CHENNAI: The Marina shore was choked with garbage on Sunday morning soon after a marathon organised by MDMK.

Plastic cups, water bottles, paper plates and wrappers formed a sea of garbage in the 1km stretch between Gandhi Statue and Light House. More than 10,000 people, including Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK)chief Vaiko, participated in the party's run for prohibition.

MDMK held the run to sensitise students on the evils of liquor consumption as part of its campaign seeking prohibition in Tamil Nadu.

The party distributed water bottles and snacks in plastic bags to the participants, who eagerly waited till the end to claim the refreshments. Soon enough, the sea shore was turned into a dumpyard, with some waste going into the sea and some toward the service road.

A fisherman who attended the event said he did so just for the free snacks, adding, "There is so much plastic waste that collects in the sea. Our fishing nets trap more plastic than fish."

NGO Shuddha that was entrusted the task of keeping the Marina Beach clean as part of the corporation's Clean Chennai initiative began clearing the mess in the afternoon. Shuddha general secretary Nisha Thota said, "There were no bins in place for dumping the garbage. Plastic bags and water bottles were discarded at will on the sea shore, service road and the platform."

The New Year celebrations that saw about 7 lakh visitors at the beach resulted in nearly 5 tonnes of garbage, most of which included plastic waste. During Wipro Chennai Marathon held a month ago, pamphlets had been strewn all over the road along the Marina that took up an entire day to be cleaned up.

The MDMK marathon, held for a few hours in the morning, generated more than one tonne of plastic garbage. Volunteers took hours clearing it out. "The participants lacked basic civic sense. They did not feel the obligation to keep the sea clean. It is due to a lack of accountability," said a Shuddha volunteer.

