Exclusive: Marine life needs to be as respected as other species: Shine Shetty

It was during last year’s lockdown that actor Shine Shetty spent extensive time in his hometown, Udupi. And being by the coast, the actor often saw garbage wash up ashore. “There were beer bottles, chips packets, diapers, medical waste and thousands of slippers that kept getting washed ashore, and it saddened me immensely. Having lived by the coast most of my life, I’ve seen it going from pristine shores to what it has become today. More visitors automatically translates to more littering. And this has spoiled the beauty of our beaches,” observes Shine.

So, when his friends in the neighbouring

Kundapur

started a campaign to clean beaches,

Shine

was happy to be part of it. “I went for beach-cleaning drives and it left me feeling very satisfied that I did something to

save

our beaches. The efforts of

Clean Kundapura

, a non-profit local organisation, has to be appreciated. What’s praise-worthy is that their beach-cleaning drive has brought the Olive Ridleys back after they disappeared from our coast over seven years ago,” shares Shine. And this is what drove the actor to join the Save The Turtles campaign and also participate in the recent

Aame Habba

. “Our marine life needs to be just as respected as the rest of the species on earth. We have to be more aware of our surroundings and stop littering, especially along the coast,” sums up Shine.