What began as a Mumbai-based experiment by a talented teen to track waste along its shorelines is now helping map coastal pollution in other Indian states
Images uploaded on CoastalTrace showcasing sewage-laden zones. Pics courtesy/CoastalTrace
Up until now, CoastalTrace, created by Rian Kothari, a 17-year-old Breach Candy resident, has functioned as a public reporting platform aimed at addressing gaps in how coastal and marine pollution is documented and flagged in Mumbai. It began as a city-specific initiative in Breach Candy, and in the past month, has expanded beyond Mumbai, with its reach extending to Chennai, Goa and Kerala.
Drawn to nature, animals and marine life from an early age, Kothari took up scuba diving a few years ago in the Maldives. After returning to India, what stood out to him was not just the marine life around water bodies in South Mumbai, but how little of it was visible in Indian waters. Across large stretches of the coastline, particularly around Mumbai — poor water quality and heavy pollution meant visibility was extremely low, even in areas known to support marine ecosystems.
The interface was built by Kothari over six to eight months using basic JavaScript skills, online coding forums and selective use of artificial intelligence tools. It positions CoastalTrace as a middleman, trying to make pollution more visible. It took Kothari seven to eight months to develop the platform, given extensive research for it.
(Left) Rian Kothari holds a Sea Urchin at Zanzibar Islands in 2023; Kothari on a scuba dive at Maldives in 2024
To further refine it, he carried out background research on the nature of coastal pollution, studied publicly available material on conservation and on how pollution is classified and recorded, and analysed existing documentation to shape the reporting options. He also took help from his academic coursework in environmental science in school to populate the platform’s structure and review on-ground mitigation efforts to align it with practical data-sharing needs.
Rian and his mother, Shital Kothari (left) bottle up food wrappers under an initiative of Mission Green Mumbai. Pics Courtesy/Rian Kothari
This experience prompted him to closely examine polluted waters. He began researching major pollution hotspots in the city, including sewage-heavy zones such as Sassoon Dock, urban water bodies like Powai Lake, and the stretch where the Mithi River runs alongside Bandra Kurla Complex.
Track your waste
The platform is deliberately simple. It allows citizens to log pollution incidents by selecting a location, identifying the type of waste and adding brief descriptive details. Categories available on the interface include plastic waste, mixed marine debris, hazardous or large waste, general household trash and others. These reports are then automatically routed to relevant NGOs, research institutions or government bodies based on location and type of pollution.
In Mumbai, reports are shared with organisations including Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, Maharashtra Maritime Board and the Afroz Shah Foundation. Similar routing systems now operate in Chennai, linking with the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, Bay of Life Foundation and ExNoRa International; in Goa, with the Goa State Pollution Control Board, Act for Goa and Coastal Impact India; and in Kerala, with the Kerala State Pollution Control Board, the Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority and the Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE) in Kochi. This connects data to groups ranging from student-led sea turtle conservation networks, to state coastal zone authorities.
An image of a dashboard on the website displaying sewage-intense zones using colour codes
The platform also overlays weather and tidal data, helping identify pollution patterns and high-activity zones over time. Older reports are automatically archived to avoid clutter, ensuring that recent data remains current and usable for organisations responding on the ground.
Kothari hopes CoastalTrace will evolve beyond a reporting tool into a stronger data and research resource. While he has not received formal feedback from organisations yet, a conversation with officials working in a plastic recycling organisation, influenced a key shift in approach. “At first I wanted the platform to help NGOs organise clean-ups and push government action, but I realised that in Maharashtra, most clean-ups are handled through government contracts, making it less ideal,” reiterates Kothari. As a result, CoastalTrace for now, focuses on documenting pollution and keeping it publicly visible.
He hopes it can expand to more coastal cities, adding short risk briefs to explain vulnerability and exposure, and closer collaborations with official stakeholders as data can be used for analysis by journalists, city planners and local authorities.
Log on to: coastaltrace.org
We tested it
Using CoastalTrace was largely seamless. As a first-time user, this writer could log a pollution sighting quickly by selecting the location, choosing the type of waste and adding a short note. The map view makes the information easy to understand, showing how individual reports connect to a wider pattern especially around areas which are closer to the beaches, for example, a section of the city’s west coast, alongside Mahim to Prabhadevi.
However, a few improvements could make the experience stronger. The waste categories could use detailed examples, or tips to help users classify debris accurately. There is also limited clarity on what happens after a report is submitted, which may leave users unsure about the impact of their contribution. Overall, CoastalTrace works well as a public documentation tool, and with small refinements, it could become more effective and user-friendly.
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