About 10,000 kg of waste was collected over two days from 37 locations in 12 coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh and handed over to local panchayat/municipality garbage collectors during the ‘Swachh Sagar-Surakshit Sagar’ (Clean Coast-Safe Sea) campaign organised by Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) in collaboration with Matsyakara Samkshema Samiti. The event was held on September 16 and 17 in observance of International Coastal Cleanup Day.
The initiative was to promote coastal cleanliness, environmental protection and responsible management of beaches. The 12 coastal districts are: Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli, Kakinada, Konaseema, West Godavari, Krishna, Bapatla, Ongole, Nellore and Tirupati, said an official release by INCOIS director T. Srinivasa Kumar on Sunday.
INCOIS scientists also organised awareness programmes to highlight the various services provided by the institute, and the participants were educated about the vital role of ocean information, including potential fishing zone advisories, tsunami early warning, high wave, storm surge, coral bleaching and harmful algal bloom alerts.
Officials from ‘Matsyakara Samkshema Samiti’, the Indian Coast Guard, coastal police, district fisheries officers, school and college students and residents participated in these events. The campaign contributed to the preservation of India’s precious coastal and marine environments.
Similar campaigns were held across the country by various institutes under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, including National Centre for Coastal Research, Centre for Marine Living Resources & Ecology, National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research and National Centre for Earth Science Studies.
The campaign will take place along the Indian coastline to encourage responsible consumption of resources, promote the segregation of waste at source, particularly in homes and communities, and advocate responsible waste disposal practices, the release added.
