CHERAI: Tourists basking in the sun and enjoying an ayurvedic massage while sipping tender coconut juice is a familiar sight on Kerala’s golden beaches.
Like many visitors, Peshna Turakhia - a middle-aged woman born to a Gujarati father and a Swiss mother - is “very fond” of the state. She makes two visits every year, taking in the beauty of the serene beaches, backwaters, exotic wildlife and the rolling hills.
When it comes to beaches, she has a special liking for Cherai. But her recent visits to this popular tourist spot have acquired a different dimension. She is on a mission to keep the place plastic free, walking around with a sack collecting plastic bottles and sandals strewn around.
“I love this place and first came here three years ago,” says Turakhia, who was in Ireland before returning to India in 2013. Her crusade against plastic trash began two years ago when she came with her Irish friends.
“There was a storm at the time and we found the place dirty and filled with plastic bottles, sandals and all kinds of rubbish.”
Since then, she has visited Cherai several times. Each time, she undertakes a clean-up drive, handing over sacks of plastic to recycling agents.
“We are regressing. A few years ago, everything was recycled here in India--paper, plastic and glass,” she says. “Nothing was thrown away. Now we have ‘use and throw’. This morning, I collected a sack full of sandals from the beach in 20 minutes and another sack full of plastic bottles in an hour.”
A tutor by profession currently based in Mumbai, a rueful Turakhia says, “The backwaters in Cherai have literally become a sewer. Foreign tourists want to see a pristine environment. I wonder what people are doing to God’s Own Country!”
The crusader says there is a need to create awareness. “Plastic is poisoning the land, water and air. Our children will be deprived of these basic needs if we fail to bring an end to the menace. We need to recycle it,” she says.
Planning to settle down in Kerala in the coming months, Turakhia says, “I’m a teacher and I would like to work here. Of course, I also want to do something about this plastic menace.”
Her efforts are slowly making an impact on local residents.
“Initially, we were a bit perplexed to see a foreigner coming to our beach and picking up plastic bottles,” says Biju, an autorickshaw driver. “Now, several of us are friends with her. She used to travel in my auto while in Cherai. What she is doing is highly commendable and worth emulating. Despite the language barrier, she always tries to convey the dangers of plastic and the importance of keeping the place clean.”