Cuttack: In a step towards a plastic-free Silver City, Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) will hold an awareness drive to sensitise people about the ill-impacts of plastic and urge them to refrain from using it, Mayor Meenakshree Behera said.
The drive, which is scheduled to begin from the first week of September, will strive to raise public awareness to create a greener environment. “Odia actor Arindam Roy will be roped in to make the drive more effective. Officials in the rank of deputy commissioner will be in charge of 10 wards each,” Behera said.
Leaflets and banners will be distributed in order to communicate with the people. Besides, several radio stations will also air plastic-free slogans to enhance awareness. Several social outfits have expressed their willingness to extend support towards making the drive successful, the Mayor added.
Initially, people would be informed as to why they should not use plastic. Later, the enforcement squad would convey the provisions of punishment for using plastic, CMC commissioner Bikash Chandra Mohapatra said.
“In order to ensure that the message reaches the grassroots, the drive will cover schools under CMC areas and make students aware of the harmful impacts of plastic on the environment. Besides, awareness raths (vehicles) will announce slogans such as ‘Discard plastic, keep environment healthy’, Mohapatra added.
Meanwhile, the CMC initiative has been widely criticised and questioned as well.
According to Ward 4 corporator Giribala Behera (Congress), the CMC drive is one among many which failed to yield the desired output. “There are several instances where the civic body spent huge amounts of money on such campaigns without any result,” Giribala said.
Spreading awareness for a plastic-free city isn’t a big deal. Rather, what matters is how the government will act against the plastic manufacturing units here, the Ward 4 corporator added.
Meanwhile, Ward 1 corporator Chitta Ranjana Das (BJP), stated that authorities should introspect outcomes of the drive and take actions thereafter. “The enforcement team shouldn’t sit tight after the campaign. It should rather ensure regular checks in shops to ensure the benefits,” Das said.
Notably, the state government had ordered a ban on the use of plastic bags and polythene in the state. Apart from Bhubaneswar, the ban will come into force in Cuttack, Berhampur, Puri, Sambalpur and Rourkela from October 2. The entire state would be made plastic-free in multiple phases thereon.