IPL 2019: Cricketer Suresh Raina Urges IPL Viewers To Keep Stadiums Cleans, Says #DontBeMeanKeepItClean

New Delhi: Festivals, celebrations, and matches in India are incomplete without pomp and show and with great splendour comes tonnes of waste making its way to already dying landfills. IPL (Indian Premier League), a Twenty20 cricket league in India contested by eight teams representing eight different cities in India is no different. Cricket fans that come to stadium to witness the nail biting match often leave waste like plastic water bottles, chips packet, cans of varied beverages and other items behind them.

According to Down to Earth, a magazine by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) that reports on science and environment, after every match, 3-4 tonnes of mixed waste is generated, which can’t be recycled and ultimately find its way to the landfill.

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Acknowledging this fact and supporting Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Suresh Raina, Indian cricketer, made a personal request to IPL viewers to keep stadiums clean. The 32-year-old cricketer shared a video on social media saying, “Did you know an average cricket match in India produces 3-4.5 tonnes of waste. So, how are you going to help keep our stadiums clean? I’d say, go for the bins.”

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Promoting the message of Clean India further, the cricketer added,

Next time you go to the stadium to watch a cricket match, don’t be mean, keep it clean.

The cricketer appealed to the citizens to take a minute to pick up trash generated by them during the match before leaving the stadium. He added, “Share a picture of you joining this initiative with #DontBeMeanKeepItClean & stand a chance of winning signed merchandise.”

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The IPL season 12 kick started on March 23 and the last match is scheduled to happen on May 5.

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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.