As part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav and Swachh Survekshan, the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) is promoting the use of cloth bags as an alternative for plastic in a big way.
In this regard, a ‘Cloth Bag Challenge’ was launched by the civic body for schoolchildren in the city.
As part of the challenge, the GVMC has asked students to prepare cloth bags either by using unused clothes, bed-sheets, pillow covers, and T-shirts, or by taking a readymade cloth bag on which they need to make embroidery works or paint quotations related to the environment. Since the last one week, a large number of children from many schools have been participating in the challenge and are posting their videos online, tagging it to the GVMC’s social media accounts.
“We need to start creating awareness over plastic ban, its harmful side and its alternatives right from the school age. There are around 25,000 school students in the city. If we could involve children in such a fight against plastic, their parents may also get involved. So, these ideas may spread to around 25,000 families,” said GVMC Commissioner G. Lakshmisha.
“A large number of students from GVMC as well as other schools from the city are preparing cloth bags using waste clothes with the help of their parents. The videos are being shared with us daily. The response is great and we would also like to recognise good participants and award them in different categories like best use of old clothes, best readymade cloth bags and participation,” the Commissioner added.
The GVMC officials have also sought the help of Resident Welfare Association (RWAs), NGOs and associations to fight the plastic menace. A few RWA members asked the GVMC Commissioner to conduct awareness campaigns through ward sachivalayams over the usage of cloth bags.
The GVMC is also mulling to give a time of around two months for the shopkeepers and other merchants to shift to alternatives for plastic bags. Later, the corporation would start enforcing the plastic ban.
Published - February 17, 2022 07:33 pm IST
