New Delhi: Goa –the land of sun, sand and beaches is slowly losing its charm because of growing garbage. In order to protect the beauty of its beaches an agency – Drishti Marine, which provides lifeguard services, has announced an initiative to create public awareness on cleanliness and the management of coastline in the state. Tagged as “Tera Mera Beach”, the campaign will run for 150 days from mid-November with an aim to create mass awareness among people about why it is necessary to protect and safeguard the beaches of India.
With drum circles, musical performances and community art installations made from bottles, cans, papers, cloth among other things collected by the participants during the clean-up drive, an awareness camp in one of Goa’s favourite beaches – Baga beach will be set every evening between 5 pm to 6:30 pm from mid-November, says Drishti Marine CEO Ravi Shankar.
Explaining the motive behind the massive campaign, Mr Ravi added,
We want to create awareness on beach clean-up and teach people about the importance of waste segregation. Our motto is simple, teach visitors the basic thing – be responsible. They should know to throw their trash in the dustbins provided along beaches.
He also said the event aims to make visitors participate in beach clean-ups on a regular basis. Last year, in 2016, the state government in a bid to improve cleanliness on Goa’S beaches reached out to Drishti Marine and asked them to assist with garbage collection along the beaches on a temporary basis to support the efforts of the government.
That’s when we decided to step in and do our bit for the state, added Mr Ravi.
This campaign is supported by the Goa Tourism, the Museum of Goa and other departments.
The state government has also come up with an innovative plan to improve cleanliness on the beaches of Goa through a WhatsApp number where people can lodge complaints about specific sites on the beach that have been littered. All anybody has to do is send details of locations where waste is strewn or piled up and within 24 hours the designated contractor will take action and report to the department.
Goa’s current sanitation coverage is just 21 per cent in the rural areas and 76 per cent in urban areas. Even though Goa’s Open Defecation Free process is slow, the overall sanitation coverage has always been high when compared to other states.
