EDMC Runs Green Campaign, Plans To Make Vikas Marg Stretch Single-Use Plastic-Free

New Delhi: From conducting a prolonged drive to make a stretch of Vikas Marg free of single-use plastic to staging street theatres to raise awareness, the civic body in east Delhi is running a campaign to promote cleanliness and sustainability. As part of its larger vision for a cleaner and greener environment, the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) on Monday had launched ‘Pollution Mitigation Action Plan 2021-2022’.

Also Read: These Single-Use Plastic Items Will Be Banned From July 1 Next Year

A senior official said the civic body has been running the campaign to cut use of plastic, and civic teams are conducting awareness drives too, including through ‘nukkad natak’. Starting October 1, a month-long drive had been started to make a stretch of Vikas Marg single-use plastic-free as a demonstrative activity to motivate the masses and set an example.

Our teams go on that stretch from time to time, and talk to people and distribute handbills to raise awareness, the official said.

The campaign also finds space in the pollution mitigation action plan of the civic body. A one-month long awareness campaign in association with NGO, IPCA (Indian Pollution Control Association) was started on October 1 in order to declare Vikas Marg, from Laxmi Nagar to Karkari More, as plastic-free zone, the document said. Shopkeepers as well as visitors to the area are being educated to not use plastic, according to the plan.

We also doing awareness programmes and running workshops with members of market associations, as markets are bulk waste generators, to cut down on the use of plastic besides imposing challans on violators, the senior official said.

The EDMC had run ‘Say No to Single Use Plastic’ campaign from September 25 to October 2, in all the wards under the leadership of its councillors. Under this campaign, waste plastic was collected and local residents were made aware about the ill-effects of plastic.

The pollution mitigation action plan envisions both short-term and long-term action items to improve the condition of the environment. A proposed project on bio-mining of 50 lakh tonne of legacy waste in Ghazipur landfill dump to setting up of a dust control and management cell, are also part of it. Recently, in a creative initiative, a vertical garden and artworks made of plastic cups and bottles were mounted on walls in New Ashok Nagar ward in east Delhi, aiming to raise awareness on cleanliness and greener environment.

Also Read: Over 34 Lakh Tonnes Of Plastic Waste Generated In Financial Year 2019-20: Government

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NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity,  that is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.