Unfazed by stiff opposition from environmentalists, the tourism department on Sunday privatized sanitation work on Puri beach. A Bhubaneswar-based voluntary organization would carry out the cleaning instead of the local municipality.

In the first phase, the outsourced agency has engaged nearly 80 sweepers, who would clean the beach from 6 am to 10 pm. "Subsequently, the agency would press into service a mechanized sweeping machine on the beach," tourist officer (Puri) Bijay Kumar Jena said.