Marina Beach is an urban beach in the city of Chennai, India, along the Bay of Bengal, part of the Indian Ocean. The beach runs from near Fort St. George in the north to Besant Nagar in the south, a distance of 13 km, making it the longest urban beach in the country and the world’s second longest.
The Marina is primarily sandy, unlike the short, rocky formations that make up the Juhu Beach in Mumbai. The width of the beach at the widest stretch is 437 m. Bathing and swimming at the Marina Beach can be dangerous as the undercurrent is very turbulent and are legally prohibited.
It is the most crowded beach in the country and attracts about 30,000 visitors a day during weekdays and 50,000 visitors a day during the weekends and on holidays. During summer months, about 15,000 to 20,000 people visit the beach daily.
History
Before the Madras harbour was built, the Marina beach was just a strip of mud, teeming with mudskippers. The beach washed up close to the present day road for a long time until the harbor was built in 1881.
Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant Duff, the governor of Madras from 1881 to 1886, who was captivated by the beach on an earlier visit to the city in the late 1870s, conceived and built the promenade along the beach in 1884 by extensively modifying and layering with soft sand.
Ever since the harbour was built, the area south of the port has accreted significantly, forming the present day’s beach mainly due to the presence of wave breakers laid for the construction of the harbour, although the coast in the northern region has undergone severe erosion.
Eventually, the north-drifting current widened the beach to its present extent. The beach was formed as a result of arresting the littoral drift by the port’s breakwater. The area of the beach is increasing 40 sq m every year due to progradation.
Attractions
Marina beach is a major tourist attraction of the city. People visiting Chennai make a point to visit the beach. It is also the main place for the local people to escape from the summer heat.
The beach is popular for its shops and food stalls run by about 500-odd vendors. The memorials and statues, morning walk, joggers’ track, lovers’ spot, aquarium, and the like make it a hangout for people of all ages. Kite flying and beach cricket are common sports at the beach, and there are also facilities for pony rides.