Once upon a time, Versova beach and its adjoining waters was overtaken by 5.3 million kilograms of trash. But in October 2015, one Mumbai citizen started an initiative that slowly snowballed into the world’s largest beach clean-up. Lawyer Afroz Shah triggered a movement that brought people together along the 2.5 kilometre-long beach, and over 85 weeks, they completely transformed the area [read about the entire beach clean up here]. Shah has always been a lover of nature and especially the ocean. It pained him to watch a beach with so much potential turn into a public dumping ground, and he was determined that it should be stopped – and so it did, and Shah isn’t done yet.
Thanks to Shah, members of Versova Residents Volunteers and numerous other Mumbaikars that have joined in, Versova beach is getting its very own ‘coconut lagoon.’ Going through Shah’s Facebook feed to follow the team’s incredible work it seems they’ve already planted 800 trees over two weekends!
Shah’s efforts have inspired many and he was even awarded the UN’s Champions of The Earth award for his unparalleled contribution to the oceans. But for Shah, the recognition falls second to the reward of knowing that Versova beach and all its flora and fauna have been given a second lease on life. He’s already in the process of arranging similar projects for all of Mumbai’s beaches, the months of work have paid off and he’s already raring to do it again. And we’re willing to bet he’ll continue to do so until India’s oceans are safe, as he says “If you love something, you’ll do anything to save it.”
All images courtesy of Afroz Shah via Facebook