Litter crackdown: Udhayanidhi flags off ATVs for Marina, Besant Nagar beach patrol

CHENNAI: Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development Udhayanidhi Stalin and Municipal Administration Minister KN Nehru inaugurated 'Our Marina, Our Pride' ('Namma Marina, Namma Perumai') awareness campaign at Marina beach in Chennai on Sunday. They flagged off three All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) to monitor Marina and Besant Nagar beaches and robotic machines for cleaning water bodies, at the event.

Now, beach marshals will ride the modern, four-wheeled 'Sportsman Touring 570' ATVs, each worth Rs 16 lakh, on a shift basis, and monitor garbage dumping as well as illegal encroachments. A fine will be levied on those found guilty of littering and creating encroachments. The ATV patrol will be monitored by Chennai Corporation authorities.

Based on the response at the Marina and Besant Nagar beaches, the patrol will later be extended to other city beaches.

Additionally, to maintain water bodies managed by the city corporation, modern machines such as robotic multi-purpose excavators are being used to clean drains less than 35 metres in width, without human intervention.

Under the Swachh Bharat Mission savings fund, two robotic excavators were procured at a total cost of Rs 12.97 crore, and a five-year operational and integrated maintenance service costing Rs 9.82 crore was bought from Europe.

Also, two sand cleaning machines from the seven cleaning machines procured in 2019 have been refurbished.

At the event, job appointment orders were issued to 411 individuals including 253 men and 158 women on compassionate grounds, in order to support the families of deceased Chennai Corporation employees.

Health minister Ma Subramanian, Central Chennai MP Dayanidhi Maran, Chennai Mayor R Priya, Chennai Deputy Mayor M Mahesh Kumar, Principal Secretary of Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department D Karthikeyan, Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner J Kumaragurubaran, and senior officials participated in the event.