20 lakh kg of garbage collected from Goa beaches in 16 months

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Nearly 20 lakh kg of garbage has been lifted from Goa's beaches in the last 16 months with collection rising considerably since January this year, the agency tasked with cleaning the state's beaches said today.

Drishti Marine, the private agency roped in by the state government to clean Goa's seashore, has completed 16 months of service.

The agency, which began its work on December 17, 2016, provides manpower and equipment for clearing garbage from the beaches, which are frequented by tourists in large numbers.

"From December 17, 2016 to April 15, 2018, the agency has collected and transported 19,90,250 kg of garbage from along the state's coast and cleaned the beaches," Ravi Shankar, CEO of Drishti Marine, told reporters here.

The last three-and-a-half months (from January 1 to April 15) witnessed 7,89,968 kg of garbage being collected from the coastal areas of the state, he said.

"In comparison, the previous year the garbage collected during the same period (January-April 15, 2017) was 2,67,047 kgs. The quantum of garbage collected during the first quarter of the year has almost tripled," Ravi stated.

"The steep rise in garbage collection can be attributed to greater compliance by shack owners to segregate and handover waste to Drishti Marine.

"Over the past year, we have been working with shack owners and educating them on proper methods to segregate wet and dry waste," Ravi Shankar said.

"Overtime we have seen that almost all shack owners have been following the correct method of segregating garbage and ensuring they do not miss the waste collection pick-up time.

"Anotherfactor (for rise in waste quantum) could be the waste and debris washed ashore during high tide. This amount increases during rough weather," the CEO added.

In December 2016, the government roped in Drishti Marine to help in its efforts to collect garbage from Goa's beaches and keep them clean.