Panaji (Goa)
A year after Goa government roped-in services of Drishti Lifesaving Services for beach cleaning, the company claims to have collected and transported 10,72,230 kgs of garbage to Saligao Waste Treatment Plant from the state’s coast.
“Since December 17, 2016 till December 17, 2017 the agency has collected and transported 10,72,230 kgs of garbage from along the state’s coast and cleaned the beaches. Same time last year, the state government had reached out to Drishti Marine to step in and assist with garbage collection along the beaches on a temporary basis to support the effort of the government. The agency has an existing framework which includes infrastructure and management capability to effectively carry out the exercise along the beaches,” said a Drishti official.
Upon a request from the then Laxmikant Parsekar-led government, Drishti had claimed it agreed to take up the beach cleaning on a temporary basis stating it has the infrastructure and management capability on all the beaches. The lifeguards agency came into the picture after the government terminated contract with M/s Bhumika Transport Waste Handling Services and M/s Ram Engineering and Construction Company – that were earlier given the contract for beach cleaning, owing to corruption allegations also involving former tourism minister Dilip Parulekar.
Presently, Drishti have employed approximately 322 manpower on a daily basis to clear the garbage from the beaches
With the festive season presently on in Goa, Drishti claims to have ramped up the beach cleaning facilities keeping in mind the New Year celebrations which are around the corner. Each year thousands of tourists throng the beach stretch of the country’s party destination Goa for New Year celebrations and revelry.
Explained Ravi Shankar, CEO, Drishti Marine, “Goa is one of the most preferred destination for New Year celebrations. The beaches attract thousands of party revellers each year. That also leads to an increase in garbage. With this in mind we have deployed additional resources at the popular beaches – Baga, Calangute, Candolim and Colva. Teams will work round-the-clock to ensure the beaches are kept free of garbage and to ensure that collection from shacks is done within the stipulated time.”
Stakeholders have much to cheer about the improved garbage management services. John Fernandes who has been operating a shack ‘Joe Louis’ at Baga beach since the last 20 years, said “If the beach is clean we will have more visitors coming to enjoy the beach. We have witnessed a tremendous change in the last year. Thanks to this arrangement made by the state government with Drishti the garbage is collected from our shacks every day before 12noon. We on our part make sure that we segregate the garbage into wet and dry waste. In previous years we didn’t know what to do with the garbage and had to find a solution on our own. This arrangement by Drishti is far better.”
Cruz Cardozo, President, Shack Owners Welfare Society of Goa further said that “Drishti has been doing a good job ever since they came on board last year in December 2016. The beaches are much cleaner than they use to be and garbage is segregated on a daily basis. We appreciate the work Drishti is doing along the beaches and we are happy to extend our support to them. I suggest Drishti Marine should collect garbage before 9am or after 10pm from the shacks as the odor is unpleasant and it affects the business during peak hours.”
Drishti Marine also implemented a unique public awareness campaign #TeraMeraBeach. Aimed at visitors to Goa especially domestic visitors, #TeraMeraBeach is a 150-day beach awareness campaign to a cleaner Goa which was rolled out mid-November. The campaign involves daily drum circles held between 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm every day and a community art installation. The innovative campaign is presently run at Baga and will eventually spread across Baga, Calangute and Miramar beaches.
