Mumbai: Aiming to be a change agent that engages communities to keep their surroundings clean, Viacom18 and young volunteers of CMCA today took up brooms and cleaned the major Ganesh Visarjan sites in Mumbai viz, Girgaum, Juhu and Aksa beaches. This is the second consecutive year of the partnership between Viacom18 and CMCA and is part of the former’s flagship CSR programme Chakachak Mumbai.
As a part of the beach clean-up drive, Nickelodeon-toon Shiva and popular artist of COLORS Marathi show ‘Comedychi GST Express’ AvdhootGupte joined over 500 students, to collect the waste that got washed back ashore after Ganesh immersions.
This initiative aims to sensitize children on the responsibilities that go with the celebration of festivals and its impact on the environment. In the case of Ganesh Visarjan, Nicktoon Shiva educated kids about the ill-effects of immersing POP idols in water bodies and its impact on the marine life. The kids were encouraged to buy clay idols/eco-friendly idols or immerse their POP idols in artificial ponds.
Speaking about the initiative Sonia Huria,Head Communications & CSR, Viacom18 said, “Viacom18 is glad to be partnering with CMCA for the second consecutive year for the beach clean up drive. Children have the potential to bring about positive behaviour change around cleanliness and influence communities to make ‘Swacchta’ a way of life. With this initiative we hope to create a longstanding awareness about keeping our surrounding clean and maintain a sustainable lifestyle.”
Sharing her thoughts about the cleanup drive Vinodini Lulla, Trustee at CMCA said, “CMCA has always been an advocate of responsibly celebrating festivals to minimize its impact on our surroundings. The cleanup is a life changing experience for our students every year. We are delighted to have found a partner in Viacom18 for the second-year in a row who have been actively involved in cleanliness and sanitation awareness in Mumbai. With this beach cleanup drive, we are sure thatwe will be able to bring about a behavioral change towards cleanliness and environment protection amongst children.”
