Whilst the Government’s plans regarding beach cleaning should be applauded, it remains to be seen whether the good intentions are actually put into practice. The current situation at Ashvem Beach is a perfect example of the existing state of apathy and lack of infrastructure: Every morning at around 9 am, three workers dressed in orange hi-vis waistcoats appear on the scene with a small basket and a couple of brooms between them. They scrape together everything they deem to be unsightly and load it into the basket, including various types of plastics, glass bottles and organic matter. When the small basket is full, it is carried into the bushes by one of the workers and tipped into a large pile …. which is then burned! Quite clearly, this is NOT beach cleaning! This is merely hiding the first problem and creating another one, namely air pollution.
Burning plastic garbage in the open is illegal. The fact that this is being done with the apparent approval of Mandrem Panchayat makes the situation even more ridiculous. The contractor responsible for the “half-a-job” currently being undertaken at Ashvem should be held to account. If he has been instructed by someone from the Panchayat to burn garbage on the beach, then that person should be hauled before the courts. If the contractor or one of his workers has made that decision, they should take the rap instead.
“If a job is worth doing, it is worth doing properly” …. and that includes beach cleaning!
David N. Cleaver, Siolim
