Versova clean-up drive: 3 lakh kg trash collected on Day 2

MUMBAI: On the second day of the Versova beach clean-up drive, citizens along with United Nations (UN) representatives collected 3.3 lakh kilogrammes of trash, taking

MUMBAI: On the second day of the Versova beach clean-up drive, citizens along with United Nations (UN) representatives collected 3.3 lakh kilogrammes of trash, taking the weekend tally to 6.14 lakh kg removed from one end of the beach. In addition, UN ‘Patron of the Ocean’ Lewis Pugh said that open defecation was a serious issue. “There is an urgent need for public toilets near the beaches. I witnessed hundreds of children and women openly defecating on the beach. This is an issue of basic human dignity,” Pugh said, adding that there is a window of opportunity now to fix the problem of marine pollution. “The massive turnout of people indicates that citizens have realised that if we continue to pollute our oceans, it will have very serious environmental impacts.”

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Pugh, who leaves Mumbai on Monday, will submit a report on the beach clean-up to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Civic body officials said that 40 mobile public toilets — 20 each for male and female — have been proposed at Seven Bungalows chowpatty in Versova. “Owing to sandy terrain, the current design of the toilets is being reworked. We are going in for container toilets and the design will be finalised in 15 days. A community-based organisation (CBO) for sensitising local citizens is also in place,” said Parag Masurkar, ward officer adding that the project will be completed in two months.

Hundreds of Mumbaikers gathered on both Saturday and Sunday along with Versova residents’ volunteers (VRV).

“Lewis’s visit was a game changer as far as ocean clean-ups go in our country. We are indebted to UNEP, which has shown its personal interest in the clean-up,” said Afroz Shah, founder, VRV. “Our efforts will continue next weekend again and we hope to see more Mumbaiites.” Over 100 members from the local fishing community joined the drive.