Modi-Xi Meet: Life in Mamallapuram Town Thrown Out of Gear

Chennai: Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives on Friday at the historical town of Mamallapuram, also known as Mahabalipuram, in Kancheepuram district of Tamil Nadu. The high-voltage visit of the leaders of India and China has resulted in a wide range of facelifts to the monuments to impress the guests on visit while the basic demands of the town remains unattended. On the other side the fishermen, local vendors and residents are facing severe restrictions in the name of security cover.  

Chennai city is also expected to witness severe snarls because of traffic regulations announced for the two days of the visit. The Chinese president is expected to travel by road to the summit site from Chennai on both days. The district administrations have advised commuters, educational institutions and IT companies to plan their schedule as per the instructions.

RESTRICTION FOR FISHING

The fishing community living in over 40 villages around the meeting site are the first to face the impact of the historical meet. The fishermen of these villages were banned, although unofficially from venturing into the sea in the name of security measures for the visit. The locality was already witnessing a huge reduction in fish resources for the past several weeks affecting the livelihood of the fishing hamlets. 

An office-bearer of the Tamil Nadu Fishermen and Workers Association (TNFWA), told NewsClick, “The region is witnessing an unprecedented security cover. Thousands of fishermen were facing a severe shortage in availability of fish which had thrown their life out of gear. The present restriction on fishing has further worsened their condition. The state government should adequately compensate for the loss of revenue to the fisherfolks”.  

The district administration and the fisheries department have officially announced the ban on fishing for four days from Thursday. The fishermen from villages between Kottivakkam and Kadapakkam are instructed not to venture into the sea till the summit is over.

STREET VENDORS FORCEFULLY REMOVED

The tourist spot of Mamallapuram is home to several hundreds of street vendors and shopkeepers who make their living from selling different goods. The vendors were forcefully removed from the site 20 days in advance by the officials of the panchayats citing security reasons. 

The Kancheepuram district secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], E Sankar, in a press release demanded the rent for the street vendors should be waived since they are not permitted to carry out business for 20 days. The statement further added that these vendors should be permitted to restart their business after the summit comes to a close on October 12.

There is widespread fear among the vendors that they may be permanently banned from the tourist spots in the name of beautification of the historical site. The CPI(M) has also demanded adequate compensation be paid to the vendors for damages caused to their temporary shops and hand carts which they were evicted.

The small shopkeepers, who used to showcase their products like sculptures, stone and wooden artefacts outside their shops, were forced to keep the products inside the shops. This had resulted in very low sales for the vendors. The congestion inside the small shops has forced the workers to stop producing new products for sales also.

TOURISM, SURFING BANNED 

The town, which attracts a large number of tourists during weekends, will not entertain any visitors till the summit is over. The Archaeological Survey of India, which controls the UNESCO heritage site ,has announced the suspension of entry to public from October 8 till the VVIP visit is over due to security reasons. The hotels, home stays in the coastal town and its outskirts have been instructed to refrain from permitting travellers from staying. 

The coastal town is also known as the surfing paradise of the country with few surfing schools that employs local fishermen for training aspirants and amateur surfers. The 20-km stretch between Mamallapuram and Kovalam or Covelong is considered the best place for training by practicing surfers. The surfing schools, the trainers and trainees have all affected by the three week-long ban on surfing by the Tamil Nadu Coastal Security Group.

IMPROVE FACILITIES

The visit has resulted in huge facelift to the town which has long languished for basic amenities of proper roads and drinking water facilities. It  has forced the district and panchayats administration to relay the roads, repair the approach roads to the shore monuments, installation of drinking water plants and installation of CCTV cameras. The urgency with which these works are carried out could be understood as the town will be the focus of the global media for at least two days.

The city further needs sustained measures to improve the facilities for the visitors to have a meaningful visit.

TOUGH DAYS FOR CHENNAITES

The outcome of the informal summit notwithstanding, the meet has put several thousands of citizens under hardship. The severe traffic regulations, with few already being implemented in Chennai on Thursday have created uncertainty among the commuters. Unconfirmed sources say that many IT companies in the Old Mahabalipuram Road have instructed their staff to work from home to avoid commotion of the routine work.

The traffic on important roads including GST Road, Anna Salai, Sardar Patel road, OMR, East Coast road, the city is expected to come to a standstill during peak hours on the two days of the meet. 

The beefing up of security measures is mandatory during such high-profile meets but the impact on the normal life of citizens and business people should be minimised. The Mamallapuram fishermen are waiting for the summit to finish, while around 500 families of the street vendors are going through agonising days, uncertain of their future to restart their source of living.