New Delhi: “Kisi nashe ke jesi aadat padi ye kaisi, plastic se yaari gulami hui humari”, (What kind of intoxicating habit is this, our friendship with plastic has turned into slavery?) read the lyrics of the ‘Plastic Waste Free India’ anthem released by Union Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan on Thursday (February 28) to motivate people to ditch single-use plastic. The anthem has been prepared and produced by Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Smriti Manch (PDUSM), a non-profit organisation working on various social and environmental issues including plastic waste free nation. The anthem has been launched in seven Indian languages – Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telegu, Malyalam and Kannada.
#PlasticWasteFreeIndia के तहत आज मैंने #पंडित_दीन_दयाल_उपाध्याय स्मृति मंच द्वारा तैयार किया गया गीत, "प्लास्टिक को कह दे ना ना ना" को रिलीज किया। 6 भारतीय भाषाओं में रिलीज किए गए इस गीत में #plasticwaste को खत्म करने का संदेश दिया गया है। @moefcc @ErikSolheim @vinodshukla52 pic.twitter.com/TypOtfGxig
— Dr Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) February 28, 2019
While launching the song at his residence in Delhi, Dr. Vardhan addressed the issue of single-use plastic and how it can be hazardous for generations to come. As quoted by PTI, he said,
This is an important time for humanity since the actions taken by this generation will decide the course of future of our planet. We are working with the stakeholders to completely abolish the use of single-use plastics by 2022 and strengthen plastic waste management and recycling ecosystem in our country.
The plastic anthem starts with a girl throwing a chocolate wrapper on road and before it touches the ground, a man catches it and throws it in a dustbin. The song highlights our habit of using plastic and how it is killing our planet. Through the song, the message of ‘ditch single-use plastic’ is being promoted.
In Pics: Five Stark Facts About Plastic Pollution
Talking to NDTV about the idea behind launching a ‘plastic-waste free’ anthem, Anand Mani, National General Secretary, PDUSM, says,
The problem is, whenever plastic is banned, people are not educated about it. They are not taught about different kinds of plastic, how they impact our environment, how they can be replaced and reused. Our song aims towards solving all these problems or at least start the conversation around it.
The song further talks about two kinds of plastic – good and bad. While the good plastic like plastic bottles can be reused and recycled into t-shirts and eco-friendly carry bags, bad plastic like plastic bags less than 50 microns need to be refused.
The entire humanity is addicted to plastic packaging and our over-dependence on plastics has severely impacted our environment and health. Our manch has embarked upon on a mission to build a ‘plastic waste-free India’, says Vinod Shukla, President of PDUSM.
Though the song was produced independently by PDUSM, but now PDUSM has joined hands with the Environment Ministry to take the message forward. With government support, the song will be launched in other regional languages. The government plans to shun single-use plastics by 2022.
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
