Edward Elliot's Beach, Public beach in Besant Nagar, Chennai, India.
Edward Elliot's Beach is a public shoreline in the Besant Nagar neighborhood of Chennai along the Bay of Bengal, where roughly two kilometers of sand stretch along the coast. The shore offers gently sloping access to the water with steady waves rolling in from the bay, while a planted promenade with walkways and seating runs behind it.
The beach is named after Edward Elliot, chief magistrate and superintendent of police of the Madras Presidency in colonial India. During the colonial era the shore was reserved for white people only. The Ashtalakshmi Temple near its southern end was built in 1976 in a modern architectural style.
The beach is named after Edward Elliot, chief magistrate and superintendent of police of the Madras Presidency, not a railway engineer. During colonial times it was reserved for white people; today it is a gathering place for Chennai's younger generation, with many restaurants and clubs nearby. On weekends parking is hard to find.
Safety comes from a police outpost on the beach, whose officers patrol by all-terrain vehicles; two extra ATVs were sanctioned in August 2012 after 11 drowning cases were reported off the shore in 2010. The Ashtalakshmi Temple sits near the southern end of the sand. On weekends vehicles can struggle to find parking.
The Kaj Schmidt Memorial on the sand commemorates a Danish sailor who died trying to save a girl from drowning. The sources give his first name as Kaj, not Karl, and describe him as Danish rather than Dutch. It is counted among Chennai's cultural landmarks, and the beach is patrolled by police in all-terrain vehicles.
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