In a bid to create awareness on coastal cleanliness and protect the rich biosphere reserve in the region, the Forest department joined hands with Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and launched a cleaning drive in Palk Bay at Mandapam.
The drive was aimed at commemorating World Earth Day, which was observed on April 22.
On Wednesday, the Forest department and WII conducted the hour-long cleaning drive involving scuba divers and recovered about 25 kg of plastic waste embedded in the sea and entangled in coral reefs.
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The drive was carried out on the instructions of T.K. Ashok Kumar, wildlife warden, Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park.
Mandapam forest range officer S. Sathish, who accompanied the scuba divers, said the drive was launched to educate visitors to sea shores and the fisher folk to keep the beaches and coastal areas clean and protect the marine bio-diversity in the region.
The recovered plastic waste included carry bags and food wrappers, he said adding that they posed a threat to the coral reefs and marine bio-diversity.
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The scuba divers included Deepika from Puducherry-based ‘Temple Adventures’ and Rukmini Shekar from WII. Those who accompanied the divers included K. Madhu Magesh, researcher, WII, and Foresters Anandan and Gunasekar.
In a related development, the Forest department organised training programmes on underwater monitoring and scuba diving as part of a capacity-building programme for conservation of bio-diversity in Gulf of Mannar region. Five foresters, five Sub-Inspectors of Marine police and two local fishermen would be trained for five days under the programme, Mr. Ashok Kumar said.
The training programme to be conducted in Palk Bay was sponsored by WII under its Dugong recovery project, he added.
S.B. Aravind Tharun Sri of ‘Temple Adventures’ and member of Professional Association of Diving Instructors would offer the training.
The capacity building programme was organised to monitor sea grass and coral reef rehabilitation programmes,” the wildlife warden added.