The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Beaches rendered spick and span, thanks to college students

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Sunday, Sep 21, 2008
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Beaches rendered spick and span, thanks to college students

Petlee Peter

Their effort was rewarded based on amount of waste collected, method adopted

— Photo: R. Ravindran

Motivated Lot: Volunteers at the beach clean-up drive organised by the Indian Coast Guard on the Marina on Saturday.

CHENNAI: Several teams of college students were spotted on the Marina around 7 a.m. on Saturday. In about two-and-a-half hours, truckloads of trash were removed, and the beach wore a much cleaner look. It all happened as part of the International Coastal Clean-up Day organised by the Indian Coast Guard, in association with Ocean Conservancy, an international non-profit organisation working towards promoting healthy and diverse ocean ecosystems.

The initiative, aimed at spreading awareness on marine debris, saw a good number of students going around the beach with garbage bags, collecting waste littered along the shore. Over 1,000 students from various colleges in and around Chennai, and members of the Indian Coast Guard, took part in the drive. Volunteers from the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services, Indian Navy and Air Force also participated.

Commander Vikrant Parashar of the Indian Coast Guard said that the response from students was overwhelming for the drive, which was organised along key southern shores of the Bay of Bengal, including Visakhapatnam.

At the end of the exercise, mounds of empty water packets, tea cups, cigarette butts, condoms, bottles and glass pieces were removed.

The trash was later taken away by the Chennai Corporation. The event also included a mock sea rescue drill by a Coast Guard chopper.

The effort by the students was rewarded based on the amount and kind of waste collected and methods adopted to collect and segregate it.

DG Vaishnav College and the K.C.S Kasi Nadar College of Arts and Science shared the top honours at the cash-for-trash event, bagging cash prize of Rs.10,000 each.

MOP Vaishnav College for Women stood second and SRM University and Kaniappa Community College shared the third prize.

Simultaneous cleaning operations were organised on Elliot’s beach and Thiruvanmiyur beach, and the Kasimedu fishing harbour.

Supraja Dharini of Tree Foundation, an NGO part of the International Coastal Clean-up Committee, said that the drive was also held in five hamlets – Periya Neelankarai, Injambakkam, Panaiyur, Nainarkuppam and Reddikuppam on East Coast Road.

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