MUMBAI, September 17 : Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Science and Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Earth Science; MoS PMO, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Space and Atomic Energy, Dr Jitendra Singh today led the nation in countrywide Beach cleaning drive, by participating in the concluding nodal programme of the 75-day long campaign at Juhu beach here. The formal launching of the campaign had also been done by the Minister on 5th of July this year.
Simultaneous coastal cleanup and sea beach cleaning took place across all the sea beaches along 7,500 km long coastline of India with lakhs of volunteers participating to commemorate “International Coastal CleanUp Day” that is observed all over the world on the third Saturday of every September, which this year incidentally coincides with the birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 17th September being observed as ‘Sewa Divas’.
While Governors, Chief Ministers, film artists and celebrities along with voluntary organisations join the countrywide drive, at Juhu beach, Mumbai, Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Governor of Maharashtra graced the occasion and participated in beach clean-up activities along with thousands of volunteers from all walks of life. BJP MP Poonam Mahajan and several celebrities as well as NGOs also joined the campaign. A specially composed video song sung by leading playback singers of Bollywood was also played on the occasion.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, in India, the longest and largest beach cleaning campaign in the world lasting 75 days culminated today with Governors, Chief Ministers, Union Ministers, MPs, MLAs, celebrities including from film and sports world, civil society groups joining the campaign with overwhelming enthusiasm at important beaches in the country.
Speaking at the Juhu beach, Dr Jitendra Singh said, the International Coastal CleanUp Day this year coincides with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday celebrated as “Sewa Divas”, which has doubled the spirit of volunteers and they have surpassed the target to remove 1,500 ton of single use plastic garbage from the sea coasts through clean-up drive across the country. The Minister informed that over one lakh volunteers have registered on Eco Mitram App alone.
Governor of Goa P. S. Sreedharan Pillai, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, and Shripad Yesso Naik, Union Minister of State for Tourism took part in the beach cleaning campaign in South and North Goa with thousands of young volunteers forming a huge human chain.
Governor of Telangana, Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan took the youth brigade to cleaning mission at Puducherry beach. Governor of Mizoram Dr. K. Hari Babu led the campaign in Vizag beach in Andhra Pradesh, while L. Murugan, Union MoS, Information and Broadcasting joined the event at Chennai.
Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Parshottam Khodabhai Rupala joined the clean-up operation at Jafrabad, Amreli.
Dr Jitendra Singh informed that more than 45 Deputy Commissioners/District Magistrates from 9 Coastal States took active part in today’s mass coastal cleanup campaign, which was launched by the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences on 5th July, 2022. He said, the Collectors took the lead by involving local civil society groups and school students, and helped build a crescendo for the grand success of the “Swachh Sagar, Surakshit Sagar” campaign.
The Minister reiterated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had taken a lead in the cleanliness campaign, which motivated the entire nation to keep the 75,00 Kilometres long coastal line of India clean, safe and healthy for mankind.
Dr Jitendra Singh also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his support through social media. The PM has stressed on keeping India’s coasts clean as he praised efforts of volunteers to remove garbage from the Juhu beach in Mumbai. Responding to a video posted by Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh about the clean-up at the beach, Modi tweeted, “Commendable… I appreciate all those involved in this effort. India is blessed with a long and beautiful coastline and it is important we focus on keeping our coasts clean”. The Minister said, “A cleanathon was organised at Juhu Beach in Mumbai, saw participation in large numbers especially by youngsters and civil society.
Dr Jitendra Singh lauded the whole of government and whole of country approach in the beach clean-up mission and particularly thanked for cooperation by Ministries of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Jal Shakti, Health and Family Welfare, Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, External Affairs, Information and Broadcasting, organisations and associations like National Service Scheme (NSS), Indian Coast Guard, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Seema Jagran Manch, SFD, Paryavaran Sanrakshan Gatividhi (PSG), along with other social organizations and educational institutions are participating in the clean-up campaign.
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