New Delhi, November 11 (IANS) The Environment Ministry is launching a mass cleanliness drive at 50 beaches under the "Swachh - Nirmal Tat Abhiyaan".
The government's effort is to clean up the beaches and create awareness among citizens about the importance of coastal ecosystems.
The campaign from November 11-17 will clean the beaches in 10 coastal states/Union Territories (UTs), namely Gujarat, Daman & Diu, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. The beaches have been identified after consultations with the states/UTs, the Environment Ministry said.
The cleaning drive will involve school/college students who are part of eco-clubs, district administration, institutions, volunteers, local communities and other stakeholders.
State nodal agencies for the eco-clubs will be facilitating the week long cleanliness drive.
The beach cleaning drive will be of two hours' duration daily, and a minimum of a one kilometre stretch of the beach will be identified. Sand cleaning machines will be deployed at about 15 beaches. The collected waste will be processed as per Waste Management Rules, 2016.
The Environment Education Division of the Ministry and the Society of Integrated Coastal Management (SICOM) will be responsible for the overall coordination for the drive.
