Chennai: It is only the mounds of garbage that are piled up in the dumpyards that worry us. But there are others who look beyond this – rather under the oceans. You heard it right. There is a group that calls itself Chennai Dive – they are passionate about going under water and cleaning up the sea from Chennai to Puducherry.
It takes intense training for divers to jump into the sea and clean the stretches under water. But what makes this process a serious and much-needed one is the alarming sea pollution that destroys water resources.
Meet Aravind Tharunsri, founder of Chennai Dive, who, in an interview to ‘News Today,’ explains the process and discusses the seriousness of the issue.
YOU ARE THE SOURCE
“Like all other problems, people are the sole reason for the destruction of our ocean resources. People dump all kinds of plastic waste into a river which eventually gets flushed into the sea, especially along with rainwater. According to a report by Georgia University, USA, every year, 8 million tonnes of waste mixes with seawater. So, it is high time we understood the seriousness of the situation and acted accordingly,” says Aravind.
This concept of beach cleaning in Chennai began in 2007 since the waste on land started to be shoved off into water in larger amounts. “We came up with underwater clean-up here with three divers in 2008. We collected over 100 kg of waste and saved a number of turtles that got caught in nets. Currently, we have trained over 25,000 scuba divers – among them, there are trained rescue divers also,” he reels out statistics.
HOW IS IT DONE?
From Chennai to Puducherry, the government has provided permission to Chennai Dive to go ahead with its cleaning work. “Each time, over 80 members are selected for the clean-up process that takes place every six months. The members are divided into two groups with 40 persons in each team. They will be allocated appropriately to Pondy and Chennai. Ghost net is used for cleaning which is 30 metres broad and 8 km in length,” he said.
Further, the 40 members will be clubbed into two groups of 20 each. While 20 members will clear the waste by diving into the sea, another 20 will stay on the surface to watch them. Also, another three well-trained rescuers will stay alert near the boat, for any emergency situations.
Aravind says, “We mostly find plastic bottles, straws, slippers, napkins and polythene covers among the waste. The last time we did this – in July – we recovered nearly 500 kg of waste.”
The waste is handed over to the Corporation to be disposed of in the right way.
ENGAGING CHILDREN
As a trainer, while teaching children to dive, they are taught to see the beauty of corals under water. “I also teach them how human beings are responsible for their destruction. I also make them watch how to save a fish / turtle from discarded nets. This creates awareness about underwater life. They also understand how many fish are affected by eating the plastic we throw into the sea. I believe this will create a larger impact, at least among the future generations.”
“Children above the age of 10 can learn diving. But, for underwater clean-up, we do not take children,” he asserts.
SOME EXPERIENCES
Recollecting some of the tough situations, Aravind says, “There were two big turtles caught hopelessly in a fishing net. If we had not noticed them when we did, they would have been dead. In another scenario, a part of a lion fish was caught in a net and it was struggling to swim out. We disentangled and saved it, which was an emotional moment.”
RAISE AWARENESS
“Awareness programmes can be conducted, especially in villages along the seashore. Children, particularly, should be made to understand the seriousness of this problem,” emphasises Aravind.
PEOPLE LOVE IT
The way they reach like-minded people is through social media and by word of mouth. “We post our clean-up schedules on social media and people come to us with so much of interest,” he said.
TRAINING SESSIONThere are three stages of training. Open water, advanced open water and rescue divers. People who are well-trained under the third stage will be involved in underwater clean-up.
TOGETHER TO WIN
Speaking of Marina, Chennai’s most beautiful hangout, Aravind says confidently, “We have chances of developing Marina as the best tourist spot, if the government develops water sports here. This will give us good revenue. Take Goa beaches. They are like Marina. But, Goa is the happening city with the right climate. But how many will be able to make it to Goa? For how many days is water sport going to be only in our dreams?”