Indian Coast Guard holds coastal clean-up drive in Mumbai

MUMBAI: The Indian Coast Guard, in collaboration with EarthDay.org, BMC, and community leaders, hosted a coastal clean-up drive in Mumbai on Friday.

Volunteers, students, and officials joined hands to collect plastic waste and participate in educational sessions on marine conservation.

Inspector General Bisham Sharma PTM TM lauded the efforts: “Plastic pollution is choking our oceans and suffocating marine life. The Coast Guard will continue to raise awareness and act as sentinels of both maritime security and environmental responsibility.”

BMC Commissioner Dr Bhushan Gagrani said: “Today we are extending our support to our beaches and ensure that our oceans and cities remain clean, sustainable, and resilient.”

The event ended with volunteers planting saplings, symbolizing the day’s message — that each action, small or large, carries the power to heal the planet.

Artiste Atika Farooqui's evocative poem “Tears of the Sea” touched many chords. A few lines of the poem go like this:

"Insan bhool gaya hai
Samundar sirf khada pani nahin hai
Hamare ghar ka buzurg hai."
(Man had forgotten that the sea is not salty water; it is an elderly in our family).