Clean beaches at last

I used to feel really sick when i used to cross past Girgaum Chowpaty in South Mumbai or the Juhu Beach and see them choc-a-bloc with these food stalls and vendors. Not only would the stalls be there, the stall-wallahs would even corner large chunks of the beach to lay out an elaborate seating arrangement for potential customers. So much would be the nuisance that the genuine beach goer would hardly get any space to enjoy the beach. And then, if you were to go to the beach in the morning, you would be treated to a humungous amount of junk and garbage, strewn all over the place, and making the place look more like a dumping ground than the beach.
A few years ago, thanks to some High Court intervention and the good effort of some citizens, the Girgaum Chowpaty was rid of all the hawkers (who by the way, were given space in an enclosed area which was created as a food stall arena). As a result, one could see and appreciate the good beach that Bombay had. Children could actually play in the sand and build sand castles or whatever else caught their fancy. Families could sit there comfortably, in a clean environment, without being harrassed by 10 people persuading them to have bhel puri fromeach of their stalls.
Juhu beach, the one closer to my place and which Surabhi and I used to freqent often before we got married, however continued to be one big mess. Such was the state that we guys totally stopped going there. There was a lot of talk of litigation and a citizen's forum and so on to clean and beautify the beach. However, considering the vested interests and the weak willed Maharashtra govt., one never imagined that one could see the Juhu beach as a clean and inviting beach ever again.
As i cross the beach this evening, I was taken by surprise to see that all the hawkers had been cleared off the main beach (I understand they have been given space in a food court). For the first time i could see the entire expanse of the beach and realised that it could be a great beach even when the high tide was up. Felt really good to see that. Kids were constructing their sand castles, running around playing pakram-pakdai, playing ball, and so on. Families were comfortably settled on the beach having some good family time together and enjoyin the sea.
Now as i get ready to start frequenting the beach again, i only hope that we are able to maintain it clean and that it doesnt go back to their old days.
Will try to get some snaps next time around!!