MARINA BEACH

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.

Contents

Longest beach

Extent

Indian Ocean tsunami

References

External links

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 (which is actually the longest beach in the world stretching upto 240 kms), Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh, Padre Island on the US Gulf Coast, Ninety Mile Beach in Australia and Ninety Mile Beach, New Zealand. However, unlike the other beaches, it is an urban beach similar to the Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro.

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 and Periyar 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.

Indian Ocean tsunami

On December 26, 2004, a tsunami caused by an earthquake caused huge destruction killing hundreds of people in the vicinity of the beach, including fishing communities settled nearby. While recovery has been difficult, the community has been hard at work rebuilding their treasured coastline to build morale and make the area attractive to vacationers.

References

1.

External links

★

★ Sunrise on Marina Beach