13-year-old urges plastic ban through short film

Atharva, who is also a child artist, has made a short film including glimpses from the Thane city market areas where it can be seen people are openly using plastic.

Thane: A 13-year-old boy from Thane dreams of keeping his city free from plastic, clean and pollution free. Through a short film, Atharva Vagal – the class VIII student – is urging citizens to not use single-use plastic and instead switch to cloth bags to keep the city pollution free.

Thane, India - December 17, 2022: Atharva Jayesh Wagal, a class 8 student has come up with a short film to promote the message of plastic-free Thane urging people to avoid the use of plastic and adopt eco-friendly materials to save the city from plastic pollution, in Thane, Mumbai, India, on Saturday, December 17, 2022. (Praful Gangurde/HT Photo) (HT PHOTO)

Atharva, who is also a child artist, has made a short film including glimpses from the Thane city market areas where it can be seen people are openly using plastic. Atharva also included his voice-over in the film to spread the word that, “if one can carry a mobile phone in their pocket, then why can’t one carry a cloth bag too while going shopping.”

“I want my city to be clean and pollution free. One thing I want the people of Thane to avoid is the use of plastic bags,” said Atharva. He added that everyone just needs to quit using plastic bags, stop relying upon the shopkeepers for the bags and just carry their cloth bags to the market.

In the short film titled “Chala banvu plastic mukt Thane” (Let’s make thane plastic-free), he shows himself in a market where he is buying vegetables and when the shopkeeper offers him a plastic bag to carry, he pulls out his mobile with a cloth bag and take away the veggies in that bag. The video also shows how beautiful Thane city is and what one can do to keep it free from plastic.

As an artist, Atharva has also prepared a motivational song and short film during the Covid-19 pandemic for the people of Thane. He was appreciated by the civic officials, ministers, and local representatives for his efforts.

“One day he told me that he wants to free the city from the plastic menace by making a short film. I also supported him,” said Jayesh Vagal, father of Atharva. He added that initially, his son used to click pictures of plastic dumped on the streets and post them on social media to get the attention of the civic authorities.

“Later he told me he wants to reach out to as many people as possible and spread the word. We also have urged the civic body chief to have cloth bag dispensing machines installed across Thane so that people can use it instead of the plastic bags,” said Jayesh, 40.