In its second edition here, the Pondicherry Coastal Clean-up saw the participation of around 500 volunteers on Sunday at two venues — the rock beach and the Kalapet beach in Puducherry.
Organised by the Chennai Trekking Club in association with the Junior Chamber International India (JCI) and radio station BIG FM, there were similar clean-up events at Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Thanjavur, Tirunelveli, Dharmapuri, Visakhapatnam, Kanyakumari and Hyderabad under the title India Clean Sweep 2015. The event marks World Environment Day (June 5) and World Oceans Day (June 8).
The clean-up programme, inaugurated by former Oulgaret Municipality Chairman N.S.J Jayabal, is aimed at creating awareness of the threat regarding the use of plastics, and inculcating green practices among public, a release from the organisers said.
Students from different schools and colleges, including the Pondicherry University, The Study L’ecole Internationale, Achariya Arts and Science College, Indira Gandhi College of Arts and Science, and JCI members participated, the release said. Around 63 bags of garbage were collected and sent to Chennai for recycling.
On Saturday, pre-event programmes included a walkathon, flash mob and mime, while the event was wrapped up with cultural events on Sunday evening and distribution of mementos to its participants.
