CHENNAI: The Marina stretch was shut down almost two hours before the usual 11 pm deadline, as the waters from the advancing ocean breached the sands further, till there was a spillover into the service lane. Initially, through the day as the water began moving inward, policemen had to stop people from moving too far towards the erstwhile waterline, but by 7 pm, the signs were ominous.“We decided that the water was coming in too far to allow people to use the beach tonight,” said a police official.By 9 pm, the advancing water began spilling over on to the inner beach road, sending the remaining watchers into a panic. However, that soon receded back, leaving a large pool of water on the Marina sands once again. “We are afraid that it might come in further. It comes so gradually it’s difficult to know how fast it comes up,” said Suriyan, a fisherman from a village in Pattinapakkam.Rumours of another tsunami-like surge did the rounds in their villages, he added.Policemen had all the lights along the lighthouse stretch switched off to dissuade passersby from coming into the beach lane for a look. Patrols have also been increased and no one would be allowed till noon tomorrow as a precaution.
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