BHUBANESWAR: Tipped as the biggest coastal clean-up drive in the world, the State Government will organise a programme under ‘Mo Beach’ initiative with the participation of over 5,000 volunteers on Puri beach on September 21. The volunteers will clean the beach at 100 spots along Puri coast to make ‘World Clean up Day’ a success.
The places targeted for the drive include 10 spots under Puri Municipality, 10 under Konark NAC and 80 locations in Astaranga, Brahmagiri, Gop and Krushnaprasad. Renowned sand artist Sudarsan Patnaik will be the mentor. The Government is also planning to rope in Bollywood actor Dia Mirza who has been associated with similar campaigns across the country and had participated in the ‘beach clean-up drive’ at Juhu in Mumbai in August. The drive will be led by IAS officers Bhuvnesh Palit, Mayur Suryavanshi, Subhankar Mohapatra, Keerti Vasam and Sonal Jena at Astaranga, Brahmagiri, Krushnaprasad, Konark and GoP respectively.
As per the decision was taken at a preparatory meeting chaired by Puri Collector Balwant Singh, the district administration will engage 10 nodal officers to oversee the exercise at Puri and Konark, while BDOs of Astaranga, Brahmagiri, Gop and Krushnaprasad will look after the locations identified in their area.
Around 40 volunteers will carry out the exercise for two hours from 6 am to 8 am at each identified spot. According to sources, drone cameras will be used for coverage of the mass drive along with sand art by Sudarsan Patnaik on the eve of the exercise, seeking public participation.
The Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project (ICZMP) authorities will extend logistics support for the event while State Pollution Control Board officials will take part in it. ICZMP Project Director Susanta Nanda said the event will not only create awareness among people to keep the coastline clean and plastic-free but also act as a platform to showcase the swift restoration of Puri coast post cyclone Fani. Nanda said plans have been chalked out to extend the drive to other coastal districts of the State in coming days.