Cauvery row: The rationale behind cordoning off Chennai's Marina and Elliot’s beaches
The government of Tamil Nadu is afraid. Very afraid. Nothing else can explain its decision to make the Marina Beach and the Elliot's Beach in Chennai as no-go zones. You don't need more proof to realise this administration is completely at sea. Literally.
With a length of 13km, the Marina is considered the world's second-largest urban beach. It is the city's landmark and at any time of the day, thousands of visitors throng to experience the seaside. But the political leadership is unwilling to take a chance with protesters who, if allowed on the sands, may refuse to disperse. The decision to make Marina out of bounds was taken after 50-odd youth held a flash protest, holding hands and raising slogans against the Centre, at the beach on Saturday.
It brought back memories of the unprecedented Marina uprising that lasted a week in January 2017. The rebellion of sorts played a part in the Union government allowing Jallikattu, the bull-taming sport, despite objections from animal rights activists.
But then January 2017 was different. At that time, the state government wanted to use the optics of people power to show Tamil Nadu was upset. But now the shoe is on the other foot. The Edappadi K Palaniswami government is under siege and if Marina is allowed to be a stage, it will provide a platform for its critics to lay bare its inability to adequately represent Tamil Nadu's interests.
The government knows that in the days of social media, crowd mobilisation can happen within a matter of a few hours. And with the AIADMK's response to a variety of contentious issues, be it Cauvery, NEET exam, Sterlite agitation and more, been found wanting, EPS knows his government will be at the receiving end.
But it is the Cauvery issue where Tamil Nadu has been unable to get the Centre to set up the Cauvery Management Board, as ordered by the Supreme Court on February 16, that is the emotional trigger. Since March 29, when the deadline for the Centre to do so expired, political parties and civil society groups have been in protest mode, giving vent to their frustration.
Much of the anger is directed at the AIADMK for its inability to use its clout of 37 Lok Sabha MPs. All the lawmakers have done is to protest in the well of the House, thereby playing into the BJP's hands, that does not seem enthusiastic to face a no-trust vote moved by four different parties.
On Sunday, senior leader Thambidurai, who is the deputy speaker of the Lok Sabha, offered to move a no-trust motion over Cauvery, but with a rider that the Congress should support it. There could not have been a more blatant attempt to be the BJP's B Team. It was obvious that Thambidurai's real motive was to challenge the Congress, that is fighting to retain power in Karnataka, to bite the bullet. What the AIADMK does not realise is that the more it behaves like an extension counter of the BJP in Tamil Nadu, the more it loses its credibility.
On paper, the AIADMK government can claim it has filed a contempt plea in the Supreme court against two senior bureaucrats - the Cabinet secretary and water resources secretary for having failed to frame a scheme on the Cauvery issue within six weeks, as ordered by the apex court. But the Centre too has filed a petition, asking for clarification on the word "scheme" and requested for a time of three months, in view of the Karnataka elections.
The problem is that the Tamil Nadu farmers need to sow the kuruvai crop, mostly paddy, in the Cauvery delta in June-July. For this they need an abundant flow of Cauvery water. If the court grants time of three months, it would take the Tamil Nadu farmers into the middle of the sowing season. What this essentially means is that the court verdict has not translated into any tangible gains for Tamil Nadu and it still will depend on the benevolence of Karnataka to release water.
The best the AIADMK has come up with is to sit on a day-long fast on Tuesday, April 3. All its leaders will observe this breakfast to evening tiffin fast, an event for the cameras. A far cry from July 1993 when the leader they swear by, J Jayalalithaa sat on a fast for 80 hours at the Marina on the same Cauvery issue, despite her fragile health. That was enough for the then PV Narasimha Rao government to rush water resources minister VC Shukla to Chennai (then called Madras) and promise that a monitoring and implementation committees on the interim award of the Cauvery tribunal will be set up. Jayalalithaa emerged a hero at the Marina.
Twenty five years later, over one thousand policemen, both senior IPS officers and inspectors are monitoring the Marina 24x7. With four watch towers set up, all terrain vehicles doing the rounds and constables keeping an eye using binoculars, very few tourists are let in but only after thorough frisking and verification.