CHENNAI : The Marina Beach has been a point of attraction for residents and tourists in the city. But recently, the Marina Beach road has been attracting denizens for a different reason — one that commands their unity to save the natural ecosystems that are under threat, owing to the reconstruction of the Marina Loop Road. The improved link road has been designed to connect the Marina lighthouse to Kottivakkam. It will run across the Adyar estuary and over the Broken Bridge. Although this may bring a temporary sigh of relief, the situation might only worsen some of the existing woes, worry residents.
On February 21, Justice Suresh Kumar of Madras High Court pointed out that Greenways Road and DGS Dhinakaran Road, experience severe traffic congestion due to the residences of ministers and judges in the area. He asked the government and the Corporation to examine the feasibility of reconstructing the Loop Road, which had extended till Besant Nagar before the 1970s.
The newly proposed link road will instigate new bottlenecks around Elliot’s Beach Road and 5th Avenue Besant Nagar. The inner roads of the Kalakshetra Colony will be blocked as well. “The roads that run through the Kalakshetra Colony are not constructed to support the diverted traffic. Many roads are single-laned and already face congestion,” said Krithika Vishwanathan, member of the Kalakshetra Colony Welfare Association, at a press conference held on Saturday.
The construction is also expected to severely disrupt the livelihood of the fishing community, who have relied on the open beaches and sea for income and survival. Not just that, “The beaches are home to around 191 bird species. They will either perish in the pollution caused or will migrate elsewhere outside the city,” said M Yuvan, a naturalist.
