Puri, Gopalpur among Top Five Cleanest Beaches of India

Bhubaneswar: Two beaches in Odisha – Puri and Gopalpur are among the top five cleanest beaches in India, according to a report released by the National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR).

The Puri beach has been regarded as the second cleanest beach in the country, while the Gopalpur beach occupies fourth position in the NCCR list of cleanest beaches.

The beach in the Odisha’s pilgrim city got this major national recognition following the successful implementation of ‘Mo Beach’ programme by the Puri administration led by District Collector Balwant Singh.

As part of the initiative, the Puri admin carried out a massive cleanliness drive at 19 places in a stretch of 100-km sea beach in the district, which was dubbed as the biggest coastal clean-up drive in the world.

More than 10,000 people including volunteers, students, NGO members, celebrities and common people actively participated in the ‘Mo Beach’ programme.

Under the guidance of the Puri Collector, the admin has created awareness among people to keep the coastline clean and plastic-free through this programme.

The ‘Mo Beach’ initiative also acted as a platform to showcase the swift restoration of Puri coast post cyclone Fani.

Similarly, the Ganjam district administration had launched ‘Mo Gopalpur’ campaign last year to make the shorelines of Gopalpur beach clean, green and plastic free.

Ganjam Collector Vijay Amruta Kulange motivated the large scale participation of people to make the campaign successful.

Expressing happiness over the achievement, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik tweeted, “India’s cleanest beaches awaits you in Odisha. National Centre for Coastal Research’s study backs our claims. So, this winter, escape the chill, enjoy the warmth of Odisha’s rich culture and the inviting clean white sandy beaches of Odisha”.

India’s cleanest beaches awaits you in Odisha. National Centre for Coastal Research’s study backs our claims. So, this winter, escape the chill, enjoy the warmth of #Odisha’s rich culture and the inviting clean white sandy beaches of #Odisha.#OdishaBeachesCleanest pic.twitter.com/EBR7v3so1m

— CMO Odisha (@CMO_Odisha) January 3, 2020

Besides, the NCCR report also stated that Odisha has the least polluted coastline.

Volunteers, who participated in operation conducted by NCCR in September, collected 35 tonnes or 2.39 lakh pieces of litter across 34 beaches of the country.

Around 478 kg of litter was collected from four beaches of Odisha as against 6,804 kg from six beaches of Tamil Nadu, 5,930 kg from three beaches of Maharashtra and a whopping 9,519 kg from five beaches of Kerala in September last year, the report said.

“Beaches in big cities with larger population have more garbage. While there are regular cleaning efforts in Goa, beaches in states like Odisha are least polluted,” the report added.

The major source of litter at 22 beaches is tourism and recreational activities. Plastic and glass were the major type. Plastic waste were cups and bottles, bags, bottle caps and food wrapper,” the NCCR said.