International Coastal Cleanup Day: Sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik's message to shun plastics

Puri (Odisha): Renowned sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik on the occasion of International Coastal Cleanup Day, which is observed on the third Saturday of September, carved out a meaningful message on Puri beach. The message was 'Say No To Single Use Plastic' with the picture of a plastic bottle. Below the message, it was written International Coastal Cleanup Day. Several tonnes of plastics and non-biodegradable items were finding their way to the ocean destroying marine and aquatic life. The repercussion of environmental pollution is widespread. The purpose of the sand sculpture was to create awareness among people that they should avoid using plastic in day-to-day life. The telling message was also appealing to people to come forward and clean up the beaches from plastics and other harmful products dumped on the shore.