The outskirts of Mumbai are quite scenic as they offer several weekend getaways for the hundreds of thousands residents of the maximum city. And waterfalls with splashes of roaring waters and lush green surroundings are a huge attraction but litter that tourists leave behind have been destroying their natural beauty and splendor.?
It was perhaps this realisation that led Dharmesh Barai, along with his core team of environment enthusiast volunteers, to collect garbage from these waterfalls.?
They visited as many as 16 waterfalls on the outskirts of Mumbai and completed the daunting task of freeing them from litter on the Independence Day.?
TOI
"We found 80 per cent bottles and food wrappers among the garbage and would like to appeal to Mumbaikars to stop treating our beautiful waterfalls like open bars. Just like they carry all the full bottles up, they should be responsible enough to carry back the empty bottles and other waste back and dump it in a nearby garbage bin instead of the waterfall," Barai was quoted as saying in the Times Of India.
The team of volunteers consisted of around 30 Mumbaikars ranging from 8 to 65-year-olds. They picked up all kinds of non-biodegradable garbage from the adjacent areas of the waterfalls.?
Dilip Khandkar, a 64-year-old, environment enthusiast who is concerned about the plastic menace in the country, said that it took them over two three hours at each of the waterfalls to clean them.?
TOI
He further expressed dismay that while people want to go to the waterfall and have a nice time they care very little for leaving it behind in its natural form for others, or even themselves, to return to.?
The group of volunteers is known as Environment Life Team and they have been working in the direction since October 2, 2016. The motto of the team is: "My Waste, My Responsibility".?
TOI
Waterfalls in Tapalwadi, Jummapatti, Khopoli, Pandavkada, Chinchoti, Anandwadi, Kondeshwar, Bhivpuri, Palasdari, Ambewadi, Kharghar, Prabalmachi and Vadap were cleaned by them.?
Next time when you visit one of these waterfalls make sure you don't leave your trash behind for them to return and clean again.?