ગુજરાતી
English
A 700-kilometer-long sea is submerging 8 islands.
Dilip Patel
Ahmedabad, September 24, 2025
People across Gujarat are seeking relief from the heat. At this time, beaches are becoming a magnet for tourists. Littering is contributing to pollution. Some NGOs have found that the Collector is neglecting 15 important points.
Instead of disposing of plastic and water bottles in the proper bins, people are throwing them in the open. This has led to a massive accumulation of waste, including plastic. The waste reaches the sea and causes significant harm to marine life.
On September 23, 2025, International Ocean Cleanup Day, citizens, with the joint efforts of various organizations, cleaned 10 beaches across the state, removing 51,541 kilograms of waste in a single day. It was revealed that government officials were not cleaning coastal areas.
5151 kilograms of garbage was found on one beach.
Polluting coastal areas is posing a threat to marine life and the environment on 10 beaches in Gujarat.
Forest, Environment and Climate Change Minister Mulu Bera and State Forest Minister Mukesh Patel are responsible for endangering marine life.
These 10 beaches in Gujarat include Dummas-Surat, Dandi, Dwarka, Bet Dwarka, Veraval Chowpatty, Porbandar Chowpatty, Rawalpir-Mandvi, Shivrajpur, Umargam, and Koliyak-Bhavnagar.
Those involved in cleaning these beaches included non-governmental organizations, school and college students and teachers, industrial units, local citizens, and government agencies. They collected the collected solid waste and disposed of it scientifically.
Environmental awareness was spread through street plays, sand sculptures, painting competitions, and tree planting on each beach.
The government is actually doing what it should or shouldn’t be doing.
Beach tourism in Gujarat isn’t starting from scratch because many beaches are severely mismanaged.
Nineteen major beaches along the state’s coast could be developed for tourism development.
There is a lack of infrastructure, with no drinking water, changing rooms, or toilets. Even major beaches like Ahmedpur-Mandvi have few dustbins and insufficient staff to maintain cleanliness. Therefore, the sea is suffering from environmental degradation.
The Ahmedpur-Mandvi beach, once a dense forest, is facing environmental disasters. This beach has shrunk due to the cutting of trees for fuel and livelihoods.
There are no dustbins at two beaches in Ghogha (Kuda and Koliyak) in Bhavnagar district, Mahuva in Bhavnagar district, and Madhavpur in Porbandar district, so garbage and waste are dumped in the open.
Nargol village in Valsad district uses Nargol beach. There are dustbins, but garbage is not thrown in them.
The overgrown toilet in Navsari district is not being repaired. People use the beach for defecation.
At Harshad beach in Jamnagar district, urinals flow directly into the sea.
At Gopnath in Bhavnagar district, waste from the Alang shipbreaking yard, including thermoplastics, rusted iron and steel, and other harmful ship debris, is dumped near the beach.
At Mithapur beach in Dwarka, a unit of Tata Salt and Chemical Works has raised environmental concerns. In 2001, approximately one lakh mangrove trees were destroyed due to saltwater leakage from a pipe near Poshitra.
Religious waste is dumped at Somnath and Dwarka.
The beaches of Ghogha, Gopnath, Narara, Nargol, Porbandar, Ubrat, and Umargaon are facing severe erosion due to natural causes.
Tidal currents, or man-made causes such as sand mining and oil spills during high tide, suffocate the mangroves growing near the shore, destroying the surrounding marine life.
Bhavnagar
Of the state’s 1600-kilometer coastline, 125 kilometers of coastline is available in Bhavnagar district. People visit Kudra, Koliyak, Hathab, Gopnath, and Mahuva beaches for recreation.
People from Bhavnagar visit Kudra Beach in Ghogha taluka in large numbers to get relief from the heat and take a dip in the sea. The Bhavnagar Collector has not made any arrangements for proper waste disposal.
A few years ago, the government announced the development of the beach for public convenience, but even years later, not a single road, pathway, or infrastructure has been provided.
Coastal Erosion Threatens 8 Beaches
Gujarat’s only famous Blue Flag beach, Shivrajpur, is now facing erosion. This beach may cease to exist in the future.
Union Minister of State for Forests and Environment, Kirti Vardhan Singh, told Gujarat BJP MP Narhari Amin in the Rajya Sabha in August 2025 that more than 537 kilometers of Gujarat’s coastline, or 27 percent of the total coastline, has been eroded.
More than 32,000 square meters of land on Shivrajpur beach near Dwarka, has been eroded due to sea salt.
Eight beaches in Gujarat, Ubharat, Tithal, Suvali, Mandvi, Dandi, Dabhari, Shivrajpur North, and Shivrajpur South, were studied. The study revealed that 32,000 square meters of Shivrajpur beach near Dwarka is unsuitable for human use.
More than 100 km of coastline has been eroded.
The Survey of India has released a report measuring the country’s coastline, stating that Gujarat’s coastline has increased from 1,600 km to 2,300 km.
Sea levels have risen by 10 meters. Gujarat’s coastline is at great risk as it is becoming longer.
The coastlines of Kutch and Valsad have suffered the most erosion during 1978-2020. Erosion is increasing in the Gulf of Khambhat.
A 40-year study has revealed that Gujarat’s coastline is disappearing at an alarming rate. Ten out of 16 coastal districts are experiencing severe erosion, affecting approximately 45.8% of the state’s coastline, including eight beaches.
These 15 things are ignored on Gujarat’s beaches
Gujarat’s only famous Blue Flag beach is Shivrajpur. Which is well protected.
There are no Blue Flag beaches in Gujarat because the Collector does not follow the following standards, laws, or regulations.
Blue Flag certification is a globally recognized eco-label. The Blue Flag award is awarded by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), Denmark, based on 33 criteria under four main themes:
Environmental education and information, water quality, environmental management, and beach safety and services.
Bathwater quality information is not displayed on Gujarat’s beaches. Information on local ecosystems, environmental elements, and cultural sites is not displayed. A beach map showing amenities is required.
No code of conduct is displayed indicating laws or regulations.
Water quality sampling requirements for beaches and tidal flat areas must be fully followed. Water quality analysis must be performed.
Industrial, wastewater, or sewage discharge onto the beach.
Microbiological details on the beach—fecal coli bacteria and intestinal enterococci (streptococci)—are not provided.
A beach management committee has not been established. Laws and regulations must be followed. The beach must be clean. No seaweed or natural debris should be left.
There must be a sufficient number of dustbins or containers for waste disposal on the beach, and they must be cleaned and maintained regularly. Dumping should not occur. There are no facilities for separating recyclable waste. There are few toilets, and their excreta disposal is not controlled.
Unauthorized camping or driving on the beach is prohibited. There is no control on dogs and other pets entering the beach.
All buildings and beach equipment are not properly maintained.
Coral reefs or seagrass beds are not monitored.
Public safety controls are necessary. There are no first aid facilities.
There is no emergency plan to address pollution hazards.
Civil protection measures are not in place. Public access is not available in many areas.
Beach access should be provided with drinking water. Access and facilities for the physically disabled are not available.
