Navi Mumbai: 60 feet flamingo made from garbage collected during mangrove clean-up drive

More than 200 citizens associated with different groups came together and drew a 60-feet long and 32 feet wide flamingo with collected wastes. They collected around 450 kg of waste, consisting thermocol, plastic bottles, glass bottles, shoes, boots, cans, oil cans, different types of bags, plastic, and pieces of fishing nets and drew a flamingo on the ground by conveying a message of saving marine ecosystem and making Navi Mumbai a flamingo city.

As part of the Swachh Amrit Mahotsav of the Central Government, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) is carrying out various innovative activities. NMMC along with around 1800 cities across the country is participating in the Indian Swachhta League.

On Sunday, more than 200 volunteers from Environment Life Foundation, Jayashree Foundation, Divine Foundation and students of NCC units of colleges participated in the mangroves clean-up drive behind T S Chanakya along the Palm Beach road. During the drive, they collected around 450 kg of waste. All the collected wastes were in an open space near the mangrove.

After bringing all the garbage to the open space, the representatives of Kishore Vishwas Arts Sanstha drew a 60-feet long and 32 feet wide flamingo on the ground. Wastes were used properly to create a flamingo figure.

The purpose of drawing flamingos with waste was to convey a message to protect the environment to see flamingos every year at a creek near mangroves. And, for it, there is a need to keep clean and stop dumping waste in the sea.

“It is the responsibility of every Navi Mumbaikars to provide and maintain a safe and desirable environment for the flamingo that comes to the city by covering thousands of km,” said the municipal commissioner, Abhijit Bangar.

He added that by creating unsanitary conditions in the bay sea and its shores, in mangroves, we are harming marine life. “The mangrove cleaning campaign and the creation of flamingo artwork from the garbage collected in the campaign will convey the right message to everyone to protect the ecosystem,” said Bangar.

Dharmesh Barai, Environment Life Foundation had to say this:

The flamingo created with thrash might be looking good. But we need to understand that if we do not save the marine environment, we will have to see flamingos in such drawings as the original one will stop coming.