Pongal visitors leave heaps of garbage on Marina beach

Kaanum Pongal marked the end of the four-day Pongal festivities in Tamil Nadu and the Marina beach was the most preferred choice of destination for the people.  Officials said the crowd was less this year when compared to the last couple of years, but the garbage left behind by them was huge. 

The Chennai Corporation has pressed into service more than 400 conservancy staff from 13 zones to clear the garbage generated on Kaanum Pongal.

Corporation officials said 40.5 metric tonnes of garbage had already been cleared from Marina. 

Over four tonnes of garbage was cleared from streets in and around Marina, according to sources in Ramky Enviro, which was involved in the clean-up work. 

Most of the garbage were paper cups, loose litter and plastic bags. The fact that only around 1,700 people visited the famous Lighthouse in the Marina this year when compared to around 4,500 people in 2015 clearly indicated that the footfall at Marina, which usually runs into lakhs, was not on the expected lines.

Even the number of people visiting Arignar Anna Zoological Park in suburban Vandalur, popularly called as Vandalur Zoo, showed less footfall yesterday. A little over 44,000 people visited the Zoo when compared to the numbers crossing the 50,000 mark last year.

The number of people visiting other landmark places in the city too showed a lesser turn out when compared to last year.