City's youngster gets UN accolades for making Dadar beach waste-free

Until now, Kalambe has conducted 70 weekend activities to clean the Dadar beach with help from volunteers

For Malhar Kalambe, Dadar beach has been a refreshing getaway since his childhood days, given the fact that he was born and brought up in the area. Hence, it was extremely difficult for him to see piles of garbage and debris defacing the shores over the years.

Realising his responsibility as a citizen to keep his surroundings clean, Kalambe took up the 'Beach Please' initiative to clean up the beach along with some enthusiastic citizens. The process, which started off as a weekend activity and slowly became a movement, has finally brought him accolades in the form of the V Award India given by United Nations (UN), which he recently bagged.

An initiative of the UN Volunteers India, the V Award aims at celebrating youngsters who are trying to make the world a better place. Kalambe, an aspiring chartered accountant, is one of the 10 candidates from across the country to receive the award. Continuing the movement by conducting one activity every weekend, Kalambe has now started approaching corporates, though he still feels college students are more enthusiastic about the work.

Malhar Kalambe receiving the award at the UN headquarters

Speaking to mid-day after receiving the award at a ceremony held at the UN headquarters in New Delhi, he said, "Until now we have conducted 70 weekend activities with help from several volunteers. It all started on a very casual note as I witnessed the condition of the Dadar beach deteriorating over the years. The situation got me thinking, and I realised that we cannot blame only the civic body for it. Even we are responsible for the poor condition of the beach. The first-ever activity under 'Beach Please' was a school reunion of our batch. People started supporting the initiative and it slowly became a movement."

"The recognition I received for the initiative is really inspiring and we will continue the practice," he added. Speaking on how they have started focusing on cleaning the Mithi River, Kalambe said, "Major part of the debris that accumulates on Dadar beach comes from Mithi River. Hence, we have started cleaning the river now. For the past several weeks we have been conducting activities around the river. It's a difficult task, as the 18-km-long stretch has solid waste, industrial waste, liquid waste and debris as well."

70
No. of weekend activities Kalambe has conducted till now

10
No. of people from across the country who have received the award

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