Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

International Coastal Clean-up Day observed

Staff Reporter

Coast Guard personnel and students undertake cleaning activities at Kovalam, Vizhinjam

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A 55-member team comprising staff of the Indian Coast Guard Station (ICGS), Vizhinjam, observed the International Coastal Clean-up Day by undertaking a cleaning operation on the entire stretches of the Light House and Kovalam beaches on Saturday.

The clean-up is usually carried out on September 18 every year under the United Nations Environmental Programme.

As many as 15 bags of discarded beer and plastic bottles, cigarette butts, pieces of broken tube lights and other waste materials that littered the beach were collected by the team. The garbage thus collected was disposed in vehicles arranged by the Tourism department.

"The garbage will be segregated and used for making bio-gas," said Commandant M. Venkatesan, commanding officer, ICGS, under whose leadership the drive was conducted.

NCC cadets and students of the Vazhamuttom Higher Secondary School and the VPS Higher Secondary School in Venganoor joined the half-day long drive along the two-kilometre stretch, which started at 8 a.m.

According to Mr. Venkatesan, the drive conducted annually by the Coast Guard was aimed at creating awareness among the public on the need to keep the coastline clean and to prevent the stretch from the outbreak of any contagious diseases. "Keeping the beach clean also plays a crucial role in attracting the tourists," he said.

"The discarded plastic materials can choke the suction pump of boats. So we tell the public not to throw any plastic objects in the sea," Mr. Venkatesan said. Moreover the broken pieces of bottles littered on the beach can cause injury to people.

Before embarking on the cleanup drive, the volunteers were provided safety tips and how to go about collecting garbage from the beach. The coastal cleanup drive is conducted by the ICG across the country.

Shanghumughom beach

Our Special Correspondent adds: Students of All Saints College here gathered 86 kg of garbage from a half-kilometre stretch of the Shanghumughom beach on Saturday.

Nearly 90 per cent of this garbage constituted non-degradable materials such as plastic carry-bags, cans, ice-cream spoons and similar things left behind by picnickers, said C.S.P. Iyer, advisor to the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment.

Participation

Nearly 30 colleges close to the coastal stretch of the State would participate in the beach clean-up campaign till Monday.

Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) also associated with the students of All Saints College in the campaign. WWF State director Renjan Mathew Varghese and Dr.C.S.P. Iyer addressed the students to brief them about the significance of observing the `Coastal Clean-up Day.'

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