Keeping beaches clean is part of our civic duty!

Representation pic

The operative words through two days post visarjan, and today, too, has been beach clean-up. A number of organisations, groups, individual volunteers have descended on our sandy shores, ready to clean our beaches post visarjan.

The young, middle-aged, seniors too have joined various groups, all cleaning up the remnants post the divine bidding farewell to Mumbai. The enthusiasm is admirable. Early morning wake ups on holidays and then, making sure the sand is swept clean. Cynics may scoff this is a one-off effort, and others may laugh at what critics call a photo-op.

Yet others will slam the effort as a bid to garner social media likes. Those aside, and notwithstanding any reason, this is a salute to the green warriors, however little or ephemeral the effort may seem, to clean even if for one day. Having said that, it is also important to acknowledge and recognise that for many volunteers, this is not a one off effort. They have been doing beach cleanups for a long time, not just at festival time or occasionally.

Let us make a conscious effort to clean rubbish from the beaches. Use rubbish bins or carry a plastic bag for trash while visiting beaches. Talk to your children about the importance of doing so.

Like we have movements, save our parks, save mangroves, we need more awareness about saving our beaches. Authorites need to pay particular attention to beach food stalls, checking exactly how they are disposing of used crockery/cutlery post sales. Tell Mumbaikars how lucky they are to have these beaches within city limits. Do not just dream of clean shores and blue waters, which you may see watching a travel programme. Make it happen here, Mumbai.