Centre plans special drive to clean Mahanadi river, beaches in Odisha

New Delhi: The union government has planned a special one-month long drive to clean the Mahanadi riverfront and some selected sea beaches in Odisha.

The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has planned to clean Mahanadi river while it has picked Puri and Paradip beaches for the special drive.

The ministry also aims to make these beaches and the riverfront plastic-free.

The special drive has been planned in the light of World Environment Day 2018 on June 5.

The ministry has also picked Bhubaneswar among five cities in the country for holding mini-marathons to create awareness among the masses about plastic pollution.

An amount of Rs 10 lakh has been earmarked for each stretch of beach, riverfront and lake.