Marina Beach

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Coordinates: 13.05418° N 80.28368° E

View of Kamarajar Salai that runs alongside the beach

Marina beach

The crowd at Marina Beach in the evening

The Marina Beach is a beach situated along a 12 km shoreline in the city of Chennai, India along the Bay of Bengal, part of the Indian Ocean. Unlike the short, rocky formations that make up the Juhu Beach in Mumbai on the west coast of India, the Marina is primarily sandy.

1 Longest beach
2 Extent
3 Activities
4 Notable structures along the beach
- 4.1 Statues
- 4.2 Institutions and Historical buildings
5 Indian Ocean tsunami
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Longest beach

Although many locals claim the Marina to be the world's longest (or second longest) beach, there exist in fact several longer beaches, including Praia do Cassino in Brazil, Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh, Padre Island on the US Gulf Coast, Ninety Mile Beach in Australia and Ninety Mile Beach, New Zealand. A similar beach exists in Dubai, UAE. However, unlike the other beaches, it is an urban beach similar to the Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro. The width of the beach at the most widest stretch is 437 meters long.

[edit] Extent

The beach begins near Fort St. George in the north to Besant Nagar in the south, a distance of about 12km.^[1] A famous characteristic of the beach is the set of stone statues that adorn the roadside area of the beach. Most statues are of Indian/local legends like Mahatma Gandhi, Kannagi, Thiruvalluvar, while others have symbolic significance like the Statue of Labour. Also memorials for M. G. Ramachandran and C. N. Annadurai, former Chief ministers of Tamil Nadu are present on the beach. Recently, a statue of actor Sivaji Ganesan was installed.

The Marina used to be famed for its pristine beauty, jolly ambiance, and rich ecosystems. However, since the middle of the 20th century, the beach and water has become polluted. A proliferation of plastic bags, human waste and other pollutants have rendered many parts of the beach unusable. In recent years, many voluntary organizations have taken up the task of cleaning up the Marina and protecting the ecosystem. Particular efforts include protection of Olive Ridley turtle nests along the Neelangarai section of the beach. Despite these problems however, a visit to the Marina is a sine qua non for any tourist coming to Chennai.

Panoramic view of a stretch of the sandy Marina beach

[edit] Activities

A Catamaran at the beach

Visiting Marina beach is a tourist spot. People come for the beach side shops, many samadhis, morning walk, jog, lovers spot, kids take bath or wet their feet, get fresh (salty) air etc. Parallel to Marina beach is the beach road that's reasonably wide and has lots of Status. There is an auqarium on the on Marina.

In 2007, 1,613 people drown (roughy four per day) at this beach. Bathing/swimming is illegal at Marina beach and there are no lifeguards stationed here.

While you are sitting on the beach sand, smart merchants (young and old) try to sell you chat food.

As part of "Chennai forever" initiative by Tamil Nadu government, Marina Waterfall (artificial) was installed in Sept 2005.

Facing the Marina Beach stands the Vivekananda House (formerly known as the Ice House) where the great monk stayed for nine days in 1897. The Vivekananda House hosts Art/Painting exhibits about the life and mission of Swami Vivekananda, the ideologies of the Hindu Religion, etc. which form an attraction.

[edit] Notable structures along the beach

Being the city's primary area for recreation, the entire stretch features numerous statues and monuments that have come up over the years along the beach promenade, called Kamarajar Salai. The stretch is also home to various governmental institutions and historical buildings from the British rule.

[edit] Statues

[edit] Institutions and Historical buildings

University of Madras Chepauk Campus
Public Works Department
Presidency College
University of Madras Marina Campus
Vivekananda House
Lady Wellington School
Queen Marys College
Commissioner of Police Headquarters

[edit] Indian Ocean tsunami

Marina beach after the Tsunami

On December 26, 2004, a tsunami caused by an earthquake struck the shores of Chennai at around 8:30 AM. The entire coastline of Chennai, including Marina beach, was affected. Sea waters engulfed the entire Marina beach, whose width is quite large. Morning joggers, children playing cricket were among those affected. The worst hit was the fishing community settled nearby the beaches. In all, the tsunami left behind 206 dead^[2] in Chennai and caused destruction to the properties of the people in the city. While recovery has been difficult, the fishing community has been hard at work rebuilding their treasured coastline to boost their morale and make the area attractive to vacationers. It was held that since it was a Sunday morning, casualties were actually lesser, given the fact that people throng the beach on evenings.