Seeking to free Rameswaram island, the pilgrim centre, which attracts more than one crore pilgrims and tourists, a year from the menace of plastics, Collector K. Veera Raghava Rao launched a ‘plastic shramdhaan’ campaign at Danushkodi on Saturday.
After administering the pledge to the people, Mr. Rao joined hands with them and removed plastic waste in the pilgrim centre on Saturday. He said after the Tamil Nadu government banned single use plastic items from January 1, 2019 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for elimination of single use plastics, the district administration had launched several initiatives to free the district from plastics.
The ‘plastic shramdaan’ campaign was part of the district-wide Swachh Bharat Mission, he said adding more focus would be given to Rameswaram island, which was emerging as one of the major tourism and pilgrim destination.
Pointing that thousands of pilgrims visited Danushkodi and Arichalmunai, the south east tip of the island every day, he said the Rameswaram Municipality has been advised to accord top priority for keeping these areas and the island clean and plastic free.
The programme was organised as part of the ‘Swachhta Hi Seva’, said K Muraleedharan, Member, Institute Management Committee, Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI). ‘Green Rameswaram Clean Rameswaram’ was the motto of the programme, he added.
