Pen dent

Proposed offshore memorial for M. Karunanidhi draws ire of environmentalists and opposition parties

- LAKSHMI SUBRAMANIAN

ON JUNE 3, 1980, a few days after his DMK lost the assembly elections to M.G. Ramachandran’s AIADMK, M. Karunanidhi addressed a public meeting on the Marina beach in Chennai. “Thamizhargaley, Thamizhargaley, neengal yennai kadalil thooki yerinthalum naan kattumaramaga thaan midhapean. Neengal athil yeari payanam seyyalam; naan kavizhndhu vida maatten [If you throw me into the ocean, I will only float like a catamaran. You can sail on it safely; I will not capsize],” he said. 

In a nod to Karunanidhi’s catamaran reference, an offshore memorial is in the works—a 134ft-tall penshaped structure as an ode to the author, poet and scriptwriter in him. The state’s public works department plans to build the memorial in the Bay of Bengal, 360m from the shoreline. The project, which involves a landscaped garden and a pedestrian bridge, is expected to cost ₹81 crore and will be spread over two acres on land and in sea. The 650m-long bridge—290m over land and 360m over sea—will connect Karunanidhi’s memorial-in-the-making on Marina beach and the pen monument. A part of the bridge will have latticework.

But the memorial has already run into rough weather, with environmentalists raising concerns and opposition parties questioning the need for the project. The public hearing on January 31 saw a heated exchange between members of the DMK and the Naam Thamilar Katchi (NTK). A public hearing is held to gather citizens’ opinion ahead of the project’s environmental clearance as it falls under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ). At the hearing, NTK chief Seeman said he would demolish the statue if it were constructed in the sea. Opposition leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami asked why the money spent on the memorial could not be directed towards education.