8,500 students from 5 Mumbai schools join Versova beach clean-up

Over the weekend, which was the 97th week of the exercise, more than 100 students and 250 volunteers cleared 1.6lakh kg trash

After lawyers, bankers, and citizens, students from five schools came together to clear the trash at Versova beach.

Over the weekend, which was the 97th week of the exercise, more than 100 students and 250 volunteers cleared 1.6lakh kg trash. A total of 6 million kg trash has been cleared from Versova beach since October 2015. (HT)

Over the weekend, which was the 97th week of the exercise, more than 100 students and 250 volunteers cleared 1.6lakh kg trash. A total of 6 million kg trash has been cleared from Versova beach since October 2015.

The movement, led by beach cleanup crusader Afroz Shah, has gained tremendous momentum across the country.

The schools that joined the cleanup includes Mount Mary High School, Goregaon (West), Markazul Ma’arif Education & Research Center (MMERC), Jogeshwari, various branches of VIBGYOR in Mumbai, Bombay Cambridge School, Andheri (East) and students from NGO Dhai Akshar, Versova.

“It gives me immense pleasure to work with students. This will help them understand that clearing the trash generated by them is their responsibility,” said Shah.

Representatives from these schools said sensitising the youth is the need of hour. “Somewhere in our generation, we forgot to correct ourselves, leading to this garbage menace. It is imperative to make the youth aware about this and do things differently,” said Anthony Fernandes, chief executive officer, Mount Mary High School, Goregaon.

Read: From garbage dump to garden of Eden: How locals transformed one of Mumbai’s dirtiest beaches