Hundreds Of Mumbaikars Cleaned 2.8 Lakh Kgs Of Trash In 5 Hours From Mumbai Beach. KUDOS!

Swaccha Bharat.

It’s not just a campaign, it should be what we all want as proud Indians. And Mumbai took a conscious effort to do just that.

Hundreds of Mumbaiites gathered at Versova beach on Saturday to collect about 2,84,000 kg of trash from the jetty area located on the northern end of the beach.

Versova is a flat sandy 2.5-km beach with a thick mangrove cover across several parts and garbage gets trapped in the mangroves during the high tide.

 

That 5-hour drive, organized by Versova Residents Volunteers (VRV) was joined by Representatives from the United Nations (UN), including the United Nations Environment Programme appointed ‘Patron of the Oceans’, Lewis Pugh, a maritime lawyer and campaigner for clean oceans.

“Every inch of the beach was covered in litter when we began. We picked up 673 shoes within a radius of just 10 metres. By the end of it, everyone came together with one mission, to protect our environment and make history.”

 

This drive was also supported by the students from the Whistling Woods International Film and Television Institute, lawyers from the Andheri Bar Association, members of the Koli Samaj (local fishing community) and representatives of the All India Plastic Manufacturers Association along with the locals.

This trash was later taken to Deonar dumping ground and in cooperation with BMC, they proceeded towards Malad creek on boats, pulling crap out of the water with nets.

 

The founder of the Versova Residents Volunteers(VRV) was astonished by the support and happy with the success of the drive which is in its 43rd weekend across the city.

“We saw that the enthusiasm of the citizens is infectious. We had almost 500 people on Saturday and it is clear that the drive is gaining momentum,” said Afroz Shah, lawyer and founder, VRV. “Now, this model needs to be replicated by citizens with support from the civic body at all beaches across Mumbai.”

Let’s hope this model is replicated by every locality throughout the country.

Source : Hindustan Times