On Saturday morning, a group of 30 young residents from south Mumbai localities like Priyadarshini Park (PDP), Breach Candy and Grant Road joined hands and recovered nearly 200 kg of plastic waste from the PDP sea-side.
The drive was initiated by city-based environment group and NGO Healing Our Planet Earth (HOPE). Parthsarthi Singh, founder of the NGO, said that a significant proportion of the waste collected was non-biodegradable medical and industrial waste.
Singh said, “It's safe to conclude that a significant amount of the recovered waste that gets discharged into the sea comes from nearby hospitals and medical facilities.” He said all those who took part in the drive were aged between 18 and 25 years. Singh also said that September is observed as ‘Clean Up’ month worldwide and September 18 is being observed as World Clean-up Day, when similar drives will take place in multiple locations across the city.
This clean-up drive comes after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) launched its Mumbai Climate Action Plan (MCAP). Meanwhile, on Saturday the BMC appealed to Mumbaikars to join its online consultation sessions and submit their opinions in mitigating the environmental hazards.
Issuing a statement on Saturday, the BMC said a webinar on the subjects of air quality, energy and buildings, urban greening and biodiversity and flooding and water resources is set to take place between September 6 and September 9, for which citizens can register on mcap.mcgm.gov.in.
“The process of finalising the action tracks under MCAP is expected and will be ready by November 2021, closer to the United Nations Climate Change conference,” said the BMC in a statement on Saturday.
