VELANKANNI FEST
2L devotees have only 8 toilets, 20-min-long wait outside each
Despite It Being An Annual Ritual, People Visiting Velankanni Get No Civic Support
Aditi.R@timesgroup.com 30.08.2019
It’s a yearly fest that puts Besant Nagar to test. Around two lakh people from different parts of Tamil Nadu descended on the Annai Velankanni Shrine on Thursday, and most of them were left high and dry. For these devotees, there were only eight functional toilets.
“I have been coming here for six years. All these the facilities have remained rudimentary,” said Shanti Roger, who had walked from Sriperumbudur.
Despite knowing that lakhs would visit the church for the 11-day festival, Greater Chennai Corporation did not make proper arrangements, devotees said. The only toilet block, on the promenade and opposite an eatery, had eight cubicles — four each for men and women. A person had to pay ₹5 and wait for 20 minutes in queue before using it. Around 4pm, toilets ran out of water.
“We come from far-off places, the arrangement here is pathetic,” said Shanti S, a devotee from Pammal.
There are two other toilet blocks in the area, one on the beach and the other near the church’s entrance. While the one on the
beach had no water, people were stopped from using the other by police due to security reasons, forcing many to defecate in the open on the beach.
People said drinking water was scarce which forced them to buy bottles of water from local vendors at a premium. “I paid ₹50 for a one-litre bottle. Authorities should have set up a water kiosk near the church,” said Velankanni Ramesh.
S Bhaskaran, zonal officer of Adyar, said the corporation had deployed 50 additional conservancy staff for the festival and by Saturday five mobile toilets would come up. He said water kiosks were set up at Santhome, RA Puram and other points by which devotees pass through. “The church must give us its requirements in advance. Only then we can make arrangements,” he said.
Vincent Chinnadurai, rector and parish priest of the church, was unavailable for comment.
Residents in the area too had a tough time. “People gather here in large numbers and litter the place,” said S Srinivasan, a bank employee. Another resident raised safety concerns. “Unknown people stay put outside houses. My wife and I cannot leave the house. One has to guard it,” said Shankar Jai, who lives along the stretch.
TIMES VIEW
Like in the case of the Athi Varadar ‘darshan’, the authorities failed in crowd management at the Velankanni festival. The latter is worse, as it happens every year and there is no surprise as to the number of devotees expected. Due to the abysmal number of toilets, people turned Besant Nagar into an open toilet. Drinking water and other amenities were also inadequate. This mismanaged annual affair shows the church management and the government agencies can’t care less. Law enforcers, particularly Greater Chennai Corporation, must crack the whip and impose exemplary cost on the organisers.
ABSOLUTE CHAOS: Devotees (top) outside the Velankanni shrine at Besant Nagar on Thursday. Police could do little to control the crowd that flocked to the beach after bringing traffic to a halt in many parts of the city
2L devotees have only 8 toilets, 20-min-long wait outside each
Despite It Being An Annual Ritual, People Visiting Velankanni Get No Civic Support
Aditi.R@timesgroup.com 30.08.2019
It’s a yearly fest that puts Besant Nagar to test. Around two lakh people from different parts of Tamil Nadu descended on the Annai Velankanni Shrine on Thursday, and most of them were left high and dry. For these devotees, there were only eight functional toilets.
“I have been coming here for six years. All these the facilities have remained rudimentary,” said Shanti Roger, who had walked from Sriperumbudur.
Despite knowing that lakhs would visit the church for the 11-day festival, Greater Chennai Corporation did not make proper arrangements, devotees said. The only toilet block, on the promenade and opposite an eatery, had eight cubicles — four each for men and women. A person had to pay ₹5 and wait for 20 minutes in queue before using it. Around 4pm, toilets ran out of water.
“We come from far-off places, the arrangement here is pathetic,” said Shanti S, a devotee from Pammal.
There are two other toilet blocks in the area, one on the beach and the other near the church’s entrance. While the one on the
beach had no water, people were stopped from using the other by police due to security reasons, forcing many to defecate in the open on the beach.
People said drinking water was scarce which forced them to buy bottles of water from local vendors at a premium. “I paid ₹50 for a one-litre bottle. Authorities should have set up a water kiosk near the church,” said Velankanni Ramesh.
S Bhaskaran, zonal officer of Adyar, said the corporation had deployed 50 additional conservancy staff for the festival and by Saturday five mobile toilets would come up. He said water kiosks were set up at Santhome, RA Puram and other points by which devotees pass through. “The church must give us its requirements in advance. Only then we can make arrangements,” he said.
Vincent Chinnadurai, rector and parish priest of the church, was unavailable for comment.
Residents in the area too had a tough time. “People gather here in large numbers and litter the place,” said S Srinivasan, a bank employee. Another resident raised safety concerns. “Unknown people stay put outside houses. My wife and I cannot leave the house. One has to guard it,” said Shankar Jai, who lives along the stretch.
TIMES VIEW
Like in the case of the Athi Varadar ‘darshan’, the authorities failed in crowd management at the Velankanni festival. The latter is worse, as it happens every year and there is no surprise as to the number of devotees expected. Due to the abysmal number of toilets, people turned Besant Nagar into an open toilet. Drinking water and other amenities were also inadequate. This mismanaged annual affair shows the church management and the government agencies can’t care less. Law enforcers, particularly Greater Chennai Corporation, must crack the whip and impose exemplary cost on the organisers.
ABSOLUTE CHAOS: Devotees (top) outside the Velankanni shrine at Besant Nagar on Thursday. Police could do little to control the crowd that flocked to the beach after bringing traffic to a halt in many parts of the city
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