Social Activists, Fishermen join Hands for Cleanliness drive in Malpe Harbour
Udupi: The Malpe fishing harbour, known as Asia’s largest all-season fishing harbour, has been plagued by massive amounts of trash and silt.
A team of social activists, with the help of local fishermen, have taken up a cleanliness drive to remove the trash. The harbour, which is home to thousands of fishing boats, has been littered with plastic waste and other debris.
The cleanliness drive has been undertaken to remove the large amounts of trash accumulated in the harbour area. The trash, including plastic waste, has been washed into the harbour from the sea during the monsoon season.
With the monsoon season coming to an end, fishing activities have resumed in the harbour since August. Thousands of people are involved in various activities in the harbour area every day. Therefore, social activists have taken up the task of removing the trash with the help of fishermen.
Nets were used to lift the trash from the harbour’s dirty water. The cleanliness drive was undertaken with great care due to the large amount of waste entering the sea. Huge quantity of trash, including plastic waste, was collected during the operation.
The cleanliness program, which started at 8 am on Tuesday and lasted the whole day, was led by Arun Kumar under the guidance of Divakar Kharevi, the newly appointed Assistant Director of the Malpe Fishing Department. Around 35 people participated in the program and successfully collected 5-6 tons of waste from the area stretching from Baputhota to the harbour.
The Malpe harbour area has been a hotspot for various infectious diseases such as dengue and malaria. The health department has already conducted several programs to control the spread of diseases in the area, including cleanliness drives in the boats and harbour area.
The fishing department has advised fishermen and boat owners to be cautious and avoid dumping plastic waste and other debris into the water. The cleanliness drive, jointly organized by the fishing department and some environmental organizations, has received widespread appreciation. In the coming days, fishermen are advised to be careful and avoid dumping plastic waste and other debris into the water.