The Hindu : Towards cleaner seashores

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Sep 19, 2003

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Other States - Maharashtra

Towards cleaner seashores

By Arun Kumar Bhatt

MUMBAI SEPT. 18. The Navy is launching a major seashore clean-up drive covering most of the beaches, waterways and creeks on the country's shores to observe the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), a global initiative.

Officers and sailors and their families will throng the beaches on September 20 and pick up garbage, litter, debris and trash from the seashore and citizens are expected to give a helping hand, said Nirmal Verma, Flag Officer Commanding of the Maharashtra Naval Area.While the Navy had been taking up clean environment projects in the areas of its own jurisdiction, this is the first time they are headed to public beaches, creeks and waterways. The Navy has already surveyed the beaches and prepared an elaborate plan.

For instance, the three-mile long Juhu beach is divided into eight zones and 45 persons would be deployed for every sub-zone of 100 metres. There would be sub-zone and zone leaders and beach coordinators.

Rear Admiral Verma said that 2,500 personnel along with their families, school children and boys and girls from the National Cadet Corps (NCC) and Sea Cadet Corps would join the drive. The Navy has enlisted the civic bodies for the task of taking away the swept trash to the dumping grounds. There would be aerial survey of the beaches from helicopters, before and after the clean-up, he said. Besides, divers would go underwater to collect trash. The volunteers would also record information about the trash they collect and prepare detailed data cards.

Last year, about four million tonnes of trash was collected from 12,400 miles shoreline in 100 countries. Most of the trash and debris collected consisted of plastic. They had found 259 animals entangled in the debris. Cigarettes and cigarette filters comprised 26.2 per cent, food wrappers and containers 10.8 per cent, caps 8 per cent, plastic beverage bottles 6.8 per cent, cups and plates 5.8 per cent, cans 5.7 per cent, bags 5.4 per cent, straws and stirrers 4.1 per cent and cigar tips 2.4 per cent.

Rear Admiral Verma said some people would think that a bit of trash thrown into the water was not a big deal but even small pieces of trash can collectively spell death to marine life. He said that most of the debris found during last year's ICC drive had come from land-based sources such as beach picnics, inappropriate or illegal dumping and general littering.

He said the ocean had historically been a dumping site for man-made debris, which was carried all over the world by winds and water currents.

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