‘Save the beach’ to kick off on Sept 16

While the government is busy promoting the state as a beach destination, the Gujarat Ecology Commission (GEC) of the Forest and Environment department is going a step further to ensure that the beaches remain clean. The campaign will take place in six of the 20 beaches of the state.

The month-long campaign will begin from September 16 and cover the beaches of Porbandar, Somnath, Dwarka, Mandvi, Ubhrat and Tithal. “The first campaign at Tithal beach in Valsad will go on for three days. We also want the locals to be aware of the need to keep the beaches clean,” said AK Verma, member secretary, GEC.

The campaign will be inaugurated by forest and environment minister Mangubhai Patel.  

Campaign officials of the forest department along with local authorities and self-help groups will ensure that the beaches are cleaned. Later, the department also plans to put up a list of dos and don’ts on the beaches. “The effort is to make those coming to the beach realise that they have a stake in keeping it clean. We will be co-ordinating with the local authorities for this purpose,” added Verma.

Drawing competition, hoardings, display boards, leaflets, posters and brochures will be used to popularise the campaign and spread awareness.

The GEC has also developed a mascot for the Save the Beach campaign. It is a Green Sea Turtle which is often found near sea shores close to Saurashtra. Gujarat with its 1650-km-long coastline accounts for over 21% of India’s coastline.