In an attempt to minimize the problems created by the flow of water and sand to and from the Marina beach into the Cooum river, the Public Works Department (PWD) has been carrying out dredging at the mouth of the river on a daily basis.
Two cranes have been hired for this work. The area where the dredging of the sand is carried out is approximately half the size of a football field.
Murugesan, 30, controls one of the cranes. He said that the work is done for roughly seven hours every day. “The entire region (Cooum river mouth) stinks. There has to be a gap from where there can be a constant circulation of the water from the Cooum river into the beach. If the gap isn’t maintained on a regular basis, the smell would definitely increase.”
Arun, who lives nearby said that the stench is unbearable, “The river itself is pretty dirty. There is more rubbish in there than in my dustbin. This smell also ruins my outings at the beach.”
The crane which Murugesan drives is government owned while the other one is private owned. “The government hires the other crane for this work. It picks up the sand to maintain the gap and puts it on my side. I push off the entire sand from that end to the other end, i.e., the edge of the river mouth,” he said.
From 4 a.m. in the morning till 1 p.m. the water rises from the beach into the river mouth while from 1 p.m. till 4–4.30 p.m. the water moves from the mouth and into the beach. “The smell from the river is mostly because of the sewage water and other water used for household purposes,” he added.
In addition to this, dredging is also carried out outside the Jayalalithaa memorial at times. “Some times garbage and sewage get accumulated outside the memorial so we pour sand on it from time to time to reduce the smell,” Murugesan added.
But for the crane drivers, things are easier during the monsoon season. The driver said, “The water flow increases so our work becomes a little bit easier as the water isn’t as stagnant. In the summer season the clutter increases and the smell worsens.”