Mumbai: Hundreds Gather In Versova Beach And Cleared 2.8 Lakh Kg Of Garbage In 5 Hours

Coming together of citizens
Hundreds of people from Mumbai gathered at the Versova beach on Saturday and collected 2,84,000 kg of garbage from the jetty area on the northern end. Several representatives from the United Nations (UN), including the UN Environment Programme, appointed ‘Patron of the Oceans’, Lewis Pugh, who joined the Versova Residents Volunteers (VRV) in the cleaning drive. They were joined by lawyers from the Andheri Bar Association, students from Whistling Woods International Film and Television Institute, many members of Koli Samaj (local fishing community) and representatives of All India Plastic Manufacturers Association. After the collection of trash, it was then dumped at the dumping ground in Deonar.

Decongesting the mangroves

Thick layer of garbage gets stuck in the Versova beach because of the dense mangrove cover of around 2.5 km. The drive that saw massive co-operation of citizens collected about 673 shoes within a radius of 10 meters. The drive was also attended by Anil C Singh, the additional solicitor-general of India (Western Zone). Officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) reported that they have also been trying to resolve the garbage problem on the beaches. But in the monsoon, the accumulation of garbage is more. After collecting garbage from the land the VRV members went out with their boats and collected around 100 kg of trash from the Malad creek that comprised mostly floating plastic bags and food wrappers.

The Logical Indian salutes everyone who participated in this garbage drive mission. It shows how citizens can make a difference if they come together. We urge the State government and Mumbai municipality to take more enhanced measures to battle with the menace of garbage accumulating on beaches.