Man with placards urges public not to dump waste

Mangaluru: In an attempt to protect Netravati River from plastic pollution and other waste being dumped on the roadside, Nagaraj Raghav Anchan, coordinator of ocean plastic recycling, Hasiru Dala, for the past two weeks has been standing near Adyar every day from 5.30am to 9.30am with placards in his hands. His only request to the public is to stop dumping waste at roadside as it could reach the river.
He told TOI: “Indiscriminate dumping of waste has increased on the stretch between Padil and BC Road. After studying the situation for 10 days, I started to stand with placards near Adyar urging people not to litter as the Netravati River is flowing nearby. I stand every day for four hours, before going to office, even if it is a rainy day. This effort has caught the attention of the zilla panchayat that has decided to organise a mega clean-up drive during this weekend with the support of the students from various colleges, Mangaluru City Corporation and other local bodies,” he said.
In the year 2021, Anchan had taken up a similar initiative of standing on the highway at Kallapu near the Netravati Bridge every day for more than three hours, with a placard. The drive had made positive changes. This was followed by APD Foundation and Hasiru Dala jointly organising a six-day awareness campaign near the Netravati Bridge urging people not to throw waste into the river.
“Soon boards were put up and we have noticed a drastic reduction in the waste being dumped on this stretch. The same year when Hasiru Dala and the Anti-Pollution Drive Foundation with the support of other organisations lifted nearly 32 tons of waste carelessly dumped by the public near Netravati bridge. Of this, 32 tonnes, at least 15- 20 tonnes was dry waste mostly plastic,” he said.