26 September,2026 06:54 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Actor Ajay Devgn, Amruta Fadnavis, BMC Commissioner Ashwini Bhide and MLA Amit Satam at the cleanup drive at Juhu beach on Saturday. PIC/BMC
Around 34 tonnes of waste was collected from Juhu beach on Saturday during âSea, Shore, Shine-2026', a special cleanliness drive organised after Ganeshotsav 2026, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.
The campaign was jointly organised by Divyaj Foundation, the BMC, Mumbai Police and NGO MeghaShrey to clean Juhu beach and spread awareness about environmental conservation. School students, representatives of non-governmental organisations, volunteers and citizens participated in the drive.
The cleanliness campaign was organised early Saturday morning, with a large number of participants joining the initiative and collecting around 34 tonnes of waste from the beach.
Divyaj Foundation founder Amruta Fadnavis, actor Ajay Devgn, Maharashtra Skill Development, Employment, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha, MLAs Amit Satam and Ram Kadam, BMC Commissioner Ashwini Bhide, local corporator Seema Singh, BMC Joint Municipal Commissioner (Zone 4) Dr Bhagyashree Kapse and K-West Ward Assistant Municipal Commissioner Chakrapani Alle were among those present for the drive.
Fadnavis said collective responsibility for keeping the city clean after festivals was important. She stated that the civic administration makes continuous efforts to maintain cleanliness at beaches and urged citizens to support these efforts and contribute towards keeping Mumbai clean and beautiful.
Lodha praised the social and cleanliness initiatives undertaken by Divyaj Foundation. He said the participation of citizens, NGOs and the administration together helped communicate the message of cleanliness more effectively.
Satam stated that various efforts by the BMC had resulted in a large number of Ganesh idols being immersed in artificial ponds instead of the sea this year. He also said that efforts were being made to move towards releasing only treated water into the sea, which, according to him, would help keep the sea cleaner and more beautiful.
Bhide said the sea was an important asset for Mumbai and that throwing waste or plastic into it made the sea and beaches dirty.
She stated that the BMC continuously works to keep the city and beaches clean. Referring to the conclusion of the Ganesh festival, Bhide said that while citizens had bid farewell to Lord Ganesha, the responsibility of keeping the city clean continued.
She urged citizens to maintain the spirit of cleanliness even after the festival, avoid littering in public places and cooperate with the administration in keeping beaches clean.
Meanwhile, the BMC and Dr Nanasaheb Dharmadhikari Pratishthan will segregate flowers from the nirmalya gathered at Juhu beach after Ganesh idol immersion and process them into incense sticks and other useful products. Bhide also visited the initiative and reviewed the collection and processing of nirmalya.
Speaking at the campaign, Devgn said he was happy to be part of the initiative and stressed the need for people to take responsibility for keeping their city and country clean and beautiful.
He stated that just as people love their homes and keep them clean, they should also take responsibility for keeping the city they live in and the country clean. He also said people should continuously encourage others to contribute to such efforts.
