New Delhi: The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) conducted mega citizen-led beach clean-up drives at 79 locations in 8 coastal states and 4 UTs of the country on 16 September 2023 that continued on 17 September 2023 to mark International Coastal Clean-up Day.  The event was aimed to encourage citizens to clean up the coastal line and create awareness about preserving and protecting the oceans and waterways. It witnessed mass participation from government institutions, NGOs, students and youth, local dwellers, and the public. Over five thousand volunteers helped clean about 18 tons of waste. At 12 select locations, Fisherfolk Awareness Programs to educate coastal communities about the services of the MoES were organised along with the beach clean-up drive.

The 2033 Swachh Sagar Surkashit Sagar beach clean-up drives by five MoES institutes—Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR), National Centre for Ocean and Polar Research (NCPOR), Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE), and National Centre for Earth System Sciences (NCESS)— got associated many volunteers and NGOs making it a one-of-its-kind successful event.  

“Our oceans are vital to our survival, for regulating the climate and weather, which impact livelihood and economy, are home to valuable resources, and nurture a large share of biodiversity of this planet. The International Coastal Clean-up Day serves as a reminder for all of us to keep our coasts clean and our oceans safe”, said Dr M Ravichandran, Secretary, MoES. He also mentioned Ozone Day on the occasion coinciding with International Coastal Clean-up Day on September 16, 2023.

The International Coastal Clean-up Day is observed annually worldwide on the third Saturday of September every year. In 2022, the Ministry of Earth Sciences coordinated the inter-ministerial Swachh Sagar Surkashit Sagar (clean coast, safe sea) campaign as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav of the Government of India. The Swachh Sagar Surkashit Sagar 2022 was a 75-day long campaign covering 75 beaches with 75 volunteers every kilometre of the coastline, making the event a hugely successful mass public participatory and awareness initiative.

MoES services (by the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services, i.e., INCOIS) for fisherfolk and coastal communities include potential fishing zone advisories, Tuna advisories, ocean state forecasts and alerts, such as for tsunamis, storm surges, swell surges, etc. Ocean-related information is made available to more than 4 lakh beneficiaries every day through the latest modes of digital communication, such as mobile apps, SMS, and websites.  

Locations of the September 16 and 17, 2023, beach clean-up drives conducted by the MoES to mark the International Coastal Clean-up Day are listed below.

 

S No	State/UT	Beach	MoES institute
1	Kerala	Alappuzha	NCCR
2		Kochi
3		Thaikadapuram	CMLRE
4		Puthuvype
5		Kovalam	NCESS
6		Kollam
7	Andhra Pradesh	RK	NCCR
8		Srikakulam
9		Donkuru	INCOIS
10		Iddivanipalem
11		Pedda Gangallavani Peta
12		Pedda Kovvada
13		Chinthapalli
14		K Mukkam
15		Uppada
16		Rk
17		Yarada
18		Mutylaammapalem
19		Pudimadaka
20		Rajayyapeta
21		Danavaipeta
22		Uppada Fish Jeti
23		Ntr Becah
24		Sirra Yanam
25		S Yanam
26		Vodalarevu
27		Vemuladeevi
28		Perupalem
29		Hamsala Devi
30		Chinnagolla Palem
31		Manginapudi
32		Dindi
33		Suryalanka
34		Vodarevu
35		Chintala Gari Palem
36		Kothapatanam Pallipalem
37		Chelammagari Palem
38		Alagyapalem
39		Thumalapenta
40		Iskapallipalem
41		Myapadu
42		Mutyalathopu
43		Krishnapatnam
44		Thupilipalem
45		Vatembedu
46	Gujarat	Veraval	NCCR
47		Mandvi
48		Dumas
49	Maharashtra	Mahim Reti Bunder
50		Aksa
51		Sagar Vihar, Vashi
52		Miramar
53	Karnataka	Rabindranath Tagore, Karwar
54		Panambur
55		Honnavar
56	Tamil Nadu	Elliot
57		Kovalam
58		Silver
59		Thiruvanmiyur
60		Kadapakkam
61		Thondi, Palk Bay
62		Rameswaram
63		Nagapattinam
64	Odisha	Puri
65		Gopalpur
66		Chandipur
67		Paradeep
68	West Bengal	Digha
69		Sagar Island
70	Lakshwadeep	Agatti Island
71	Puducherry	Chinna Veerampatinam
72		Kalapet
73		Auroville
74	Goa	Bogmalo
75		South Goa Colva	NCPOR
77		North Goa Miramar
78	Andaman & Nicobar	Corbyns Cova	NCCR
79		Rangchang

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