In October 2015, Shah began picking up rubbish from the beach every Sunday morning. At first, it was just him and a neighbour, and then he began 1 others to join in. Word spread and with help from social media, more volunteers got involved.
Shah hasn't stopped since. He's now spent 209 weekends 2 this mission inspiring more than 200, 000 3 to join him in what's been called the world's biggest beach clean-up. By October 2018, Versova Beach was 4 clean and Shah's clean-ups expanded to another 5.
For Shah, the work has always been a personal journey, but it has earned 6 attention. After he was honoured as a "Champion of the Earth" by the United Nations in 2016, Bollywood celebrities and politicians 7 his mission and joined in his clean-ups.
Today, Shah is also working with coastal communities to 8 plastic pollution at one of the sources. In areas lacking waste management systems, 9 often end(s) up in streams and rivers that empty into the 10. Shah and his volunteers 11 and assist villagers in reducing, managing and recycling their plastic waste.
"This world 12 too much. I think you must talk less and do action more," he said. "Every citizen on this planet must be in for a long pull. I feel the 13 to do something for my planet, so this will 14 for life. If each one could start, this journey could become 15. Can we do it together?"
