In October 2015, Afroz Shah, a Mumbai-based lawyer began an initiative to clean the largest beach in Mumbai.
For more than two years, Afroz has been leading volunteers in manually picking up rubbish from Versova beach and teaching sustainable waste practices to villagers and people living in slums along the coastline and the creeks leading into it.
Currently, the activist and volunteers are on a clean up drive in Borivli forest, Mithi river, Dana Paani beach, Versova Beach and Remote island off the Mumbai coast.
Last week, the group removed 3,78,351 kgs of plastic waste from the above areas, and saved and recycled 3,68,404 pieces of plastic from entering Mother Nature.
The biggest pay-off for the campaign came when Olive Ridley turtle hatchlings were spotted after the cleanup of Versova beach by Afroz Shah and volunteers. At least 80 Olive Ridley turtles made their way into the Arabian Sea from nests on the southern end of Versova beach, none had been sighted on Versova beach in decades, due to the acute pollution problem there.
