New Delhi: Anand Mahindra, Chairman of Mahindra Group is popular among Netizens for being proactive on micro-blogging site Twitter, and constantly putting out his views on a wide variety of social and economic issues apart from updating his followers on matters related to his company. Just like putting out any other update on social media, on Tuesday (July 16), Anand Mahindra posted about K.C.M.E.T (K.C. Mahindra Education Trust) scholarship selections and that one tweet and following replies made him vow to banish plastic bottles from corporate boardrooms.
“The K.C.M.E.T scholarship selections are amongst the most energising engagements in my calendar. The incredible intelligence and self-belief displayed by these youngsters is staggering. All concerns about the future are shoved aside by the optimism these young people inspire,” Mr Mahindra tweeted along with a couple of pictures.
The K.C.M.E.T scholarship selections are amongst the most energising engagements in my calendar. The incredible intelligence & self-belief displayed by these youngsters is staggering.All concerns about the future are shoved aside by the optimism these young people inspire pic.twitter.com/WYUd2IHwwU
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) July 16, 2019
Also Read: Goodbye Plastic, Hello Creativity: Five Easy Ways To Reuse Plastic Bottles
In one of the photos, 10 plastic water bottles are seen. While many users didn’t pay any heed to the single-use plastic water bottles, an observant and environment conscious user instantly pointed out the plastic bottles and suggested to have steel water bottles.
“I think the board room should have steel bottle instead of plastic bottle.. Just an observation sir”, wrote Mitali, drawing attention to the ongoing debate and discussion around the world about how to fight plastic pollution.
I think the board room should have Steel Bottle instead of Plastic bottle.. Just an observation sir ????
— Mitali (@filmibaaz) July 16, 2019
Acknowledging this response to his tweet, Mr Mahindra straightaway responded saying, “Yes, plastic bottles will be banished. We were all embarrassed to see them that day…”
Yes, plastic bottles will be banished. We were all embarrassed to see them that day… https://t.co/RwZA4tWoRE
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) July 16, 2019
Following Mitali, other twitterati started sharing eco-friendly and sustainable alternatives to plastic water bottles. One of the users suggested copper bottles and hitting two birds with one stone – discarding the use of plastic and improving one’s health as drinking from a copper vessel comes with varied health benefits.
No steel bottle… Suggest to keep copper bottles. It benefits health..
— Ashwath Bhakti (@AshwathBhakti) July 18, 2019
Another user suggested practising BYOB (bring your own bottle) and refilling water bottle though water dispensers. He wrote, “All should carry their own bottles from home. With the weight of laptop/lunch box, 1 litre of water from home is no big deal. If anyone wants to consume more water, water dispensers can be used and employee should be charged ₹10/litre. The accumulated amount should be matched by Mahindra’s and used for water conservation projects.”
@anandmahindra – 1. All should carry their own bottles from home. With the weight of laptop/lunch box, 1 litre of water from home is no big deal.
— Dilip (@dilip2205) July 18, 2019
Also Read: Can India Eliminate Single-Use Plastics By 2022?
One of the comments suggested getting rid of the single-use plastic water bottles by switching to glass bottles.
Sir, it’s worth getting rid of the single use water bottles. Our board rooms have nice glass bottles and a ‘tucked away’ water cooler. Good for the environment and the dreary mind dealing with death by PowerPoint.
— Chiranth Ramaswamy (@chiranthram) July 16, 2019
And there were more recommendations on social media.
Sir, Iam just stunned and speechless by your humble nature. Take a bow ! India needs leaders like you ????
— LED ZEPPELIN (@karthik8886) July 16, 2019
https://twitter.com/Shivay87485180/status/1151553149750038530
Also Read: #BottleCapChallenge: The Viral Challenge ‘Sickens’ Dia Mirza, Twitterati Agree
A user questioned Mr Mahindra’s decision of banning plastic water bottles only from boardrooms and asked ‘why not in the full company under the brand’.
Only BOARDROOMS?? how many will be saved?..Why NOT in the FULL Company under the Brand!!!!
— Amarjit Siingh Narula (@amarholistic) July 17, 2019
I think you can take the initiative to ban them altogether from all of Mahindra’s companies. That would be great leadership.
— Nandini Gulati (@belightcoach) July 17, 2019
May the green initiative spread out of the board room…
— CA. Ravi Shankar Sistla (@ravisistla) July 17, 2019
Also Read: Plastic Waste: How Different Countries Are Handling Plastic And What India Can Learn
Another user thinks banning is not the solution but educating individuals about plastic use is pivotal.
Sir banning the plastic bottles is not solution but educated the people about plastic use is most important remember many people are earning from this industry
— Hiren (@Hiren02396431) July 17, 2019
The fight against plastic doesn’t end by simply switching to sustainable alternatives because the need of the hour is to reuse and recycle the existing plastic waste. Backing the same, Mr Mahindra shared a photo of two-wheelers parked inside a broken water tank.
He captioned the picture as, “I had tweeted about banning plastic water bottles in my office & I suppose that could apply to a number plastic products around us. But good to see people creatively recycling stuff as well!”
I had tweeted about banning plastic water bottles in my office & I suppose that could apply to a number plastic products around us. But good to see people creatively recycling stuff as well! pic.twitter.com/T0780KLUrI
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) July 18, 2019
Since Tuesday, Mr Mahindra’s reply to Mitali’s suggestion has garnered over 3100 likes, 285 retweets and 243 comments. Share your suggestions on how to fight plastic menace in the comments section below.
NDTV – Dettol Banega Swachh India campaign lends support to the Government of India’s Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). Helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, the campaign aims to spread awareness about hygiene and sanitation, the importance of building toilets and making India open defecation free (ODF) by October 2019, a target set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2014. Over the years, the campaign has widened its scope to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and menstrual hygiene. The campaign has also focused extensively on marine pollution, clean Ganga Project and rejuvenation of Yamuna, two of India’s major river bodies.
