NEW DELHI, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- A man who has embarked on a mission to clean a dirty beach in India's financial capital Mumbai has given up, saying he has failed.
Afroz Shah, a 33-year-old lawyer and environmental activist, spearheaded a mission to clean dirty Versova beach in the city two years ago.
Although he started the effort singlehandedly, over the time, 12,000 volunteers joined him in the mission to clean the beach of garbage and litter.
Shah ran the cleanliness drive for 109 weeks and his efforts were praised by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the United Nations.
For his failed mission, Shah blamed goons and administrative lethargy for winding up his cleanliness crusade.
"Week 109 cleanup. Volunteers abused by goons for picking up garbage. Administrative lethargy, non-clearance of picked up garbage and abuses are what we are facing. World's largest beach cleanup is suspended. Tried my best and I failed. Forgive me my ocean and my country," Shah wrote on his twitter.
Reports said on Sunday Shah was caught by a bunch of goons, abused and heckled, and told to get off the beach.
Over the last 109 weeks, more than 7 million kg of plastic and waste have been removed from the Versova beach.
Shah said heckling his volunteers have been going on for the past four to six weeks and he does not know who is behind it.
"If heckling takes place, I consider it as my failure," Shah said. "And I am not ashamed of saying I have failed. I had tried but the system is tough."
Shah said he does not hold any grudge against anyone.
The Indian government is aggressively campaigning for Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Movement) to make an effort to see the entire country green and clean.
The campaign kickstarted after Modi became prime minister in 2014.
