Kids take up the cudgels for plastic-free city, spread cleanliness message

Taking a step towards a plastic-free and green society, residents of Thane and Navi Mumbai organised various events to celebrate Gandhi Jayanti on Wednesday. Various

Taking a step towards a plastic-free and green society, residents of Thane and Navi Mumbai organised various events to celebrate Gandhi Jayanti on Wednesday. Various housing societies conducted programmes for children, which included debates, drawing and poster-making competitions, skits and jingle-writing.

A 14-year-old participant Ashish said, “We have seen the effects of climate change and it is time to wake up and take positive steps to save the environment.”

Sidharth Mane, committee member at Bhoomi Jyot, Kamothe, said that today, children are more aware than the elders. “As part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, children in our society cleaned the common area.”

Shiv Krupa society in Kharghar appealed to its residents to stop using plastic and distributed cloth bags to everyone. Several NGOs and the civic bodies, too, did their bit for a plastic-free city. They organised a Unity run for a plastic-free city.

In Thane, 150 students of Brahman Shikshan Mandal dressed up as Mahatma Gandhi marched in a procession from Charai till the school in Ghantali.

Several other students dressed up as different freedom fighters. Two rallies were taken out by more than 3,000 students from the Patlipada and Kopri branch of Sri Ma Vidyalaya to create awareness on saving water and saying no to plastic.

A skit that depicted the segregation of plastic also followed the rally.

Students of Sri Ma Bal Niketan School collected more than 4,000 plastics bottles and urged citizens to deposit their plastic waste, which would then be sent for recycling.

In another drive, school students, along with senior citizens, shopkeepers and residents from Hiranandani Estate came together to urge everyone to keep the environment clean.

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