Antarvedi woman represents India at UN ocean forum

The programme is hosted by the United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Office of Legal Affairs, in partnership with Oceanic Global. 
Deepika Tadi of Antarvedi with her husband Pradeep Tadi | EXPRESS
Deepika Tadi of Antarvedi with her husband Pradeep Tadi | EXPRESS

VISAKHAPATNAM: Deepika Tadi, a resident of Antarvedi in East Godavari district, had a rare opportunity to represent India on the global platform and share the story of her village’s contribution in reducing ocean plastic pollution as part of ‘Antarvedi Zero-Waste Initiative’. The programme is hosted by the United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Office of Legal Affairs, in partnership with Oceanic Global. 

The 40-year-old woman is a member of the Antarvedi Zero-Waste Initiative. It has been launched by Green Worms, a waste management company headquartered in Kerala, in association with Smart Village Movement, an organisation working towards the betterment of India with a goal to collect plastic waste from coastal areas, temples, and other places. 

Green Worms sent a video of Deepika’s speech on coastal pollution prevention, biodiversity survival, and fishermen’s livelihood to the United Nations for World Oceans Day 2021 with the theme ‘The Ocean: Life and Livelihoods’. Green Worms has announced that Deepika is one of the 30 members selected by the UN after scrutinising entries.Speaking to TNIE, Deepika said she aspires to continue her work in the same way for mitigation of ocean plastic pollution. 

“Never thought I would get an opportunity to represent India. I am glad that I could address these issues on a global platform as everyone needs to understand and be aware of these issues,” she said. “Deepika is an active and confident woman. She has a spark in her and she sets an example for everyone to be environmentally and socially responsible. She has become an icon in spreading awareness regarding pollution and its adverse effects on marine life. She will definitely reach out and inspire many others through this meet,’’ said YS Michael, Director of Smart Village Movement, AP.

He said the whole thing started in collaboration with the University of California in affiliation with Berkeley Haas. As part of cleanliness and sanitation, the team collaborated with the NGO, where they hired Deepika in their team. The team has already seen a positive impact and claims that they are successful in bringing discipline in people regarding cleanliness and sanitation. “Our team works on finding problems in several villages and strives to solve them. As part of cleanliness and sanitation, it came to our mind that we can start this initiative in Antarvedi as it attracts tourists and thus sees a problem of plastic accumulation and its impact on marine life,” he explained.

Gove r no r Bi swa Bhus a n Harichandan took to Twitter on Tuesday and congratulated Deepika saying, “I congratulate Ms Tadi Deepika, a native of Antarvedi in East Godavari dist for unique opportunity received by her to represent India in a virtual meeting being organized by UnitedNationsOrganistion (@UNO) on the occasion of #WorldOceansDay2021”.

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