Police discourage people from flocking to Marina in evenings

In what might turn out to be a huge disappointment to the people of Chennai who are reeling under a heat-wave, the Chennai Police personnel have been discouraging people from flocking to the Marina Beach in huge numbers in the evening as they fear a ‘Jallikkattu’-style protest might be in the offing.

State has been witnessing protests by political parties, NGOs and people urging the Centre to set up a Cauvery Management Board (CMB) at the earliest to ensure fair distribution of Cauvery water between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.  The Chennai Police reportedly got some ‘secret information’ that people might choose to protest on Marina for the CMB issue similar to last January’s ‘Jallikkattu’ protest.

This forced the police to put up barricades at important intersections leading to the Marina Beach and to block traffic at the inner ring road leading to the seashore.  Police Department sources said on condition of anonymity that these measures have been taken to ensure that people don’t congregate in huge numbers at the Beach.

People are obviously upset that they are denied their right to get some fresh air from the seas in view of the restrictions on traffic imposed by the Chennai Police.