The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) on Monday told the Madras High Court that Marina beach would remain out of bounds for the general public till October 31 since the State government had extended the limited lockdown till then.
The Second Division Bench of Justices Vineet Kothari and M.S. Ramesh was informed by Additional Advocate General (AAG) S.R. Rajagopal that the government had banned public access to select places, such as beaches and shopping malls, during the ongoing lockdown.
The submission was made during the hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition, in which the court had taken upon itself the task of ensuring that the beach was maintained neat and clean by the Corporation, besides regulating vendors as well as fishermen.
No bidders
Though the Corporation had come up with a plan to procure and distribute colourful stainless steel pushcarts to about 900 vendors on the beach, the AAG told the Bench that there were no bidders for supplying the carts, despite the Corporation having called for tenders twice.
Stating that it had decided to call the tenders for the third time now, the AAG was confident that at least three firms would definitely participate in the tenders to be opened in November. He urged the court to grant time till then for the Corporation to report the developments.
Explaining the reason for no one having participated in the previous tenders, he said it might be because manufacturing of pushcarts was a labour-intensive work and labourers were not available at all during the complete lockdown since March this year.
In so far as constructing a fish market on 2 acres of land for accommodating the fishermen on the loop road of Marina was concerned, Mr. Rajagopal said the proposal had to be approved at different levels, beginning from the Corporation to the State Cabinet.
He also stated that a report was under preparation for constructing a foot overbridge across the loop road so that the fishermen could carry their catch from the beach to the market using the bridge without having to obstruct motor traffic on the road.
On the plan to connect the loop road from Foreshore Estate with Besant Nagar by repairing a damaged bridge and laying a new road, the AAG said he had no instructions at all. After recording the submissions, the judges adjourned the case to November 11.