Ahead of the World Environment Day, beach clean-up sessions are being initiated from Tuesday till June 5 in 13 districts, including river banks across Tamil Nadu, officials have said.
Participating in a ‘Clean the Beach’ programme in Palavakkam on Tuesday morning, officials said that for Tamil Nadu, the Centre had allocated ₹40 lakh for clearing the beaches in Palavakkam, Royapuram, Madurai (Vaigai River) and Kanniyakumari.
Members of Eco Club, college students and local residents, apart from officials from the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change, Directorate of Environment and members of the Palavakkam Beach Walkers Association, participated. “The programmes would be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Minister for Environment K. C. Karuppannan will be inaugurating in Chennai on June 5,” said A.V. Venkatachalam, Director of Environment. Madhan Kumar of the Palavakkam Beach Walkers Association insisted on eradicating plastics from general use.
‘Better facilities needed’
Mr. Kumar also emphasised on creating a safer environment for the people, offering better facilities for the public and seating arrangement for the senior citizens in the beach.
The president of the Palavakkam Beach Walkers Association, retired judge M. Jeyapaul, initiated a committee to raise grievances faced by the public using the beach and requested the Corporation to re-lay the roads and remove encroachments.
