NAVI MUMBAI: Thousands of youngsters, students, activists and also celebrities undertook the mangroves clean-up drive as part of the nationwide Indian Swachhata League (ISL). At Carter Road in Bandra, Mumbai, nearly 1000 citizens recently participated for the removal of trash from the coastal mangroves area, while in Navi Mumbai, over 1.14 lakh people partook in the Mangrove Walk and Cleanliness Drive on Sunday.
Bollywood actors such as Jackie Shroff and Tanishaa Mukherji were also seen during this activity at Carter Road, on the occasion of International Coastal Cleanup Day last week.
The over 1.14 lakh people from Navi Mumbai, including school and college students, gathered at 14 different locations during Mangrove Walk and Cleanliness drive undertaken by Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) on Sunday as a part of Indian Swachhata League (ISL), a nation-wide inter-city cleanliness competition being organized by the Central Government.
While 10,500 citizens carried out cleaning activity at five mangrove areas along Belapur, Nerul, Vashi, Koparkhairane and Airoli creek line, the remaining 1,03,500 people participated in the Mangrove Walk and Pledge Drive for its protection. Students from civic schools formed a major chunk in the Mangrove Walk which was held at 9 different locations.
According to Dr Babasaheb Rajale, deputy commissioner of NMMC and head of Swachhata drive, “Mangrove Walk heralded the culmination of three-day mass awareness programme under ISL during which we have created a few records. We had targeted to get around 75,000 people for the finale on Sunday which surpassed significantly and we had 1.14 lakh people enthusiastically participating for environment protection activity. Volunteers from NGOs and institutions spearheaded the cleanliness of mangrove areas which remained the focal point.” Every ward in the city limits had been given the responsibility of attracting the citizens to a centralized location where the participant could take a pledge for safety of mangroves.
The gathering of 1.14 lakh people for Mangrove Walk and Cleanliness got a mention in the ‘Best of India Records’ as a national record. NMMC commissioner Rajesh Narvekar had earlier appealed to the citizens to take part in such a good cause and the response was overwhelming. Narvekar led the mass pledge for protection of mangrove at Jewel of Navi Mumbai recreation centre in Nerul which witnessed the largest gathering of 21,800 people among various locations. A participant Rajit Jadhav said “I have chipped in my share for protection of mangrove which is a vital tidal plant to save lives and properties during Tsunami like calamity. More such programmes should be held in the city at a regular interval."
Meanwhile, at the Carter Road event, groups such as Rotary Club of Bandra, Swachh Vasundhara Abhiyan, Planet for Plants and Animals and the NSS students enthusiastically works inside the green mangroves to clean out plastic waste, bottles and other discarded materials.
