In Photos: Marine Drive Littered as Sea Returns Tonnes of Waste

Around 12,000 tonnes of debris and garbage was returned by the sea along the Marine Drive promenade in South Mumbai.

Waste worth 12,000 tonnes was washed up onto Mumbai’s marine drive, following a high tide last week. 

(Photo courtesy: Twitter/@priyankawriting)

Around 12,000 tonnes of debris and garbage was thrown out by sea along the Marine Drive promenade in south Mumbai during the high tide last week, the Bombay High Court was told on Monday, 16 July.

"Around 12000 tonnes of debris and garbage, thrown into the promenade during the high tide last week, has been cleared from Marine Drive by municipal workers," said Shehzad Naqvi, representing the petitioner.

A large portion of the waste remained embedded on Marine Drive on 16 July morning.(Photo courtesy: Twitter/@amitvelo)

City-based NGO 'Citizens Circle for Social Welfare and Education' had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking direction to authorities concerned to frame guidelines on garbage and debris disposal and its discharge into the sea.

BMC workers cleaning up the waste that was washed up on Marine Drive, following the high tide. (Photo courtesy: Twitter/@Sadaria_dhaval)

Naqvi told the HC that authorities are ideally supposed to discharge the garbage or debris into sea at a farther distance from the coastline.

A division bench of Justices AS Oka and Riyaz Chagla noted that the petition raises important issues and an urgent hearing was required.

A high tide was observed along Marine Drive, caused due to the heavy rainfalls plaguing the city. (Photo courtesy: Twitter/@priyankawriting)

According to a report by DNA, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday, 16 July, cleared around 11 metric tonne of the trash that was returned by the sea on Marine Drive. The bench then posted the PIL for hearing on 30 July.

Waste accumulated on one of the most popular stretches in Mumbai. (Photo courtesy: Twitter/@tehrashminator)

The BMC reports that in a course of a week, around 40 mt tonne of trash has been cleared from Marine Drive, of which the highest, 12 metric tonnes, was collected on Thursday, 12 July.

(With inputs from PTI and DNA)