Puri: This holy town by the sea has experienced the biggest beach clean-up drive in the state to transform its pristine shoreline.
Nearly 1,000 volunteers of Shri Sant Janardhan Swami Sanskar Sanstha from Maharashtra pitched in to remove piles of waste on the five-km stretch of Puri beach on Saturday.
The volunteers were divided into 16 groups, with each comprising 60 members. They were spread from Digabareni to Light House and Digabareni to Pink House on the beach to give a makeover to the shoreline.
During the two-hour-long clean-up drive, the volunteers, including women and senior citizens, removed plastic cups and bottles, aluminium cans, plastic plates and other waste materials.
On its part, the district administration made all the necessary arrangements and provided trash bags, gloves and other cleanup materials to the volunteers who had come all the way from Maharashtra.
“We are very thankful to the volunteers who have cleaned up the entire beach with full of passion and determination amid rain and inclement weather. It is really a praiseworthy action and will surely inspire others to join the drive to keep the beach garbage-free,” said Puri Collector Balwant Singh.
The Puri district administration had recently launched a ‘Mo Beach’ campaign to keep the shoreline clean and beautiful.
The district administration has appealed to local communities, civil society organisations, students, officials, shopkeepers, volunteers and gram panchayats to participate in the Mo Beach drive.
Notably, the Puri beach is the first beach in Asia to get the Blue Flag certification. This tag is given to environment-friendly and clean beaches which are equipped with tourist amenities of international standards.
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