Initiatives taken by locals to get their environment garbage free

India on a cleaning drive

Freestyle

News - India & You

Society

August 11, 2016

/ By / New Delhi



Rate this post
Versova Beach, Mumbai

Versova Beach, Mumbai

The citizens of India have been facing the problem of disordered disposal of garbage on roads, beaches among other public places, that negate the beauty of the place and the hygiene of the residents. However, people have now begun to take the responsibility to protect the environment from the plague of abundant trash and are on a drive to opt methods to achieve the goal.

On Saturday, 6th of August, the citizens of Mumbai (in India state of Maharashtra) gathered at Versova beach to join in the 43rd weekend of the beach-cleaning drive. Started in October 2015, an initiative by two samaritans, Afroz Shah and (late) Harbansh Mathur, the drive has been practiced since then. Many big shots were present to help make the 5-hour long drive a success, including the United Nations Environment Programme appointed ‘Patron of the Oceans’, Lewis Pugh. All together, around 282 tonnes of trash was collected from the beach.

Practices for the same have been adopted in different states. Determined and motivated, school children in Kota, a city in northern Indian state of Rajasthan, started a campaign. They’d bring plastic wastes from their homes to school that was sold to the scrap buyers. Over 5,000 students participated, collecting about 2,250 kg of plastic, which was then sent for recycling.

Spreading awareness to moderate the level of pollution due to inappropriate disposal of plastic, many schools have associated themselves with the project of Sagar Mitra – a campaign launched to make all the five rivers of Pune, in the State of Maharashtra, plastic free. Dr. Susan Raaj, director, Sagar Mitra Project, said, ”Students bring plastic and polythene directly to school. This stuff is sold to scrap buyers. Students get marks and money from this and also help in making Kota plastic-free”, reports The Times of India.

 

Delhi garbage

Disposal of garbage on streets

The government played its part by launching an app to redress the garbage menace plaguing the cities. Launched by Indian Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu, the app, Swachhata (Cleanliness), provides you with an opportunity to upload the picture of the garbage dump or overflowing dustbins, and the complaint will be redressed within a predetermined time frame. Also, Swachhata helpline number – 1969 – was launched to provide information and related services.

 

With cooperation and self initiation from the authorities, many other campaigns have been conducted, that had involvement from locals in huge numbers, to aware the people of the health consequences the litter around have on them. The recent pace with which the initiatives are taken by people ensures hope for clean and hygienic environment in India, even if the process shall take some time.

Similar Articles

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

0 COMMENTS

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *