Hours before hearing, GCC clears debris from turtle nesting site

Corporation officials claim delay due to police request to wait for idol immersion to end

- SV KRISHNA CHAITANYA @ Chennai

The Greater Chennai Corporation's (GCC) move to flatten a large tract of Foreshore Estate beach by dumping construction debris for Vinayagar Chathurthi idol immersion has turned the stretch into a public hazard, besides causing irreversible damage to an ecologically sensitive nesting ground, protected under the coastal regulation law.

Though the Tamil Nadu State Coastal Zone Management Authority (TNSCZMA) ordered GCC Commissioner J Kumaragurubaran to clear the debris on Wednesday, local fishermen and residents said the civic body was slow to act, and alleged that additional rubble was dumped late Wednesday night. While there was no sign of debris removal till Thursday evening, a team of GCC officials began clearing operations at the beach by around 7 pm.