The Coast Guard District Headquarters (North Gujarat) organised a large-scale coastal cleanup drive at CG Beach, Okha, today to mark International Coastal Cleanup Day 2026, a global initiative dedicated to protecting marine ecosystems through collective community action.
The event was inaugurated in the presence of Shri Vikrant Deoras, Site & Manufacturing Head, Tata Chemicals Ltd., Mithapur, as the Chief Guest, and Dr Prabhakaran Paleri, former Director General, Indian Coast Guard, as the Guest of Honour. Their participation and commitment to environmental conservation inspired participants to reaffirm their collective responsibility towards cleaner coasts and safer seas.
Personnel from Coast Guard Station Okha and units under its command, along with ICGS Jakhau, ICGS Vadinar and ICGS Mundra, participated in the campaign. The initiative also witnessed enthusiastic involvement from local school students, volunteers, Marine Police personnel, civil society representatives, government agencies, organisations and educational institutions.
The campaign commenced with a ribbon-cutting ceremony by the dignitaries, followed by a pledge for “Clean Seas, Safe Seas.” The cleanup operations began at 0730 hrs, with teams simultaneously undertaking beach-cleaning activities across multiple locations, including the area adjoining CG land at Okha, Pingleshwar Beach at Jakhau, the DPA Gate–Narara Bet stretch at Vadinar and Luni Beach at Mundra.
Covering approximately 8 km of coastline, the teams collected and responsibly disposed of around 820 kg of marine litter within two hours. The collected waste was subsequently handed over to the respective Municipal Corporation for safe and appropriate processing.
Held under the banner “स्वच्छ सागर, सुरक्षित तट, यही पहचान हमारी”, the initiative reflected the shared commitment of government agencies, industry, educational institutions and local communities towards protecting the marine environment and sustaining a clean, healthy and pollution-free coastline for future generations.
