JOIN USThe Coast Guard district (Karnataka) headquarters organised the coastal cleanup drive as a part of the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) – 2018 on Saturday.
The drive, held under the aegis of the South Asian Cooperative Environment Programme (SACEP) in South Asian region, was held at the beaches of Panambur, Tannirbhavi, Surathkal, Sasihithlu, and Malpe and at the Rabindranath Tagore beach in Karwar.
The ICC was started by the Ocean Conservancy in 1986 in order to engage volunteers in collecting marine debris.
Coastal Security Police, New Mangalore Port Trust, Central Industrial Security Force, Customs and Central Excise, school and college students, NCC cadets, NSS volunteers, members of the Coast Guard Wives’ Welfare Association, New Mangalore, and people from all walks of life participated in the cleanliness drive on the beaches.
People from educational institutes like KMC, NITK Suratkal, MV Shetty College, Sridevi College, and Kendriya Vidyalaya, Government PU College Kundapura and Malpe, Hinduja Global Solution LTD, NMPT High School, Fishery Primary School, University College, Govindadasa PU College participated.
Lal Goel, chairman of the Organ Donation India Foundation, Dr Uma Maheshwar Rao, director, NITK-Suratkal were present at Panambur.
Widespread
DIG S S Dasila, commander, Coast Guard, Karnataka, said that trash in the ocean is widespread and can harm the health of the ocean and marine life.
“One major source of such trash in the ocean is garbage that washes off the beach and into the ocean, where it can choke or entangle marine life,” he explained and also appealed to the participants to pledge to keep the ocean clean.
“The ocean covers 71% of the Earth and helps produce the water we drink and the air we breathe. It also produces food and provides recreation opportunities for millions of people. In spite of its importance, the ocean is not fully explored or understood,” he explained.
‘Initiative needed’
Dasila said that the cleanliness drive has created awareness among people and hoped they would continue to take the initiative to keep the coastal environment clean.
All the participants were provided with gash bags and protective gloves to undertake the beach and surroundings cleaning. Participants removed waste and non-biodegradable materials littered on the beaches including wrappers of food articles and plastic bottles thrown by tourists.
The collected waste materials were put in garbage bags for disposal.