Port Blair, Sept. 2: The World Beach Day was celebrated by INTACH A&N Chapter with support from ANET and Dakshin Foundation and in association with Coastal Green Zone. A total of 39 boys and girls from different villages in Wandoor participated in the celebration.

The day started with a presentation by Shri. Anand Rao from ANET who explained the significance of beaches to the children. Meera from Dakshin Foundation gave an orientation to the children about the beach ecosystem while Coastal Green Zone helped the children enact a role play where the children were divided into three groups to represent waves, beaches and trees and buildings. The role play explained beautifully how the beaches protect us and why it is important to save our beaches.

Further into the day the entire group went up to Old Wandoor beach to clean it up, armed with gloves and sacks. The children enthusiastically dug up shoes and fishing nets, ropes, clothes, discarded beer bottles, plastic debris and a lot more.

What was extremely disturbing was that a grove was completely fouled up by some people who left behind half eaten food packets. The entire area was infested with maggots. It was disheartening to see that green and blue dustbins were installed just 2 meters away from this dump that the gang conveniently missed.