Section 144 puts damper on Marina picnickers

A group of motorbike enthusiasts were to meet on Sunday morning at 6 am to discuss about a sustainable system to keep the Marina beach clean. The event had to be cancelled at the last minute as Section 144 was promulgated.  Thousands of people had showed interest to attend a meeting at Marina beach to discuss the formation of a new political party by the youth. The organiser of the meet declared that the event was cancelled for the same reason. 

However, a few families continued to flock the beach. S Sriram, a businessman from Parry’s Corner said, “Sunday is the only time I get to go out with my family. We did not even know that Section 144 was invoked. I just came to the beach to spend time with my family.” 

Amar S, a student who was planning to attend the youth meet that was scheduled at 3 pm on Sunday said, “The group admin informed us that the event was cancelled on Saturday. Many students were disappointed and now an alternative venue is being considered to host the event. The Marina had become the epicentre of the political change that people have always wanted.” Though people flocked to the site were former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa was buried, the crowds did not reach the levels that are usually seen on Sundays. “I came with my family and saw cops everywhere. 

We thought we will be stopped because of the recent protests. We even enquired with a policeman but everything was fine,” says Sindhya M, a resident of Chintadripet. “Business is going on as usual,” says Kumar, who sells wallets at the beach.  “This is just a precautionary measure to ensure that there was no disruption at the beach. No major incidents were reported since Section 144 was implemented,” said a police official.