Mangrove trees.
Credit: Pixabay Photo
In what serves as an example of how citizens can play a role in addressing crucial issues, over 35,000 people contributed and removed 260 tons of trash from mangroves in the satellite township of Navi Mumbai in three years.
Coinciding with the 77th Independence Day festivities, the group — spearheaded by Dharmesh Barai, the founder of Environment Life Foundation, celebrated the third anniversary of Mangrove Cleanup Drive.
“We have completed 156 weeks non-stop in 3 years… On the third anniversary, 100 plus volunteers joined and removed trash between 800-1,000 kgs,” Barai told DH on Friday.
Actor Ashmit Patel joined the third-anniversary celebrations.
The Mangroves Cleanup Drive started on August 15, 2020, over 35,000 citizens contributed and removed over 260 tons of trash from the mangroves, mostly plastics.
The mission was started under the leadership of Barai with the active support of Rohan Bhosle — a student of printing technology, and Sriram Sankar, a working professional.
“Mangroves are very important, particularly for Mumbai and the larger Mumbai Metropolitan Region, where rapid development and infrastructure works are in execution,” Barai said.
Barai said the initial days of cleaning in the mangroves were tough. “We did not know how to clean the area and where to dispose of the waste,” he said, adding that the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has been providing us support since our initial days and over the last three years, several individuals, groups, housing societies and NGOs have shown support.
“We were also graced by the presence of forest officers of Mangrove Foundation, who shared insights into the importance of mangroves and reiterated his unwavering support for our cause,” he said.
“The collected waste included medical items such as syrup bottles, medicine packets, and syringes, as well as cosmetic waste, FMCG packaging plastics, wrappers, liquor bottles, single-use plastics, cigarette packets, milk packets, and more. This waste, largely originating from the city, highlights the pressing need to address urban waste management,” said Barai.