Cleaning up of Mumbai beaches after Ganpati Visarjan was a combined effort.
As devotees bid farewell to Lord Ganesh on the final day of Ganesh Chaturthi, beaches across Mumbai were left in a mess. Debris of idols laid strewn across Mumbai's beaches.
But hundreds of Mumbaikars refused to leave their beaches dirty. At the crack of dawn, volunteers poured in to help the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation clean up the debris. Students, working professionals and NGOs gathered at the Juhu beach, shouldering the responsibility to weed out plastic and idols that washed on the shore.
'We are here to pick up plastic and ensure that it doesn't harm out environment and beaches' said Sumit Gala, a student.
Just yesterday alone, over 62,000 immersions took place across the city. While the number of people opting for eco-friendly idols has increased by 40 per cent this year when compared to last, with just 26 artificial ponds available across Mumbai, most of the idols were immersed into the sea. The key locations were Girgaum Chowpatty and Juhu.
After a combined effort by the BMC and hundreds of Mumbaikars, the debris was taken away in trucks by the civic body.
While lakhs of devotees enjoyed the revelry for 11 days, just a fraction gathering to pick up the pieces, though it's a welcome initiative for change.