MARINA BEACH
Marina
Beach is a natural beach sandy beach, in the city of Chennai, India along the
Bay of Bengal, part of the Indian Ocean. The beach spreads from near Fort St.
George in the north to Besant Nagar in the south of Chennai. It is the second
longest beach in the world after Casino Beach-254 km (Praia do Cassino),
Brazil.
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| The view of Marina Beach from Light House |
Bathing
and swimming at the Marina Beach are legally prohibited because of the danger,
as the undercurrent is turbulent. It is the most crowded beach in the country
and attracts about 30,000 visitors a day during weekdays and 50,000 visitors a
day during the weekends and on holidays. During summer months, about 15,000 to
20,000 people visit the beach daily.
History
The
promenade of the beach was built by the former Madras governor Mountstuart
Elphinstone Grand Duff in 1884 and was named by him as ‘Madras Marina’.
Dimensions
and Characteristics
The
total length of the beach is 13 km, the length of the promenade is 6 km, and
the maximum width is 437 m and its orientation is from north to south.
Infrastructure
and Activities
1. 500 food stalls run by
1,212 vendors.
2. Memorials and statues.
3. Morning walk and joggers’
track.
4. Aquarium.
5. Joyrides, merry-go-rounds
and mini giant wheels.
6. Marina swimming pool (100
m length, 30 m width and 3 to 5.5 ft depth).
7. Anna swimming pool (4 to
11 ft depth).
Statues
present along the promenade of the beach from north to south
1. Robert Caldwell.
2. Kambar.
3. Ilango Adigal.
4. Triumph of Labour.
5. Subramaniya Bharathi
6. Kannagi.
7. Subhash Chandra Bose.
8. Thiruvalluvar.
9. George Uglow Pope.
10. Annie Besant.
11. Bharathidhasan.
12. Swami Vivekanandha.
13. Avvaiyar.
14. Mahatma Gandhi.
15. Constanzo Beschi (Veera
Maamunivar).
16. Kamarajar.
17. Thandhai Periyar.
18. Sivaji Ganesan.
19. Fishermen at the
Buckingham Canal statue.
20. Thilagar Thidal plague.
21. Golden Jubilee of
Independence memorial pillar.
Historical
Buildings and Institutions present near to the beach
1. M.A.Chidhambaram Cricket
Stadium, Cheppakkam.
2. University of Madras,
Cheppakkam Campus.
3. Public Works Department
(PWD) Complex.
4. Presidency College.
5. University of Madras, Marina Campus.
6. Vivekananda House.
7. Lady Wellington House.
8. Queen Mary’s College.
9. Inspector General of
Police Headquarters, Chennai.
10. Forensic Science
Department.
11. All India Radio,
Chennai.
Other
structures present along the beach
1. Marina swimming pool
2. Anna swimming pool.
3. Aquarium.
4. Marina cricket ground.
5. Dr. Annie Besant Park.
Events
in Marina Beach
1. The annual Independence
and the Republic Day ceremonial parades and air shows with the unfurling of the
Indian national flag, held along the promenade of the beach.
2. The annual idol-immersion
event of the Hindu festival ‘Vinayaga Chadhurthi’.
3. Several marathon and walkathon campaigns in
the venue of the beach. The annual Chennai Marathon, held in the beach starting
from the Anna Square to Annai Velankanni Church on the Elliot’s Beach in Besant
Nagar.
4. The beach receives the
maximum number of visitors on the Kaanum Pongal day, when about 1,50,000 people
come to the beach.
Transportation
1. The nearest bus terminus
to Marina Beach are Anna Square Terminus, Triplicane Terminus, Vivekananda
House (Ice House) Terminus and Foreshore Estate (Pattinappakkam) Terminus.
2. The nearest railway
stations to Marina Beach are Cheppakkam Railway Station, Triplicane Railway
Station and Lighthouse Railway Station.
Notes
1. Seven entry points on the
beach’s service lane are near the PWD Building, Subash Chandra Bose Statue, Dr.
Annie Besant Statue, Vivekananda House, Avvaiyaar Statue, Veera Maamunivar
Statue and the lighthouse.
2. The following spots off
the beach including near the Anna Square, Kannagi Statue, Triumph of Labour
Statue and behind Vivekananda House, have been identified by the police as
extremely unsafe due to the presence of whirlpools and rock projections in the
seabed.
3. A tramp ship SS Damatis,
that sank off the Marina beach during a cyclone in 1966.
Things
and activities to do in Marina Beach
1. Seeing the sea, sea
waves, ships and boats.
2. Listening the sea waves’ sound.
3. Sitting in the seashore,
observing the waves coming towards the shore, touching it and returning back
gradually.
4. Wetting the legs in the
sea waves and playing with them.
5. Bathing in the beach.
6. Watching the people’s
activities in the beach.
7. Talking to family and
friends freely.
8. Eating beach foods in
beach food stalls.
9. Joy rides.
10. Balloon shooting.
11. Horse riding.
12. Taking photos with the
celebrity model in the beach photo studio, taking photos of the beach, us with
the beach and boats in the seashore & taking photos by standing and sitting
with the boats in the seashore.
13. Buying the memorable
things in the beach-Wrist band, ‘Name written in the selected’ keychain, ‘Name
written in the seashell’ keychain and ‘Name written in rice’ keychain.
Foods
in beach food stalls
1. Sundal, Verkadalai,
Pattani & Uppukadalai.
2. Tea & Filter/Sukku
Coffee.
3. Cool Drinks, Sugarcane
Juice & Ice Creams
4. Fruit Salad.
5. Meen Varuval.
6. Pani Puri, Masala Puri,
Bhel Puri & Masala Pori.
7. Vaazhakkai Bachi, Melaga
Bachi & Vengaya Bachi.
8. Panju Mittaai & Other
Snacks.
Tips
and suggestions for entertainment in the beach
1. The best time to visit
the beach is between 4 pm to 6 pm as the breezy air is cool at the time and the
climate is good.
2. To see the morning
sunrise in the beach, just go there before 6.30 am. It is a nice experience to
see the fishing of the fishermen in the seashore of the beach early in the
meaning. Sitting in the seashore under the night moon will also give good enjoyment.
When we visit the beach in afternoon between 2 pm to 4 pm , there will be no
crowd and we shall enjoy the beach freely.
3. Seeing sunrise or sunset
in the beach is very nice.
4. Leave the foot wears in a
place in the shore and wetting the legs in the tides of the beach with empty
legs is suggested.
5. For enjoying in the beach freely, just move
lightly right from the main area seashore the beach to the seashore, that is
back to the Marina swimming pool. Here crowd will be less, the waves will be
clean and we can enjoy the beach freely.
Reviews
of the Marina Beach
The
only things that are not liked in the beach are the crowded people, dirtiness,
bad smell and presence of more number of food stalls.
