3 days Ago
Chennai: Around 20 acres of Tamil Nadu Housing Board land at Foreshore Estate, a few hundred metres from the Adyar estuary , off Marina Loop Road, has turned into an unofficial dumpyard. For more than a decade, miscreants have been dumping debris, broken toilet parts, and worn-out furniture like sofas without restraint, creating debris mountains. Anti-social activities and encroachments have increased in the area an inter-tidal zone where the Adyar river meets the sea at Pattinapakkam.
Residents report rampant gambling, drug abuse, and illegal liquor sales. "Even children are getting addicted to drugs and alcohol," said Mylai Mary from Mullima Nagar, a nearby low-income community. The area's deteriorating condition affects the daily lives of local residents.
"We have to go through this dumpyard to the TNEB (Tamil Nadu Electricity Board) office at Santhome to pay the bills. The roads are filled with potholes, and the debris dumping has become uncontrollable," said Ramesh Ramadoss, a local activist. Open defecation is also rampant as the nearest toilet is 600m away, and the new facility at the Santhome beach playground has been under construction for over a year, Mary added.
When TOI visited the site recently, auto-mechanic sheds and several hutments were found encroaching on the land. TNHB had proposed developing the land in 2020, but the plan never materialised. "We will fence the land this month with assistance from the local police and then take a policy decision on how to develop it," said TNHB managing director G S Sameeran.
GCC commissioner J Kumaragurubaran said the civic body would clear the debris immediately. Real estate developers highlight the prime location and estimate the land value at 13,000-15,000 per square foot. However, coastal experts stress the need to protect the land as it is within the coastal regulation zone.
"Protecting the land is important to prevent coastal erosion ," said Ramasubramanian R, a coastal researcher with M S Swaminathan Research Foundation..
