Started by local hero and lawyer Afroz Shah, the ‘Clean up Versova’ drive in Mumbai gradually evolved into one of the largest beach clean-ups in the world.
The Mumbai beach makeover made headlines all across, getting the United Nations to laud his efforts. Subsequently, he was awarded the Champions of the Earth award by them.
Speaking to The Logical Indian, Shah gave insights into how he began this initiative and what it means for the city and the country.
Describing his push to initiate this as being rooted in the need to clean up beaches, Shah says, “there was plastic everywhere – on the jetty beach, on the sand, on foot-walks – plastic everywhere.”
The journey, quite predictably, wasn’t an easy one.
“In the beginning, there were only two of us. I still remember the first day; I picked up five bags full of plastic. We began in October 2015, and till date, we have removed 4300 tonnes of plastic. We clean every Saturday and Sunday. We also run awareness programmes among fisherfolk and slum dwellers,” Shah proudly asserted.
When asked about the role that common individuals can play in helping the marine environment and in conserving the ecological sphere, Shah said that awareness programmes play a crucial role.
He also thinks the law isn’t enough when it comes to protecting the environment. “Take solid waste management as an example. We have too many laws, rules and regulations, but little ground action. We require law, but we require ground action in a huge way.”
(Source: The Logical Indian)
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