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National

Sasihithlu shoreline clean-up yields 12.75 tonnes of waste

hellohimachalse@gmail.com 04 Oct 2026 1 day ago

Mangaluru: More than 500 people gave Sasihithlu beach a cleaner look on Friday, marking Gandhi Jayanti with a shoreline clean-up. Students, local residents, women, youth and members of community organisations arrived with gloves and garbage bags and cleared plastic and other waste.

Around 12.75 tonnes were collected, taking in plastic, glass, rubber and thermocol. Haleangady Gram Panchayat, Alva’s Education Foundation and several local organisations organised the drive together. Different stretches of the beach were covered from the morning as groups picked up scattered waste. What they gathered was brought to one place and segregated for disposal.

Sayeesh Chowta, development officer of Haleangady Gram Panchayat, said the work was meant to grow into a regular community effort. He said that cleanliness cannot be restricted to a particular day, and that the panchayat had decided to organise two cleanliness drives every month throughout the year, backed by local organisations and educational institutions.

Participants opened the programme by taking a cleanliness pledge. Tributes to Mahatma Gandhi, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Dr. B R Ambedkar preceded the cleaning.

Vivek Alva, trustee of Alva’s Education Foundation, said a drive of this kind matters less for the tonnage removed than for the habit of shared responsibility it encourages. “Local institutions alone cannot keep the environment clean, and every citizen has a role. Plastic left along beaches turns into an environmental concern that affects the coastal ecosystem and marine life. Reducing waste, segregating it at source and disposing of it responsibly had to become routine,” he said. He also recounted observations from a recent visit to Russia for an international conference, describing measures used in some places there to maintain public spaces and protect the environment, and said useful practices could be adapted to local conditions.

The turnout drew students of Alva’s Education Foundation, Excellent College, Moodbidri, and Rotary educational institutions, along with local residents and community organisations.

Youth and women’s groups, former students’ associations, social organisations, temple-associated groups, the Dharmasthala Rural Development Project, Lions Club, Billava Samaja Seva Sangha, Reliance Association, Sanjeevini federation, Anganwadi and ASHA workers and several other local groups took part.

Gloves, caps, garbage bags and other equipment came through the gram panchayat with help from local donors. Drinking water, and refreshments were provided as well.

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