Around 460 students of government schools cleaned up the beaches in the city as part of the ‘Swachh – Nirmal Tat Abhiyaan’ that was launched here on Monday.
In an attempt to improve the sanitation on beaches and create awareness among citizens about the importance of coastal ecosystems, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF) has launched the mass cleanliness drive at 50 beaches in 10 coastal States and union territories across the country.
The weeklong programme is being conducted in the coastal cities and towns on the east, west and southern coast of India in collaboration with the National Green Corps.
“The programme will cover seven beaches in the State including Kalingapatnam in Srikakulam district, Chintapalli in Vizianagaram district, Ramakrishna and Yarada beaches in Visakhapatnam district, Manginapudi in Krishna district, Suryalanka in Guntur district and Ramayapatnam in Prakasam district,” A.P. National Green Corps Director Srinivasa Reddy told The Hindu.
Awareness talk
Around 160 students participated in the drive at RK Beach and around 300 at Yarada. The programme will culminate with an awareness talk for students on November 17.
“The programme was organised at six beaches in the State on Monday, except for Kalingapatnam after a drowning incident was reported there on Sunday,” said Mr. Srinivasa Reddy.
Nodal officers appointed
The Centre has also appointed nodal officers from the Ministry of Forestry to oversee the programme. For beach cleaning activity, school and college students, eco-clubs, district administrations, institutions, volunteers, local communities and other stakeholders are being involved.
“The cleaning duration will be for two hours on a daily basis and a minimum of one kilometre should be covered. Beach cleaning machines have also been deployed,” added Mr. Srinivasa Reddy.
