These divers in Vizag are on a mission to clean the sea and have already cleared 5,000 kg of trash
The team of divers in Vizag collects around 600 kg of waste in a day using only minimal diving gear like masks, and use net bags to collect the garbage from the sea.
Water pollution is a huge problem that affects the environment. Our rivers, lakes, seas, oceans and most water bodies are filled either with effluent waste or with tons of other garbage, especially plastic. These are harmful to both human beings and life in the sea.
As many environmentalists across the globe are doing their best to curb the plastic menace, a few environmentally-conscious individuals like these five divers from Visakhapatnam, have decided to take water pollution in their city seriously.
The scuba divers (Image: The News Minute)
The group comprises certified divers like Subhash Chandran, a diving instructor, and owner of a scuba diving venture called Platypus Escapes, Padmavati Madipalli, Sachin Sharma, Saragada Appanna and Divya Teja.
Together, the group removed 5,000 kg worth of waste from the sea in 13 days.
It has also been actively working in cleaning the sea since October, supported by a team of volunteers.
Speaking to The Logical Indian, Subhash said,
“Last month, my friend and I were swimming around the beach in Rushikonda, when we got stuck with net and plastic in our feet. We went back home, got our masks, and started looking for the plastic down there. It was a heart-breaking scene – we found lots of plastic. Since that day, we started cleaning.”
On the first day itself, the duo removed around 400 kg of waste from the sea, now the team collects around 600 kgs of waste in a day. All the members use only minimal diving gear like masks, as full-fledged scuba diving equipment would be expensive. They carry net bags to collect the garbage.
Waste found on the sea floor (Image The News Minute)
The garbage collected is later dumped in Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) dustbins, and most of the time, the garbage consists of clothes, packets of flours and food grains.
A normal day for these divers starts at 6:30 am and goes on for least four hours before they head out to their daily jobs. Speaking to The News Minute, Subash said,
“We have started doing this as a continuous mission in the last three weeks. We dive at about 100 metres away from the shore and go two-three metres deep. Fishermen in the area also lend their support to the team.
(Image: The News Minute)
Subash said, “Sometimes fishermen from Mangamaripeta help us out by taking us into the sea on their boats. We pay them a basic amount. Since this is a voluntary venture, we have to manage the costs on our own and juggle this initiative with our jobs”, reports The News Minute.
According to the group, cleaning the Rushikonda beach itself would take around three months considering the amount of garbage lying beneath the sea. Later, the group aims to clean the coastline towards RK beach.
Subhash added,
“We want to make a special team of at least three or four people, who can dedicate at least two hours in a day for the clean up. We also want to train local fishermen for this”, reports The Logical Indian.
(Edited by Rekha Balakrishnan)
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