To prevent Mumbai’s sea and beaches from recording heavy pollution levels, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has proposed a round the clock clean up drive for two prominent beaches in Mumbai at Dadar and Chimbai (Bandra).

Officials maintained the pilot project was being launched to ensure beaches remain clean during the monsoon, which will begin in the next two months. Mumbai has a total shoreline length of 145 km and there are 12 beaches that are open to the public. These beaches are spread between the island city, eastern and western suburbs.

“Usually during the monsoon a large amount of plastic waste gets accumulated on the shoreline during high tide. These piles of garbage stay there unless they are removed by the local ward officials. Till then they release a stench, contaminating the surroundings,” a civic official told the Indian Express.

The officials said the BMC will shell out Rs 2.7 crore to clean the beaches. Of the total funds, Rs 1 crore will be used to clean Chimbai beach, while Rs 1.7 crore will be used to clean Dadar beach. Officials said that as part of the cleaning package, two tractors will be deployed along with a team of sanitation workers and rag pickers.

Besides this, the BMC will also install plastic bins that will act as waste collection units at the beaches.

Officials said that usually JCBs are used for cleaning purposes, however those vehicles will dig up sand in large quantum which would be dangerous in managing tidal flow of water. Therefore, as a safety measure, tractors will be deployed and waste items will be identified and picked up manually.

“The idea is to keep the sand beaches clean throughout the monsoon season. The piles of waste will not be allowed to accumulate there and will be moved out of the beach immediately. Later the same model will be implemented in all the other remaining beaches in Mumbai,” the official added.

The proposal for the cleaning projects was cleared by the civic standing committee last month and officials said the cleaning process will begin from next month onwards, with machineries being deployed. The period of the contract is of two years, and the daily expenditure that will be incurred for the cleaning drive is between Rs 7,500 – Rs 15,000.

Flying squads at beaches

Mumbai civic authorities are also working to deploy flying squads in the beach. These squad members will be like marshals responsible for keeping the premises of a beach free from litter and waste-picking activities. Earlier, the BMC had solid waste marshals in Mumbai who would act as enforcers against spitting and littering at public spaces. However, the marshals ceased to exist as the civic body didn’t renew their contract two years ago. Therefore, authorities have now decided to deploy flying squads at the city beaches.