Puri, 20th June, 2023: On the occasion of Rath Yatra, SwitchON Foundation in partnership with Railway Youth Club in Puri put a Plastic free stall along with the distribution of free snacks and fresh lemon water to provide some relief to the pilgrims of the scorching heat and celebrate Rath Yatra keeping with the theme of World Environment Day i.e #BeatPlasticPollution thereby creating awareness among people about curbing plastic pollution.
Rathayatra, also known as the Festival of Chariots, is a significant Hindu festival celebrated with great enthusiasm and devotion. The festival attracts devotees and participants from various communities who come together to celebrate this joyous occasion. Understanding the importance of community support and sharing, SwitchON Foundation installed a plastic free stall. Thousands of pilgrims visited the plastic free stall where they were made aware of the harm of single use plastics and how they can adopt simple ways for a sustainable environment.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Vinay Jaju, MD SwitchON Foundation said, “People from all over India and World visit Puri during this holy festival of Rath Yatra. We took this opportunity to create awareness amongst the pilgrims on plastic pollution. Today, Plastic Pollution has become one of the most pressing issues of the environment that is adversely affecting humans, wildlife and its habitats. We have to stop using single use plastic and encourage people to adopt more sustainable products.
SwitchON Foundation released a report on Ban on Plastic waste for an unclogged future. A Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB, 2019-20) report estimated that 3.5 million metric tonnes of plastic waste are generated in India annually. In order to mitigate the everlasting plastic pollution issue, India has banned the manufacture, stocking, import, distribution, sale, and use of single-use plastic (SUP) all over the country since July 1st, 2022 .
Following recommendations were made by SwitchON Foundation:
- The implementation of the plastic ban will not proliferate single-handedly by the government, the common public needs to hop on to support the mitigation strategy.
- Research is required to find a cheap and reliable alternative for plastics and polythene.
- An organized plastic waste management system needs to be formulated.
- The ban needs to take into account more plastic products as single-use plastics only make up 2%-3% of the total plastic waste generated in India.
- The plastic ban is still not proliferating in the expected pace, the word needs to be propagated at an individual level.
- Alternative products from companies could be a way forward in the promotion of the ban on the use of plastics.
- Awareness of the masses is of utmost importance.
One of the pilgrims during Rath Yatra said, “This kind of plastic free stall in Rathyatra is very rare. It is encouraging to witness such an initiative by SwitchOn Foundation to make people aware of the menace of plastic pollution.”
Media Dossier
Contact: Vinay Jaju | M: +91 9331178105 | Email: VJ@SwitchON.org.in
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