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Versova beach cleanup man Afroz Shah wins UN award

Afroz Shah, a Mumbai-based young lawyer made the country proud by winning United Nations Environment Award which underlines that alert citizens can make a difference in protecting the environment.

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Afroz Shah (L)
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It was just a month ago when the massive air pollution in the national capital Delhi had raised serious concerns globally, over our preparedness to keep the environment safe amidst development. 

On Saturday, Afroz Shah, a Mumbai-based young lawyer made the country proud by winning United Nations Environment Award which underlines that alert citizens can make a difference in protecting the environment. Shah is in Cancum, Mexico at present where he received the award during a global conference on biological diversity. 

Shah is among five people and one agency in the world bestowed with the 'Champions of the Earth' award this year. He won under the 'Action and Inspiration' category for kick-starting a volunteer campaign to pick up, by hand, the leftover plastics, bottles, shoes and other garbage that covered the entire 2.5 km stretch of the Versova Beach in Mumbai. 

United Nations Environment Project (UNEP) has lauded the Shah’s efforts to lead the largest beach cleanup drive in the world as an example of the key role of citizen action in protecting the environment. 

Shah and his neighbour Harbansh Mathur (84) had started manually cleaning Versova beach in October 2015. The cleanup work soon grew into a massive movement getting hundreds of volunteers joining hands together. They segregated over 4,000 tons of garbage in a year. 

Shah and Mathur, who has since passed away, inspired volunteers to join them – from slum-dwellers to Bollywood stars, from school children to politicians. 

"Shah's efforts, and the hundreds of volunteers he's inspired, is a wonderful example of citizen action and reminds the rest of the world that even the most ambitious, global agreements are only as good as the individual action and determination that brings them to life. His outstanding leadership is drawing global attention to the devastating impacts of marine litter," said UNEP chief Erik Solheim, who had joined Shah in the clean-up for a day in October. 

Shah now wants to clean up the coastline’s rubbish-choked mangrove forests, which act as a natural defence against storm surges, and to inspire similar groups across India and beyond to launch their own clean-up movements.

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