Bhupendra Yadav launches Clean the Beach Campaign 2024 in Mumbai

The Union Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupendra Yadav, led the country in this year's Clean the Beach Campaign on the occasion of the International Coastal Clean-up Day on 21 September 2024. The minister participated in an event to clean the beach at Juhu in Mumbai.

The Clean the Beach Campaign was simultaneously undertaken on more than 100 beaches across the country. 

The campaign is part of the government of India’s “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” and “Swachh Sagar Abhiyan,” which call for a mass cleanliness and sanitation campaign in the country with public participation.

Clean the Beach Campaign

The Clean the Beach Campaign was launched by the Union Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change on 5 June 2018 on the occasion of World Environment Day. The campaign focuses on encouraging citizens to clean up coastal areas of man-made trash like plastic bottles, cigarette buts, glass, etc., and create awareness about preserving and protecting the oceans and waterways.

The 2024 Clean the Beach Campaign has been undertaken by the Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change in partnership with the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences and the coastal State/Union Territories government.

Coastal State and Union Territories in India 

The Clean, the Beach Campaign was undertaken along the beaches of the following States/Union Territories of India: Gujarat, Union Territory of Daman and Diu, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Union Territory Lakshadweep, Union Territory Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, and the Union Territory Andaman and Nicobar islands.

About the International Coastal Clean-up Day 

Since 1986, the International Coastal Clean-Up Day has been observed on the third Saturday of September.

In 2024, it will be observed on 21 September.

The International Coastal Clean-Up Day was first observed in 1986 in the United States of America. It was founded by  Linda Maraniss and Kathy O’Hara, who worked for a non-profit organisation, Ocean Conservancy of the United States of America. On this day, volunteers go to local beaches and collect the trash left over by people visiting the beaches. Since then, it has grown into an international movement that has spread worldwide.