Minister for Information and Publicity M.P. Saminathan said on Monday that the State government has been taking efforts to introduce biodegradable alternatives to plastic bags.
He along with Minister for Adi Dravidar Welfare N. Kayalvizhi Selvaraj launched the mass cleaning exercise of the Tiruppur Corporation at Ward No. 56 in Zone-IV on Monday. Speaking to mediapersons, he said that the usage of plastic bags is particularly high in Coimbatore, Tiruppur and Erode districts as these were industry-heavy regions. The biodegradable alternatives will be introduced in a “step-by-step” fashion and efforts were on to study whether the existing plastic waste could be used in laying of roads, Mr. Saminathan said.
A press release said that 3,030 Corporation workers will be involved in this exercise to clean 1,506-km-long storm water drainage spanning all the 60 wards ahead of the north-east monsoon. The wards were split into six divisions for the mass cleaning exercise, which will continue till September 25. Corporation Commissioner Kranti Kumar Pati and Tiruppur South MLA K. Selvaraj were present at the launch.
Meanwhile, tension prevailed for a short while as a snake was found during the cleaning exercise at Ward No. 56. Those at the event did not harm it as the snake slithered away into a bush, sources said.
