Facebook message prompts nature lovers to join hands to clean waste from Phalguni river

A message on Facebook, by Jeeth Milan Roche of Mangaluru, inviting people to join hands in cleaning the Phalguni river got an enthusiastic response from nature lovers and the forest department on July 14.

More than 20 volunteers, including those from the National Environment Care Foundation, CODP, and the Forest Department joined hands in the drive to remove the floating debris accumulated at about a km-long stretch of the shore near Kulur.

The drive began at 10 am on Thursday, but the work stalled for a while as the waste was too dense and getting into the slush proved difficult. Seeing the team struggle, local fisherfolk volunteered two boats which helped restart the cleaning efforts.

Wading through the slush and mud, the volunteers collected the plastic, glass, and other debris that had been carried by the river currents. Lenet Gonsalves, program manager of CODP who joined the cleaning efforts said that it was appalling to see the pristine waters of rivers in Mangaluru getting polluted with waste.

“It was difficult to move the debris that had washed ashore. We found discarded liquor bottles, plastic bottles, and all kinds of waste mixed in. the whole area had a foul smell due to the rotting waste,” she said.

The volunteers also segregated the waste material on site. Ragpickers took the glass bottles and other recyclable material whereas the plastic and other debris were handed over to the Antony Waste Handling Cell Pvt Ltd, an agency that contracted bt the Mangaluru City Corporation for handling sold waste.