Surat: Within days of its inauguration, Dumas Sea Face has emerged a popular attractions for Surtis, drawing thousands of visitors every day. However, littering and sanitation have become a major concern for the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC), which is now preparing to declare the beachfront a litter-free zone.This comes in response to large volumes of waste generated at the new site. While some visitors use the dustbins provided, a significant amount of litter is being thrown in the open — on the beach and the newly developed recreation space.To curb this, the civic body plans to impose spot fines on visitors found littering. Staff at the site will monitor the area, while CCTV cameras will also be used to identify offenders and penalize them.“Those littering will be penalized if caught on the spot and through CCTV footage. After understanding behaviour patterns over the past two weekends and trying to encourage people to keep the space clean, we have arrived at this measure to ensure people start using infrastructure responsibly,” an SMC official said. To create awareness about cleanliness, an SMC team, including 15 supervisors and 80 volunteers from NGOs, held events. They formed groups and encouraged visitors not to litter the beachfront.According to civic officials, around 300kg of waste was collected by sanitation teams after the March 15 weekend, while the figure rose to 400kg during the March 22 weekend. The waste largely comprised plastic items such as water bottles, bags, pouches, disposable plates and food leftovers. The authorities are also concerned about spit stains from betel nut, tobacco and catechu mix, which have begun to mark the public space.“Due to the Eid holiday and vacation in schools, the rush increased last weekend. The numbers will grow further when school vacations begin,” said an SMC officer.Separate dustbins for various types of waste have been placed at the site, but officials said most of them fill up in a few hours. Sanitation workers have been replacing collection bags several times a day and additional dustbins are now being installed.At present, some 70,000 square metres of the sea face has been opened to the public. Officials estimate that about 10,000 people visit every day, while weekend numbers cross 35,000. Waste management has long remained a concern at Dumas beach, even before the sea face was developed.
