Kozhikode Corporation to launch mission to keep beaches clean

Coastal area from Beypore to Elathur will be divided into clusters and a monitoring committee will be responsible for each cluster

Despite regular cleaning drives and efforts by several organisations and government agencies, there is no end to the issue of waste accumulating on the Kozhikode beach. | Photo Credit: K. Ragesh

Kozhikode will soon have a beach cleaning mission to ensure that its beaches stay clean and pristine. A decision in this regard was taken at a meeting attended by Minister for Tourism P.A. Mohamed Riyas, Minister for Ports Ahammad Devarkovil and Mayor Beena Philip on Thursday.

The mission will spearhead the action plan to clean up the 23 km of coastline within the Kozhikode Corporation limits from Beypore to Elathur.

Keeping beaches clean is a herculean task before the Corporation. There are dedicated teams to clean up some beaches every morning. But their efforts are sabotaged by public that throng beaches, especially on holidays and weekends. A large section of the public carelessly toss around plastic wraps and food packets.

Under the beach cleaning mission, the coastal area from Beypore to Elathur will be divided into clusters. A monitoring committee comprising local people and people’s representatives will be responsible for each cluster. The responsibility of cleaning, under each cluster, will be entrusted to ‘tourism clubs’ formed at educational institutions under the Department of Tourism. Basic infrastructure such as toilets, breast feeding rooms, and refreshment zones will be set up on beaches.

The cooperation of various departments will be sought for the protection of the coast as well.

The two Ministers and MLA Thottathil Raveendran will be patrons of the beach cleaning mission, while the Mayor will be the chairperson.