Volunteers undertook a post-Ganesh Chaturthi cleanliness drive at the Juhu Beach and Girgaum Chowpatty here on Thursday.
The celebrations ended after ten days on Wednesday with immersion of idols.
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College students and volunteers removed the debris and pollution caused by the immersion of idols.
Shruti Srivastav, a volunteer, said that due to people not using eco-friendly materials, the beaches and water bodies were getting polluted.
"We have been cleaning (Juhu Beach) since 6:30 am in the morning but despite that a lot of idols have been buried in the sand. People keep talking about making eco friendly idols of Ganpati but they are never used and we face a lot of problems the next day," said Srivastav.
Rohit Pujari, another volunteer, said, "We had started this initiative, because it is necessary, as we always see in the news how much pollution is caused after Ganpati Visarjan.”
“My only request is that people should use eco-friendly Ganpati idols,” he added.
Team Saafasutra helps BMC clean Girgaum Chowpatty
The five girls’ team of Jai Hind College carrying out the campaign Saafasutra has been going around Mumbai since a couple of weeks and has done a lot in furthering the cause of anti-littering.
Members of Team Saafasutra cleaning Girgaum Chowpatty
After the final immersion of Ganpati idols, they cleared the litter strewn around. Such public platforms are the perfect place to make people aware and instill a sense of responsibility in them. Seeing the five girls do their bit, many bystanders were moved and they too joined them in cleaning the place.
“We found used plastic glasses; a lot of them. We also came across chappals lying on the shores. Saying that Chowpatty was plainly dirty this morning would be an understatement. You can compare it to Dharavi which is another massively unkept place,” says Nimisha Solanki, a Saafasutra member.
The immersion ceremony known as ''Visarjan'' is regarded as the divine entities returning to their abodes after being the guests of devotees on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi.
The annual festival of Ganesha Chaturthi usually falls between August and September.
Freedom fighter Lokmanya Tilak re-introduced the festival with an aim to foster communal harmony and unity in the country during the height of British colonial rule.
(With inputs from A Correspondent)
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