the open, on Monday morning.
Residents along the beach said the three-day street-food festival, reportedly conducted to raise funds for a philanthropic project of Rotary International, was opposed by a section of people from the beginning. Fearing damage to the sensitive ecology by such a large event, the locals approached the Mayor when the organisers began putting up a temporary structure that covered a substantial part of the beach, stating that necessary permission had not been sought.
P D Babu, a marine biologist and local resident said following the intervention of the administration, the organisers were asked to cancel the event. However, he said they then went to the Madras High Court, which granted permission to hold the three-day event; albeit with riders that no hindrance to public should be caused and protection of the environment should be ensured.
While the organisers were dismantling the makeshift stalls, Vijayaraghavan, a resident of Kalakshetra Colony, said plastic plates and bottles were strewn around all over the place. When residents wanted to take a look inside the temporary structure, he alleged they were stopped by men who identified themselves as security guards.
Although the event ended on Sunday, this reporter faced a similar situation when attempts were made to visit the venue on Moday. However, he was let in following talks with Rotary members. A walk around the makeshift structure revealed that a substantial amount of leftover food was dumped on the sand, in the open. A little later, workers were sent to clean the leftover food. Environmental activist Nithyanand Jayaraman claimed that the situation was exactly like this on all three days.
When contacted, Rotarian Sriram, who was part of the organising team, said over 95 per cent of litter produced during the festival had been cleared by Monday evening by Rotarians and members of Exnora. “Much of the garbage being pointed out has been left by vendors on the beach,” Sriram said and added that by Tuesday morning, the beach would look much better than it did, before the event. He also said that the festival, organised to raise funds for the Happy Villages project of Rotary International, was a great success with people turning out in large numbers.
A resident on the other hand said that such events provided a “bad precedent,” as far as ecological conservation was concerned and there should be a blanket ban on such festivals, henceforth.