Chatrapur: Ahead of the much-anticipated Gopalpur Beach Festival, a large-scale “Beach Festival Cleanliness Rally” was organised across the major beaches of Ganjam district, carrying the message of “Clean Beach, Beautiful Odisha” and underscoring the State’s commitment to environmental conservation and sustainable tourism.
With the twin objectives of spreading environmental awareness and ensuring a pleasant experience for tourists while safeguarding the fragile marine ecosystem, a coordinated beach cleanliness drive was conducted today at 14 locations along the Ganjam coastline. Key beaches covered under the initiative included Gokharkuda-1 and 2, Gopalpur, Bateswar, Podampeta, Markandi, Haripur, Sunapur, Prayagi, Aleswar, Nolianuagaon, Garampeta, Dhabaleswar-1 and 2, Ramayapatana, and Dankalpadu.
The programme was organised under the leadership of Ganjam District Collector V. Keerthi Vasan, with active involvement of Additional District Magistrates Dr. Pramod Kumar Prusti, Debadatta Panda and Sunil Kumar Kerketta, Berhampur Municipal Corporation Commissioner Prathamesh Arvind Rajshirke, Berhampur Sub-Collector Abinash Kumar, and other senior district officials.
Around 6,000 volunteers, including students from schools and colleges, local residents, civil society members, employees of various government offices, and police personnel, participated enthusiastically in the drive. The cleanliness अभियान commenced at 6.00 am with an orientation session on waste segregation and safety protocols.
Working in coordinated teams, volunteers collected nearly 20 tonnes of dry waste such as plastic debris, glass bottles, food packaging, and other discarded materials strewn along the coastline. Special emphasis was laid on segregation of recyclable and non-recyclable waste to ensure scientific and responsible disposal.
Nolianuagaon beach recorded the highest waste collection, with 7.3 tonnes of dry waste removed, while Dhabaleswar beach reported the least at around seven kilograms. Nolianuagaon also witnessed the highest public participation, with 890 volunteers—420 from educational institutions, 350 from civil society, and 120 from other organisations—cleaning nearly 19.2 kilometres of beach stretch.
Expressing satisfaction over the large-scale public participation, the District Collector said the initiative would go a long way in restoring the natural beauty of Ganjam’s beaches and mitigating harm to marine life. He appealed to citizens and visitors to continue supporting environmental protection efforts and to pledge against the use of plastic and other materials harmful to the marine ecosystem during the Gopalpur Beach Festival and beyond.