How an initiative by a Breach Candy teen is now helping track coastal pollution in India

Up until now CoastalTrace created by Rian Kothari a 17yearold Breach Candy resident has functioned as a public reporting platform aimed at addressing gaps in how coastal and marine pollution is documented and flagged in Mumbai It began as a cityspecific initiative in Breach Candy and in the past month has expanded beyond Mumbai with its reach extending to Chennai Goa and KeralaDrawn to nature animals and marine life from an early age Kothari took up scuba diving a few years ago in the Maldives After returning to India what stood out to him was not just the marine life around water bodies in South Mumbai but how little of it was visible in Indian waters Across large stretches of the coastline particularly around Mumbai mdash poor water quality and heavy pollution meant visibility was extremely low even in areas known to support marine ecosystemsThe interface was built by Kothari over six to eight months using basic JavaScript skills online coding forums and selective use of artificial intelligence tools It positions CoastalTrace as a middleman trying to make pollution more visible It took Kothari seven to eight months to develop the platform given extensive research for itLeft Rian Kothari holds a Sea Urchin at Zanzibar Islands in 2023 Kothari on a scuba dive at Maldives in 2024To further refine it he carried out background research on the nature of coastal pollution studied publicly available material on conservation and on how pollution is classified and recorded and analysed existing documentation to shape the reporting options He also took help from his academic coursework in environmental science in school to populate the platformrsquos structure and review onground mitigation efforts to align it with practical datasharing needsRian and his mother Shital Kothari left bottle up food wrappers under an initiative of Mission Green Mumbai Pics CourtesyRian KothariThis experience prompted him to closely examine polluted waters He began researching major pollution hotspots in the city including sewageheavy zones such as Sassoon Dock urban water bodies like Powai Lake and the stretch where the Mithi River runs alongside Bandra Kurla ComplexTrack your wasteThe platform is deliberately simple It allows citizens to log pollution incidents by selecting a location identifying the type of waste and adding brief descriptive details Categories available on the interface include plastic waste mixed marine debris hazardous or large waste general household trash and others These reports are then automatically routed to relevant NGOs research institutions or government bodies based on location and type of pollutionIn Mumbai reports are shared with organisations including Maharashtra Pollution Control Board Maharashtra Maritime Board and the Afroz Shah Foundation Similar routing systems now operate in Chennai linking with the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board Bay of Life Foundation and ExNoRa International in Goa with the Goa State Pollution Control Board Act for Goa and Coastal Impact India and in Kerala with the Kerala State Pollution Control Board the Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority and the Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology CMLRE in Kochi This connects data to groups ranging from studentled sea turtle conservation networks to state coastal zone authoritiesAn image of a dashboard on the website displaying sewageintense zones using colour codesThe platform also overlays weather and tidal data helping identify pollution patterns and highactivity zones over time Older reports are automatically archived to avoid clutter ensuring that recent data remains current and usable for organisations responding on the ground Kothari hopes CoastalTrace will evolve beyond a reporting tool into a stronger data and research resource While he has not received formal feedback from organisations yet a conversation with officials working in a plastic recycling organisation influenced a key shift in approach ldquoAt first I wanted the platform to help NGOs organise cleanups and push government action but I realised that in Maharashtra most cleanups are handled through government contracts making it less idealrdquo reiterates Kothari As a result CoastalTrace for now focuses on documenting pollution and keeping it publicly visibleHe hopes it can expand to more coastal cities adding short risk briefs to explain vulnerability and exposure and closer collaborations with official stakeholders as data can be used for analysis by journalists city planners and local authoritiesLog on to coastaltraceorgWe tested itUsing CoastalTrace was largely seamless As a firsttime user this writer could log a pollution sighting quickly by selecting the location choosing the type of waste and adding a short note The map view makes the information easy to understand showing how individual reports connect to a wider pattern especially around areas which are closer to the beaches for example a section of the cityrsquos west coast alongside Mahim to PrabhadeviHowever a few improvements could make the experience stronger The waste categories could use detailed examples or tips to help users classify debris accurately There is also limited clarity on what happens after a report is submitted which may leave users unsure about the impact of their contribution Overall CoastalTrace works well as a public documentation tool and with small refinements it could become more effective and userfriendly