India's coastline of more than 7,500 km reflects our vast ocean resources. Most importantly, the Indian Ocean is the only ocean named after a country, that is, India.

In this context, India, being a signatory of UN "Coastal Clean Seas" campaign, a number of activities have been adopted that have direct relevance with the "Swachh Bharat" vision and has proved highly useful.

The "International Coastal Clean Up Day" is celebrated globally on the third Saturday of September, every year. This year on 17th September 2022, the Government of India along with other voluntary organizations, and the local society will run a cleanliness campaign "Swachh Sagar, Surakshit Sagar/Clean Coast Safe Sea" along India’s entire coastline. Efforts will be undertaken to collect scientific data and information on Marine Litter in various matrices, such as coastal waters, sediments, biota, and beaches.

This campaign will be led by Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), and supported by Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), National Service Scheme (NSS), Indian Coast Guard, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Seema Jagran Manch, SFD, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Paryavaran Sanrakshan Gatividhi (PSG), along with other social organizations and educational institutions.

This year’s event also coincides with the celebrations of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav in 75th year of the country’s independence; The coastal cleanup drive will be carried out at 75 beaches across the country with 75 volunteers for every kilometer of the coastline.

The "Swachh Sagar, Surakshit Sagar/Clean Coast Safe Sea “campaign is a 75-day citizen-led campaign for improving ocean health through collective action. The campaign started on July 5th, 2022 and has 3 strategic underlying goals that target transformation and environmental conservation through behavior change.

1. Consume Responsibly
2. Segregate waste at home
3. Dispose Responsibly.

The campaign will culminate with the largest beach cleaning event on Sept 17, 2022 (International Coastal Cleanup Day) covering 75 beaches across India’s 7500+km coastline.

It is the first-of-its-kind and longest running coastal cleanup campaign in the world with highest number of people participating in it. Through this campaign, a mass behavioral change among the masses is intended by raising awareness about how plastic usage is destroying our marine life.

This essay writing competition is meant to test the basic awareness level of Indian citizens about our coastline, beaches and the science behind its habitat, environment and the negative impact of litter and pollution.

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