This was a part of the Herald-Drishti #trashtag campaign with
Drishti Marine services that are cleaning Goa’s beaches daily, to clean up
litter and garbage in other parts of Goa, that you, the people, come across.
After the announcement, people started sending images of places piled up with
garbage. Further on, these very images were filtered and divided into various
sectors, choosing Sancoale as the first place.
Everyone gathered near the entrance to St
Jacinto Island, Sancoale at 9:45 am. A busy morning of collecting resulted in
35 bags of garbage, weighing 180 kgs. Most of the garbage included old clothes,
shoes, foul waste food and plastic bags.
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A convent school teacher passing through the
stretch halted at the spot where the cleanliness was ongoing. She said that she
has observed many people dumping their waste at the road stretch next to the
road. “Willingness from within to keep Mother Nature clean should come among
people,” she said.
“Herald has taken up a good initiative and
can also approach schools with this regard, so that children can understand the
importance of cleanliness,” she added.
Garbage Sentinel Samuel Dorado was extremely
grateful for the immediate action of the clean up drive. “Good job, the
initiative taken showed that it was truly committed and we have seen the
results,” he said.
Amey Bhangi, Drishti official who was
supervising the cleanliness drive shared his few experiences on the cleanup
day. “Most of the waste was actually coming from the people living in that
area. It could be possible that they had no proper disposal facility. While we
were busy cleaning, many passed by but nobody paid heed to what was happening,
except for a woman who stopped by curiously.” According to Amey, it is
important for people to be part of such events, only then they will understand
the value of keeping an area clean. He concluded by advising people to stop
throwing garbage at these places once it has been cleaned. “Maintenance is
important,” he added.
A couple of images were clicked before and
after the cleaning session. It was a satisfying beginning and there’s more to
come.
