A clean-up drive at Visakhapatnam’s Meghadrigedda reservoir brought together volunteers, youth groups, environmental activists and students on Saturday, with organisers pledging to repeat the effort every month to address pollution around one of the city’s key drinking water sources.
The programme was jointly organised by Simhadri TMT, Hima Humanitarian Association and local youth groups. Residents, volunteers and NSS students from Aditya Degree College in Daba Gardens took part in the drive, collecting plastic waste, discarded materials and other debris from the reservoir and its surroundings.
Participants used gloves, bags and cleaning tools during the operation. Organisers said the initiative was intended to raise public awareness about the risks that plastics, chemicals and other pollutants pose to water bodies. They also stressed that preventing indiscriminate dumping is important for protecting drinking water, aquatic life and the ecological balance around the reservoir.
The campaign also highlighted the public-health risks associated with contaminated water. The focus on Meghadrigedda is significant because the reservoir is identified as one of Visakhapatnam’s key drinking water sources, making pollution control a matter of both environmental protection and water-resource security.
State Information Commissioner P.S. Naidu, who attended the programme as chief guest, commended the volunteers and called for greater public participation in conserving water resources. He said people had traditionally regarded water bodies as sacred and described their protection as a shared social responsibility.
Representatives of Hima Humanitarian Association and Simhadri TMT said the monthly clean-up drives would prevent the campaign from remaining a one-day event. They also pledged to organise additional environmental-protection and water-conservation programmes.
The event included participation from retired special metropolitan magistrate Paila Sunny Babu, Bharani Kana Rama Rao, T.V.D. Das, Farooq and R.V.K. Naidu. The organisers’ next stated step is to continue the clean-up programme monthly, alongside further activities focused on environmental protection and water conservation.
