Behavioural change focus of 75-day beach cleaning campaign

New Delhi, July 12

The 75-day 'Swachh Sagar, Surakshit Sagar' campaign harps on behavioural change in order to drive home the concept of cleanliness and focuses on three underlying goals for effective coastal cleanliness, it was announced on Monday.

Across India's 7,500 km coast line, plastic litter is a major threat to the marine environment and a growing problem as multiple studies have established the harmful impacts on marine biodiversity, ecosystems and human health.

Beach clean-up activities would be undertaken across all coastal states and a time table has been drawn for the 75-day campaign that started on July 3 and shall culminate with coastal clean-up activities at least at 75 beaches/places.

Terming 'Swachh Sagar, Surakshit Sagar' as a first of its kind coastal cleanliness campaign that will continue not just up to September 17, the International Coastal CleanUp Day, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), M. Ravichandran refuted that this is yet another cosmetic effort and said, "This is a 75-day citizen-led campaign for improving ocean health through behavioural change. But we will not leave it just after this event. After September 17, we would continue work with the communities and leave it to the community only when it understands the importance."

The campaign is a joint exercise by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, National Service Scheme, Indian Coast Guard, National Disaster Management Authority, Seema Jagran Manch, Sustainable Sanitation Alliance, Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad, Paryavaran Sanrakshan Gatividhi, a recently formed body under the RSS patronage, along with multiple other local social and educational organisations.