Thousands join beach clean-up

DENPASAR: Thousands of residents in Denpasar and Buleleng participated in the island wide Bali Beach Clean Up initiative on Friday.

Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika travelled 70 kilometers due North to attend the initiative’s launching at Singaraja’s Pelabuhan Buleleng beach, a former colonial era trade port. Thousands of residents, including school children, awaited him there.

“I want to express my gratitude to the Buleleng administration, which has provided strong support for this endeavor. Hopefully, it will be one of many other activities that will help the island’s efforts to become a greener and cleaner province,” Mangku Pastika said.

A similar clean up was held at Taman Sari beach.

In Denpasar, thousands of people flocked to Sanur in the early morning to participate in the clean up. They picked up garbage, particularly plastic trash, found along a 14-kilometer stretch of beach from Padanggalak to Serangan.

“We have told all civil servants and officials from the Denpasar municipality to participate in this clean up,” event coordinator and Denpasar Environmental Agency chief AA Bagus Sudharsana said. — JP