Mumbai lawyer wins UN award for Versova beach clean-up

MUMBAI: The United Nations presented Mumbai lawyer Afroz Shah the UN Champion of the Earth award, its highest environmental honour, at a ceremony in Mexico on Saturday. The award for outstanding leaders from government, civil society and the private sector whose actions have had a positive impact on the environment, was in recognition of his selfless unwavering devotion in launching, pursuing and accomplishing, what UN Environment chief Eric Solhem described as the world's biggest beach clean-up at Versova.
Solheim, and earlier UN Oceans advocate Lewis Pugh had themselves flown in to Mumbai to support his work, which they said was “inspirational' in the face of `institutional apathy', in restoring the beach.
Shah, who pursues a legal career by the week and has worked with several advocate generals as well as additional solicitor generals in the Bombay high court, has for the past year dedicated his weekends, increasingly extended ones to cleaning up the two kilometer stretch of a beach that few would visit, or even knew, existed. A thick carpet of plastic litter, other filth and garbage lay embedded and stacked on the sand, for decades. The sight bothered Versova resident Shah and his elderly neighbor enough to begin a clean-up.His neighbor passed away but Shah led the way , forming Versova Resident Volunteers, a loose band of like-minded people who would show up on weekends with him and pick up trash, a weekend at a time. Shah roped in the civic administration to get some staff and machines to help clear the litter, rest he would organize himself.
The UN Environment tweeted after the ceremony that awarded six persons from across the globe, “This year's #EarthChamps recognize bold visionaries who confront the defining challenges of our generation.“
Shah, who said he accepted the award on behalf of the volunteers, said, “We have lost our bond with nature, we need it back.“
Pooja Bedi, an actor, who herself volunteers in the clean-up initiative said on Saturday ,“Afroz is a passionate committed individual.He has made us all so proud.'' The award, the first such for a young Indian lawyer, meant that Shah joined the illustrious line up of other awardees which included former Soviet Statesman Mikhail Gorbachov, former US Vice President Al Gore, Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina, deep sea conservation pioneer Slyvia Earle, President of Mexico Felipe Calderon and V Ramanathan an Indian professor in California.