Dip in number of visitors to Chennai beaches on Kaanum Pongal day results in less garbage generation

CHENNAI: A dip in the number of visitors to city’s beaches on Kaanum Pongal day on Thursday, in comparison with those in the previous years, resulted in less garbage generation.
S D Venkatesh, head of Ramky Enviro, which is involved in conservancy work on Marina and Elliot's beaches, said: “There is a decrease in the amount garbage generation on this year’s Kaanum Pongal day compared to that in 2013.It could be because of the fewer crowds gathered on the beach this year.”
He said a little more than 50 tonnes of garbage was cleared from Marina and Elliot’s beaches between 11pm and 4am on Thursday. Ramky Enviro cleared 46 tonnes of garbage from Marina Beach and five tonnes from Elliot's Beach.
“We conducted a mass cleanup from 11pm to 4am after Kaanum Pongal with more than 200 workers,” he said.
Last year, Ramky Enviro collected more than 65 tonnes of garbage from Marina and Elliot's beaches.
Sources said the number of visitors on Marina and Elliot's beach came down from 3.5 lakh to 2 lakh on this year’s Kaanum Pongal.
Some beachgoers on Friday complained that beaches were littered with ice cream wrappers, plastic cups and bottles.
“Marina Beach was literally stinking because of garbage. There are also no adequate garbage bins and public toilets on the beach for the visitors,” said Ravi Kumar, a beachgoer.
Corporation officials said they would deploy more workers to clear the leftovers on the beach.
Chennai generates more than 5,000 tonnes of garbage every day.