My homeland is in ruins, facing the wrath of nature’s fury. It has lost the people who live in it because of a flood that washed up the shores of my coastal hometown. Engulfing the homes where families live, inundating fields of crops where workers sow the seeds of their labour, rampaging cities where people had committed to urbanise and develop. Cities with no buildings, fishermen without boats, farmers with no land, families with no homes and children with no future.
 
Why am I, just a school student, having to bear the grief and loss of something that I wasn’t responsible for? Why must I cry for the lives being lost, when I don’t know what aggravated the oceans?
 
Who is to blame?
 
For years, our country’s prosperity was and still is flourished by oceans. They fuel our country, with its vast reserves of petroleum and serve as a defence ground in protecting our nation from external threats. They prosper families by providing income, livelihoods to the masses of Indians and catering the needs of regions. India’s Blue Economy proves to be the greatest source of income to our nation, with various marine industries that are fuelled by the Ocean and its splendour. It 95% of the country's business through transportation and contributes an estimated 4% to its Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
 
The ocean has served as an identity to me and my fellow southern brothers and sisters. We find common roots through the ancient practices of fishery and tourism. I still remember the trips through the backwaters of my homeland. But now, it seems almost impossible to see it come back to its full fervour.
 
Marine pollution drives our Ocean’s ultimate end. In fact, 80% of the world’s marine pollutants are caused because of you and me. 8.8 tons of plastic end up in our pristine oceans, every year, endangering marine life and the marine eco-system. Poor water quality is like a ticking bomb amongst us Indians, as it has caused critical, life-threatening situations.
 
Industrial and agricultural waste, sewage pollutants, ocean mining, large-scale oil spills, land run-off and chemical and plastic pollutants aggravate the ever-worsening conditions of our Oceans. Big companies, industries, factories and manufacturers see our blue waters as an empty field to dump waste in.
 
Our oceans will face irreversible damage if we don’t act now. If we don’t act now, my homeland will be no more and our nation will bear its consequences.
 
Be it the government, be it marine organisations, be it us, the very people of India, we must stand for the change we believe in, the truth, the ultimate sanctification for our world. By creating inclusive livelihoods and business opportunities in sustainable tourism and fisheries, it benefits both people and the development of our nation. Improving sustainability in port and coastal infrastructure development and mandating the responsible use of water bodies by companies is essential. Regardless, our ventures must be carried forward in the best interest, while protecting and restoring coastal and marine ecosystems and rivers that symbolise our country.
 
The Ocean is mine and yours to save, not deplete. It is my homeland, our homeland, and the basis of our life. Remember, with no blue, there is no green and no life.