Extensive reconnaissance and surveys: selecting the right site

Three spots along Marina beach were under consideration

Multiple factors followed by extensive reconnaissance and bathymetric surveys helped the Tamil Nadu government finalise the site for the construction of the proposed monument in the Bay of Bengal for late DMK leader and former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi.

After the decision was made at the highest level last year, many closed-door meetings by officials, spanning several weeks, gave shape to the idea. The Tamil Development and Information (Memorials) Department granted its administrative sanction for the proposal.

Soon after, the Public Works Department (PWD) was directed to prepare the components of the project. The PWD, in turn, tasked the Institute of Remote Sensing (IRS) at Anna University to identify the location within the coordinates it suggested and prepare the local area CRZ map.

The IRS analysed the geomorphic characteristics of the coastal zone with the use of satellite imagery.

Following a bathymetry survey, it was realised that the minimum depth required for constructing the monument was 6 metres from the high-tide line to the seabed, which could be achieved only at 360 metres from the low-tide line of the sea. It means the depth of the sea at which the monument would be located is six metres.

Three sites along the Marina beach coast were considered — one was closer to the Cooum river mouth, another was close to the complex housing the memorials of four former Chief Ministers and the other was close to Loop Road.