Massive beach clean-up drive initiated for Hockey Men’s World Cup 2018

Bhubaneswar: In a bid to create awareness and to preserve the beauty of one of the most popular beaches of Odisha, thousands of Biju Yuva Vahini volunteers along with senior state officials organised a special clean-up initiative along the Puri beach.

Biju Yuva Vahini volunteers along with officials from the Department of Sports and Youth Services and Odisha Tourism also cleared litter from the Grant Road.

The campaign was done with a view of spreading the message of cleanliness, ahead of the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018, which is set to take place at the iconic Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar from 28 November to 16 December.

During that period, the state is expecting a major tourist footfall.

All the volunteers have been tirelessly assisting the tourists and police personnel at the Jagannath Rath Yatra since the Rath Yatra began on 14 July. They have been enthusiastically promoting the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018 by wearing t-shirts engraved with the logo, BYV logo and Odisha Tourism logo.

Meanwhile, Odisha Tourism officials enlightened the local communities about the detrimental effects of plastic on the environment to further drive its focus on eco-tourism.

Sports and Youth Services department secretary Vishal Dev said, “Odisha has some of the finest and cleanest beaches in the country and we owe a duty to our ocean to make it free of plastic. Its great to see how everyone from young volunteers to senior officials have come together for the beach clean-up drive. With Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018 just a few months away, we would like to offer the best of the state to all the incoming teams and tourists from around the world.”

Arup Patnaik, Executive Chairperson, State Youth Welfare Board said, “It gives me immense pleasure to see the youth of the state working towards such a cause. Its important for today’s youth to realise the responsibility they have for keeping the environment clean.”

Chanchal Rana, CEO, Biju Yuva Vahini said, “It is so heartening to see in a very short span, the ‘Biju Yuva Vahini’ from all over the State proving their grit and spirit for the community and social service. They are truly a force to reckon with and we are all proud of them. Its an honour to work with these harbingers of change.”