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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Volunteers unite, vow to keep beaches clean

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SALALAH, jan 31 - Marking the march of Omani Environment Day, around 100 volunteers gathered at Dahariz beach and cleaned a vast area of it. Armed with gloves, trash bags and trash pickers, the volunteers comprising representatives from the Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs, school students and local residents, did a marvellous job by collecting trash spread all over the beach and spreading awareness among the beach goers.


“More than trash collection it was an awareness drive for the people living adjacent to the beaches and community in general, as they also gave helping hands in removing the trash and dumping them in trash bins,” said Mohammed, a volunteer who took part in the beach cleaning drive.


“Plastic is already a big problem for the whole planet. A simple walk on any beach, anywhere, and the plastic waste spectacle is present. All over the world, the statistics are ever growing, staggeringly,” said Anissa Kirch of National Tours.


Among the collected trash material were mostly used plastic items. “Tonnes of plastic debris are discarded every year, everywhere, polluting lands, rivers, coasts, beaches, and oceans. People throw their plastics away without considering any consequences. Over 10,00,000 seabirds and 100,000 sea animals are dying globally due to plastic consumption every year,” said another volunteer while explaining the reason behind his participation in the drive.


According to Kirch, the volunteers were divided in groups to cover vast area of the beach. The drive, according to her, was hugely successful, as most of the participation gave verbal commitment to take part in any other drive to clean the beaches or important places of tourism in future.


Commenting on the challenges and necessity of doing regular beach cleaning drive, Kirch said: “If we are not able to manage plastic pollution today, it is going to be very late for the human being as the consequences would be alarming,” she said.


The volunteers vowed to clean the beaches regularly and add more and more volunteers for the job. They put stress on community involvement and “clean anything that is not natural or suitable” for the beaches.


Kaushalendra Singh


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