Navi Mumbai: Sushil Jadhav (37), a professor with a Sanpada College of Commerce and Technology, has been following a set routine for the past eight months. He wakes up early every Sunday, and donning a cap, gloves and gumboot, he heads for Palm Beach Road in Nerul – to volunteer for the mangrove clean up drive being undertaken by the Environment Life Foundation (ELF), which achieved its 250^th milestone recently.

“When I had first visited the clean-up drive undertaken by ELF with my student in 2024, I was awestruck to watch the condition of those live mangroves and the marine lives literally battling for their habitats which were covered with huge trash,” Jadhav reminisces. “It’s been a long time, I was looking for some meaningful work to invest my time. I found out my dream work which I have been doing passionately week after week.”

Jadhav is not alone. Twenty-year-old Syam Pathania, pursuing his third-year BSC at the SIES College, has been a regular since his first outing in 2023 as a National Service Scheme volunteer. “Since then, every Sunday morning, two-three hours is only for mangrove cleaning,” informs Syam. 

ELF completed its 250th week of garbage removal work from Navi Mumbai mangrove belt working on June 1. Till date, 95,000 people cutting across age demographics have joined the effort and helped remove more than 950 tonnes of garbage. A brainchild of ELF founder Dharmesh Barai, the mangrove soldiers have persistently and consistently devoted time and effort to remove the waste notwithstanding sun or rain. The source of the waste, according to Barai, is the nullah that cuts across Cheetah Camp opposite Navi Mumbai on the Mumbai side. Barai and his team have re-focussed efforts cleaning Cheetah camp Nala in support with BMC and Forest Department with an aim to protect the vast mangrove belt of Navi Mumbai.

The aim of the mangrove clean-up is to allow the roots of the mangrove to breathe and not get buried by the huge pile of trash.

“Though the trash is never ending, still I felt the quantity which we are removing now is considerably less than the quantum that we used to clear about one-and-half-years back. We are all looking for the day when there will be zero trash to clear,” Barai says. Watching him and his dedication for the work, many of his friends, society residents and his own brother signed up as volunteers for the cause.

Motivated by Barai, Rahul Raskar (28), Nerul-resident and MNC employee, joined the Sunday cleanliness drives around four-years ago. “Earlier I slept till late in the morning, wasting my weekly holiday doing nothing. When I was told by Barai about ‘Minimisation’ in life, I realised the growing menace of waste which can cripple a city life. I took a pledge to devote my Sunday morning working inside mangroves saving them from heap of trash,” Rahul, the ‘Head Coordinator’ of the volunteers, informs. 

Apart from the physical toil involved, the volunteers have to face numerous other challenges. “Medical waste is the main cause of concern while removing the garbage from the mangrove belt,” shared Vijayshree Shinde (30), a software professional, who has been volunteering for the last four years. “The corporation should step in to ensure the proper disposal of medical waste because the used syringes, gloves, blood-stained tissues are creating health hazards for the animals and also spoil the ground level soil.”