THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Ten women in the city donned scuba diving gears to launch a war on the plastic waste accumulated on the sea bed. This was their way of celebrating international women’s day.
The first women’s only ocean clean-up was organised by Bond Safari Kovalam. Representatives from different profession were selected for the task and they proudly displayed their affection for the sea by holding placards which read ‘There is love and life in the water’, ‘There’s no planet B’.
Executive director of the Kerala Suchitwa Mission K Vasuki, doctor and actor Divya Nair, IT professional Neema, social entrepreneur Sobha Viswanath and media personality Parvathy were among the team. “I wish I had stayed underwater because scuba diving is magical. You are enchanted by the beauty of everything underneath but you get jolted back into reality by the floating pieces of plastic,” said Lavanya, who works as a radio jockey.
Showing a tiny piece of disintegrated piece of plastic, Dr Vasuki said pollution does not just hurt marine species. “It’s also harmful to the people. The plastic debris release toxic chemicals and when fish and other marine creatures ingest these particles, the toxicity finds its way into our food chain. And ultimately to our dinning tables,” she said.
By Express News Service
