Mumbai, Dec. 25 -- Soon, tourists visiting the golden and black sand beaches in Sindhudurg district will be able to enjoy a cleaner and pristine walk on the shore.

Starting January 12, the mangrove cell of the forest department will begin its coastal clean-up drive on all 25 beaches in the coastal district as part of a joint project of central government and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The project - Mainstreaming coastal and marine biodiversity conservation into production sectors in the Sindhudurg - costs Rs18 crores and is funded by the UNDP's Global Environment Fund (GEF) and will end in 2016.

Around 4,000 students and volunteers will be involved in the first major coastal clean-up as part of the project. The smaller beaches will have 100 volunteers each and longer beaches will have 200 volunteers each.

"A lot of solid waste and raw sewage gets dumped into the sea on the beaches of Sindhudurg. We want to stress on eco-tourism as part of the project and promote the 25 beaches in the district as a hub for tourism too," said Subir Kumar Ghosh, project coordinator, UNDP.

"There is also a plan to build a marine interpretation centre in the district to highlight the priceless marine life found around Sindhudurg's shores," added Ghosh.

As part of the clean-up drive, the mangrove cell and UNDP will also assess the quantum of waste generated at the beaches in Sindhudurg.

The base-level data on waste generation will be used to adopt fresh measures for collection and disposal of solid waste.

The mangrove cell will be carrying out the clean-up with the help of locals. "The zilla parishad is collaborating on the clean-up drive which is not a one-time activity. We will be drawing up a biodiversity action plan with locals from 185 coastal villages in the district," said N Vasudevan, chief conservator of forests, mangrove cell.

Published by HT Syndication with permission from Hindustan Times.

View original post here:

UN to pitch in Rs. 18 crore to clean up Sindhudurg beaches