Messy Bessy: What happened to Chennai's cleanest public beach?

Chennai: Elliot's Beach in Besant Nagar, long considered as Chennai's cleanest and best-maintained public beach, is a ghost of its glorious past. The villains are far too many—unregulated eateries, poor waste management, filthy sandstretch and an worsening stray dog menace.

The one-km sandy stretch stands suffocated by a dense sprawl of makeshift stalls, plastic-sheet kitchens, and ramshackle counters that have steadily mushroomed over the years. What began as a handful of vendors has now grown into hundreds of structures occupying prime beachfront space, leaving little room for families, walkers, and joggers seeking respite by the sea. The fallout is no longer merely cosmetic; it is dangerous.

Garbage management remains patchy at best. While civic officials maintain that authorized vendors have separate bins for wet and dry waste, large portions of the sand remain littered with plastic plates, food wrappers, and discarded leftovers. Waste bins are either absent or overflowing. Sections of the beach are barricaded by tables, cooking vessels, and storage boxes, reducing public space to narrow corridors between shanties.

S Seetharaman, a daily walker, said: "Now thugs control the sands, extorting huge sums from vendors to set up shops. Civic authorities are mute spectators," he fumes. Plastic plates and wrappers litter the beach nightly, swept into the sea by morning clean-ups, choking marine life and producing a nauseating stench that turns dawn walks into ordeals.

Leftover food scraps dumped behind stalls have triggered an alarming surge in stray dogs and cattle. Residents estimate that more than 100 dogs now roam the beach during mornings and evenings, aggressively guarding feeding spots and breaking into violent turf fights. "I carry a stick during my walks because you never know when a pack will turn hostile," said R Rajagopal, who lives nearby.

Residents demand immediate crackdowns, eviction of vendors, enforcement of noise control by-laws, and reclamation of the shore. "This is Chennai's front door to the sea. It is being trashed under official watch," said another resident. Without swift action, Elliott's Beach risks becoming a toxic memory, not a treasure.

Adyar zonal officer S Senthil Kumaran said 350 vendors on the sand stretch were authorized following enumeration. "Regulatory issues pertain to establishments operating beyond the notified area," he said, adding that a recent eviction drive led to penalties of Rs 30,000. Yet, within days, encroachments resurfaced, with stalls once again occupying roads and footpaths.

The corporation sought coordinated action from traffic police against roadside truck eateries and encroachments. On the stray dog issue, the official cited resistance from activists during sterilization and vaccination drives as a constraint.

The assaults do not stop there. Besant Nagar's main road pulses with chaos from weekly corporate marathons, blaring high-decibel speakers near Rajaji Bhavan from 5am. "One event is fine; every weekend is torture, a health hazard for residents," Rajagopal added.

Unless enforcement moves beyond token drives and inter-departmental blame games, Elliot's Beach risks losing not just its charm, but its very identity.