Chennai’s posh Boat Club RWA demands restrictions on entry of outsiders, activists slam VVIP mindset
Shabbir Ahmed | TN bureau head
The demand to restrict outsiders by residents of Boat Club has triggered massive outrage among members of the civil society
Letter written by Boat Club RWA to Chennai CoP
Key Highlights
- President of the Boat Club Residents Welfare Association has written to Chennai Police Commissioner saying non-residents are using the Boat Club area for walking and jogging
- Activists have slammed Boat Club Residents Welfare Association and say that their demand is unconstitutional
- Boat club is home to several famous personalities in Chennai, like Ex-BCCI Chief N Srinivasan, DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran etc.
Chennai: At a time when Chennai is battling a pandemic and the entire government machinery is working overtime to contain the spread of coronavirus, the Chennai city police were left in a state of shock when they received a bizarre request from Chennai’s posh Boat Club Residents Welfare Association.
On May 27, Chennai City Police Commissioner AK Viswanathan received a letter from the residents association, requesting for drop gates to be installed at the entrance of the upscale locality. The letter, addressed by Ravi Appasamy, President of the Boat Club Residents Welfare Association, said that during the lockdown, non-residents are using the Boat Club area for walking and jogging and that unknown car are parked during odd timings.
The letter further stated that “Outsiders are using the place for walking/ jogging in groups and their health background is not known and also we don’t know whether they come from any isolated area. This is against the principle of social distancing under COVID norms.”
This demand by the residents of Boat Club has triggered massive outrage among members of the civil society. Speaking to Times Now, advocate N Ramesh said, “This demand by the residents of a boat club is not only unjustified but also unconstitutional. They cannot block the movement of people in an entire area and Boat Club roads are for public use. This is nothing but flaunting their upper-class status.”
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The boat club is home to some of the famous personalities in Chennai, like former BCCI chief and industrialist N Srinivasan, TVS group chairman Venu Srinivasan and his brother Gopal Srinivasan, Sun TV Executive Chairman Kalanithi Maran, Lok Sabha MP Dayanidhi Maran and top management officials of TTK, Murugappa and MRF groups.
The serene and well-maintained roads in the locality attract several people for their daily walk and jogging. However, with Chennai reporting a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases, this idea seems to have not gone down well with the residents of Boat Club.
Radhika Ganesh, a founding member of Young People for Politics, called the response of the residents part of a social crisis. “This is just another example of how COVID-19 is causing more than a mere economic crisis. There is a massive social crisis looming that the privileged will continue to deny. Years of work on social justice will be undone if the government doesn’t take notice of such feudal segregation practices now being perpetrated by the wealthy and so-called progressive city dwellers,” Radhika said.
Echoing similar views, Dr V Suresh, National General Secretary of People’s Union for Civil Liberties said, “These are public areas and free movement of the public cannot be prevented. Converting an area into a gated residential locality is not permissible in law.”
Chennai police sources confirmed the that they received the letter from the Boat Club Residents Welfare Association and a top police officer told Times Now that right of movement in a public road is a fundamental right and such requests cannot be entertained.