Santhome beach - once a paradise of Mylapore
Santhome beach adjacent to Santhome basilica
was once a pride of Mylapore with the
residents thronging the beach in the 1970s and
1980s to listen to the Vivetha Bharathi of All
India Radio that broadcast the choicest Tamil
movie songs from a loud speaker.
Several VIPs preferred to sit on the sands of
Santhome beach as it’s easy to access the
beach from the road and it was a lover’s
paradise too.
The ubiquitous popular thanga manga pattani
sundal boys would often incur the wrath of the
lovers or the other way they buy from him so
that they do not get disturbed. Little that they
knew that the boy would send co boys who
make a bee line making the life of lovers
miserable
Many office goers would straight go the beach
from office before heading home to unwind
themselves or to read a book
It was also the first choice of married couples
who lacked privacy at single room apartments
or tiled houses.
Now everything has become a history. The
beach is lost due to death of radios and
encroachments.
Open defecation still plagues the beach which
has now come under the control of fishermen.
People from low-income settlements like
Dummingkuppam, Mullima Nagar and
Nambikkai Nagar off Loop Road are using the
beach to relieve themselves for over five
decades.
Will the Mylapore MLA and the Councilor
retrieve the beach and hand it over back to the
residents?
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