Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore   

RAAC launches anti-plastics drive

— Photo: K. Ananthan

ENVIRONMENT-FRIENDLY: Mayor R.Venkatachalam (third right), Deputy Mayor N.Karthik (right) Collector V.Palanikumar (second right) and Corporation Commissioner V.K.Shanmugam (fourth right) display cloth bags that RAAC is planning to distribute in Coimbatore on Monday.

COIMBATORE: Even the bouquets for the dignitaries did not have the customary plastic wrappers. And, that provided a clear indication of how serious the campaign against plastics would be for the next eight weeks across the Coimbatore city.

The launch of the campaign by Residents’ Awareness Association of Coimbatore (RAAC) here on Monday sought to set the tempo for intensive efforts to rid the city of the menace of plastics.

RAAC would team up with the district administration, Coimbatore Corporation, Rotary and Lions Clubs and other citizen’s groups such as Siruthuli in campaign to sensitise the public to the need to shun plastics.

For every 10 plastic bags got from the people, RAAC would provide them with a cloth bag. After RAAC president C.R. Swaminathan explained the objectives of the campaign and what the association had been doing to clean up the city so far, Principal of Sri Krishna College of Arts and Science K. Sundararaman explained how students would go on a door-to-door campaign on June 28 and 29 to collect plastic bags from every house. June 29 would be celebrated as Alagana Kovai Day. Alagana Kovai is RAAC’s project for a clean and green city.

With the plastic bags collected, a huge monster would be created and displayed at four places in the city to highlight the ill-effects of plastics. “We plan to mobilise one lakh cloth bags,” he said. ELGI Group and CRI Charitable Trust had promised to provide 10,000 cloth bags each. Those who wished to contribute cloth bags with their logos could contact Mr. Sundararaman on phone number 97866-07000 or R. Raveendran on 98422-33446.

Appreciating the efforts of RAAC and other voluntary organisations in carrying out a task that was normally expected of the Government, District Collector V. Palanikumar pointed out that solid waste management and bio-medical waste management were tasks entrusted to urban local bodies by the 74th Amendment to the Constitution.

“The rate of urbanisation in Coimbatore city is alarming. Eight lakh people have moved from the rural areas to the city in the last 10 years. This means a proportionate increase in the waste generated,” he said.

Chennai city generates 3,000 tonnes of solid waste a day. Coimbatore Corporation, Tirupur Corporation, nine municipalities and over 50 town panchayats generate a similar quantum of waste in the Coimbatore revenue district.

Anti-plastics efforts by RAAC and other organisations only point out that public awareness was good in Coimbatore. “People should be environment-friendly and not just e-friendly (computer-friendly)”, he said.

Punning on the title of RAAC’s project-- “Alagana Kovai” -- Mayor R. Venkatachalam wished that a beautiful Coimbatore should be a permanent one and not just as a day’s event.

People should know that plastics could affect ground water table. The city could not afford this at a time when many multi-storeyed apartments were coming up and there was demand for water. He cited the efforts of Siruthuli, a public initiative, to conserve water resources. “A beautiful and clean Coimbatore for the posterity is what I call for,” he said.

Corporation Commissioner V.K. Shanmugham quoted from the Upanishads to say that they had foretold environmental degradation because of the overuse of some substances. Such a problem had come in the form of plastics, he said.

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