Baleshwar: Fakir Mohan University (FMU) marked International Coastal Cleanup Day 2026 with a cleanup and awareness campaign at Chandipur Beach, bringing together more than 200 students, teachers and non-teaching staff.
The programme was organised under the Swachh Sagar Surakshit Sagar 5.0 initiative in association with the National Institute of Ocean Technology, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India, and the Science and Technology department, Government of Odisha.
The campaign was held under the guidance of Vice Chancellor Prof. Santosh Kumar Tripathy. Prof. Santosh Kumar Agarwalla, chairman of the PG Council, department heads and members of the university community participated.
Tripathy urged participants to make coastal protection part of everyday civic responsibility rather than limiting it to annual cleanup drives. He called on students to act as environmental ambassadors and promote responsible waste management and reduced plastic use.
Participants collected large quantities of waste and conducted awareness activities on the impact of plastic pollution on marine ecosystems. The programme was coordinated by Dr Smruti Rekha Sahoo, assistant professor of geology, with support from the NSS Bureau and the OMBRIC Project.