Cleanliness Drive at Juhu Beach

Beach pollution is a persistent problem today in every coastal state. Besides being hazardous to the environment, it also degrades the aesthetic appeal of the location, discourages swimming and impacts local economies which rely on beach-goers.

Juhu Beach – a prime tourist spot of Mumbai is frequented by over 3000 visitors at a time in the evenings. Known as much for its mesmerizing sunsets as also for being the hawker’s paradise, Juhu beach also happens to be one of the most polluted beaches of India!

The team

The sea water here is being subjected to the worst form of pollution with the constant influx of domestic and industrial effluents from areas like Juhu Koliwada, Irla and Malad. An equal contributor is the plastic waste brought in by the visitors as also the particle pollution created with Ganpati immersions every year. The wanton degradation of the beach water is inexcusable in these times when domestic and foreign tourism is being promoted.

As an attempt to contribute towards this cause and to spread awareness about beach pollution, The Somaiya Social Cell in collaboration with CII and The Juhu Senior Citizen’s Welfare Association organized a Cleanliness/Awareness Drive on Wednesday i.e. 18^th March 2009 at Juhu beach from 4 p.m.

The event kicked off by performing a well-rehearsed skit explaining how a cynical family finally understands that it is each citizen’s responsibility to keep the beach clean. The commonly used Hindi dialogues of the skit appealed to all onlookers. Till the end of the day, the skit was performed at three different locations across the length of the beach attracting new spectators at each place.

Social cell members spreading the message

The skit performances were punctuated by actually undertaking cleaning activities in between. Over 50 volunteers all geared with protection gloves and huge sacks started picking up garbage in small groups and filling up sacks of it; thus cleaning various stretches of the beach.

The purpose of the initiative was served from the applause and encouragement received by the spectators after each skit performance. It also was served from the fact that bystanders started helping the volunteers in the cleaning activities and were hesitant to throw any new garbage on the beach. The event concluded with a feeling of satisfaction among all volunteers that they could contribute their bit and more importantly inspire people to continue doing so in future!