After walking 1,100 km in 45 days, environmental crusader Rajeshwari Singh reached Delhi on Monday, on the eve of World Environment Day.
Ms. Singh took on the epic journey to spread awareness about the need to beat plastic pollution.
On her journey from Vadodara in Gujarat to Delhi, Ms. Singh covered 22 cities in four States. She visited several schools, met members of gram panchayats and also interacted with locals to spread her message of saying no to single-use plastics.
‘Wanted to do something’
Speaking at a press conference organised by UN India, the 32-year-old said, “This year I wanted to do something for Environment Day. It was a coincidence that the theme turned out to be plastic pollution, which is really close to my heart.”
India is the host nation for the 45th World Environment Day.
Ms. Singh said that she did not use any non-reusable plastic during her journey, adding that she had refused to adopt single-use plastic since an early age.
Actor and UN Goodwill Ambassador Dia Mirza was also present at the press conference.
She emphasised the responsibility of producers to ensure proper mechanisms to collect plastic waste, and manufacture eco-friendly products.
Appreciating the efforts of Ms. Singh and Aditya Mukarji, a younger campaigner who is fighting against the use of plastic straws, Ms. Mirza said that there was a need to become responsible for waste generation.
Ms. Singh is also the founder of Caravan Classroom, a non-profit mobile school initiative to impart basic knowledge to children.
