A Clean Sweep of Goa’s Beaches on World Oceans Day

PANAJI:
As part of the World Oceans Day celebrations held annually on the 8thof June across countries, Drishti Lifesaving collaborated with various organisations and organised beach clean-up drives at multiple locations in the state.
The Goa State Legal Services Authority, The District Legal Services Authority, North and South Goa in association with Taluka Legal Services Committees, members of NGOs Nehru Yuva Kendra and Bailancho Ekvott along with Drishti Lifesaving came together to clean the Miramar and Colva beach stretch. More than 100 members from the organizations participated in the beach clean-up activities held at the popular beaches in North and South Goa.
In an effort to create an long term awareness amidst Goa’s young citizens, Forca Goa, FC Goa and Drishti Lifesaving have come together to jointly encourage and promote best practices to keep the beaches clean in Goa. A poster painting activity for young children at Cavala Resort in Baga followed by a clean-up activity at the popular Baga beach stretch. During the activity Jill Ferguson, Managing Director, Forca Goa taught the youngsters how to segregate wet and dry waste. Around 50 young players from FC Goa’s local football grassroots centres and students from Green Meadows School, Saligao participated in the activity aimed at building awareness about the importance of the ocean, beaches and local marine life among young children.
The clean-up drives at Miramar, Colva and Baga initiated together by The Goa State Legal Services Authority, The District Legal Services Authority, North and South Goa, Taluk Legal Services Committees, members of NGOs Nehru Yuva Kendra and Bailancho Ekvott, Forca Goa, FC Goa and Drishti Lifesaving to coincide with World Oceans Day is a collective effort of the team to work towards a cleaner Goa.
World Oceans Day is a day dedicated towards ocean conservation and protection of marine life globally. Goa is home to a rich and diverse marine ecosystem. Each day Drishti Lifesaving collects an average of 2500kgs of garbage along the coastal stretch which would have otherwise been swept into the sea.
In a bid to ensure the beaches stay clean, Drishti alongside the state tourism department had rolled out an initiative on garbage collection where citizens can participate in the process by pointing out garbage black spots along the coast via a WhatsApp message. Commenting on the initiative said Ankit Somani, MD, Drishti Lifesaving Pvt. Ltd. “This is an excellent initiative put into motion by the Hon. Tourism Minister Babu Ajgaonkar who is spearheading the initiative to keep Goa’s beaches clean. So far we have received encouraging responses from the people, both locals and tourists and we would like to thank them for supporting this initiative. In addition to pointing out garbage black spots along the coast, we have received suggestions and words of encouragement from citizens. Participation of citizens is crucial to the success of this initiative. Drishti has always believed in embracing technology in an effort to offer enhanced services to citizens. While we are closely monitoring the messages and engagement on the assigned WhatsApp number, we are also looking at creating a dedicated app to take this initiative to the next level in the near future.”
Forca Goa which is the community arm of Goa’s much loved football club FC Goa, is an attempt at empowering Goans to take charge of their villages, communities and society at large. With growing burdens on our civic bodies, Forca Goa aims to mobilise and facilitate change and address the social and environmental issues that affect the state and the people of Goa.
Citizen participation: All of us can now do our part to keep the beaches of Goa clean. The general public can inform Drishti Lifesaving on +91 9225580100 via a WhatsApp message about garbage strewn on the beach by sending a picture of the garbage followed by a WhatsApp text stating the location and additionally sending across the WhatsApp location which is accurate up to a radius of 10 meters from where the garbage was spotted. The agency will take action against the complaint within the next 24 hours and a feedback message from the agency’s end will be sent to the sender.
World Oceans Day is celebrated every year on 8th June to raise global awareness to take positive environmental action to protect nature and the planet Earth.