Abhijith N Kolpe
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru
Mangaluru, Dec 12: Due to coronavirus pandemic, even though the public stayed indoors for several months, the condition of beaches turned worse with lot of waste deposited at the seashores. This indicated how one has forgotten to show concern towards nature.
Noticing the pathetic condition of the beaches, several organizations, associations have taken up the initiative of cleaning the seashores. Likewise, members of team ‘Klean Kadal’ initiated beach clean activity to keep the environment clean which in turn will contribute to a healthy lifestyle for humans and sea life.
‘Klean Kadal’ is conducting beach clean-up drive at Kanwatheertha, Someshwar and Ucchila beaches. The response for drive was positive. Over 300 bags were collected containing plastics, slippers and glass bottles. This was a huge success due to the support from locals and regular visitors who come for mainly workout and daily walk.
Pavithra Rani, who is working in the software industry, along with Gururaj, resident of Kunjathure started cleaning beaches on October 20. They conducted 12 days of cleaning session with the help of Om Krishnan, Jagadish V Kulal, Laxman, Sandeep Gatty, Diwakar D Shetty, David, Ragunath S Alva, Shashidhar Bengare, Damodar, Vaishak, Ashok Devadiga, Sudara Kulal, Ameer Ullal Abbas and many other members of team Klean Kadal.
Founder of team Klean Kadal Pavithra Rani says, “I strongly feel that if everyone join hands irrespective of their gender, age, religion, caste, community or any political groups or any clubs, we can surely keep our city clean and this will reflect in our oceans.
“It is a very long process and demands a lot of support from everyone, to start adapting plastic-free lifestyles. Stop using plastic and find an alternative for it. Say for example, instead of buying a water bottle, carry a bottle with you. Carry a cotton bag for grocery shopping. Try as much as possible to reduce the consumption of plastic.
“The government should ban plastic and take stern action against usage of plastic. I guess then we can reach that day where proudly we can say that we, the Mangalureans, not only keep our homes clean but also the city and the beaches too.
“As nature lovers, we have initiated this activity of cleaning beaches. To make people aware, we have conducted the event ‘Kinare-2020’ on November 1 at Kanwatheertha, Someshwara and Ucchila beaches with the help of Sukesh Vijay Kumar who works for MRPL.
“This team aims to spread awareness by not littering plastics, which will reach our sea in many different ways and cause a lot of problems in future. Research says baby fishes are dying as they consume micro plastics. The team will continue to clean these beaches and also extend our service till Someshwar beaches. Along with this, team members are enthusiastic towards cleaning the city too,” says Pavithra.