As part of this Swachhta Mission, the Textiles Committee organised a special swachhta drive at Prabhadevi sea beach, Mumbai on October 2, 2019 on the auspicious occasion of Gandhi Jayanti. The Textiles Committee has been working relentlessly to spread the message of Swacha Bharat by organising various social activities throughout its 28 offices across the country relating to cleanliness since 2014 to carry forward the clarion call of Prime Minister of India on the Swacha Bharat Mission.
The choice of Prabhadevi Beach for undertaking intense cleanliness drive was driven by the passion and desire of Textiles Committees’ Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ajit B Chavan to involve its employees and the neighbourhood/community in undertaking concrete and sustainable cleanliness drive in and around the locality through Shramdan.
The Textiles Committee, under his leadership, has already conducted two such mass cleanliness drives on the September 17, 2017 and March 10, 2018 with the effective participation of all the employees of the Textiles Committee and neighbourhood community and volunteers including families, friends and kids of the participants, etc.
The drive started at 10 am with the administering of the Swachata pledge to participants followed by rally march to the adjoining Prabhadevi beach. Almost 200 participants comprising of 150 employees of the Textiles Committee and around 50 other volunteers from neighbouring societies as well as friends and family members of the participants participated in the 3rd intensive Prabhadevi beach cleanliness drive. This drive resulted into removal of one tractor trolley load of garbage, mostly non degradable plastic waste that flows into the sea through the sewage pipes rested into the sea at Prabhadevi beach.
The movement saw active participation of the community and has succeeded in:
• Sensitising the people about the importance of Swachhta mission and cleanliness of the sea beach to ensure a healthy environment.
• Generating mass awareness and sustainable behavioural change towards swatchta and environmental conservation by the people.
• Focus public attention on Shram Dan and community participation in cleanliness drives.
• Removal of solid waste garbage mostly plastic non degradable waste from the beach as well as under the soil surface and sensitising the participants in minimal use of non degradable Plastic packaging in day to day activities.
• Instilling a feeling of camaraderie and sense of purpose among the cleaning staff of the BMC.
Chavan reaffirmed that the positive energy generated through such activities will be appropriately channelised through such drives in future in the wider interest of the beach and the community.
The Textiles Committee is a Statutory Body set up by an Act of Parliament (the Textiles Committee Act, 1963) and is under the administrative control of the Union Ministry of Textiles, Government of India with a mandate to work for quality of textiles and textiles machinery.