Cleanliness drive from Panambur to Meenakaliya beach held

The Mangaluru City Corporation in association with the Youngsters Panambur and Youngsters Yuvaka -Yuvathi Mandala, Baikampady carried out a cleanliness drive from Panambur to Baikampady -Meenakaliya beach, on Sunday.

The volunteers, including students, cleared all the garbage that was littered on the shore. More than three truck loads of garbage were collected during the drive.

Yathish Baikampady, former CEO, Panambur Beach Tourism Development Project, said the drive was organised to create awareness on cleanliness. The youth clubs of the area organised a campaign on the beach stretch from Panambur to Meenakaliya. “The residents want the beach stretch free from slums and to keep the area clean. Those who have constructed huts on the government land illegally by the side of the beach and collected rent from migrant labourers' families have not provided basic facilities for them. As a result, open defecation has become a common sight on the shore. The drive was to bring the issue to the notice of the authorities concerned.”

“We do not want any illegal activities to take place on the shores of the beach in Mangaluru,” he added.

MCC Commissioner Akshy Sridhar informed DH that notices will be served to those who are residing in illegal slums on the beach to vacate them. A survey will be conducted to identify the illegal slums that have cropped up on the shore.

Several huts have come up on the stretch of the beach from Panambur to Meenakaliya.

According to officials and local residents, huts are rented out for migrant labourers without providing toilets and other basic amenities. As a result, families are forced to defecate in the open and litter on the stretch of the beach, resulting in unhygienic conditions prevailing in the surroundings.

The huts were constructed using asbestos sheets by a few local residents and they were collecting Rs 800 to Rs 1000 from the migrant labourers as rent. They lack toilets and bathrooms. As a result, sewage directly flows into the sea, residents said.

The cleanliness drive was attended by DK MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, Zilla Panchayat CEO Dr Kumar and MLA Dr Y Bharath Shetty. The drive was also joined by the DK working journalists association.

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