This is in response to the article “Keep our beaches clean” (April 5).For much too long, people have been carelessly littering our island’s beaches with trash. Pollution on our beaches is a problem everyone can do something about. It is reported that every year on the Ganapati immersion day, at least 2,033 metric tonnes of garbage is generated on the 5.6km stretch of Juhu beach. Daily there is an estimated 28 metric tonnes of garbage including flowers, plastic/polythene bags, oil slick, tetra-pack boxes of juices and wafer wrappers with silver foil thrown on the beach. Even, during monsoon, the count goes up to 90 metric tonnes of garbage. It is time for the pollution to stop! In order to keep our beaches clean and beautiful and preserve them for the next generation, children and adults need to start being responsible for their actions. Litter is not just ugly to see, it can also result in disasters in nature. This stuff is not only ugly to look at, but the plastics can be lethal to fish, birds, dolphins, turtles, whales and other creatures living in and near the sea. By being responsible for our actions, we can preserve the beauty of beaches in Mumbai for generations to come. Let’s not kill what we love. Show respect for the beach and dune environments.
Vinod C. Dixit
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
