Mayor launches ‘Plastic Free City’ campaign
The Voice of Chandigarh News: Chandigarh Mayor Sarbjit Kaur Dhillon launched a ‘Plastic Free City’ campaign under the Mission Swachh Chandigarh on Saturday at Plaza, Sector 17, the presence of Anindita Mitra, IAS, Commissioner, Anup Gupta, Deputy Mayor, Saurabh Joshi, area councilor, office bearers of Chandigarh Beopar Mandal, Trader’s Association, Sector 17 and representatives of Market Welfare Associations.
Speaking at the event, the Mayor emphasized the need to abolish plastic from routine life. She said that technology should be explored to reduce plastic usage in the city and also urged the citizens to adopt the usage of jute and cloth bags in the place of plastic. She said that a ban on plastic items cannot be successful without the cooperation of people, especially the shopkeepers/businessmen.
The Mayor also launched a signature campaign to raise awareness and encourage citizens to reduce the use of plastic besides starting the pasting of stickers under the theme of ‘Say no to Plastic’ at the counters of every shop. The Mayor, Commissioner and other dignitaries pledged for refusing single-use plastic items in their daily life and to create awareness among the masses for not to use plastic items.
Later, another awareness programme was organized at the community centre, Sector 15, which was attended by the office bearers/representatives of all the Market Welfare Associations from the city. During the programme video clips regarding ‘Say no to Plastic’ and ‘Door to door waste collection’ etc. were shown to the audience.
Anindita Mitra, Commissioner, MCC said that the awareness campaigns of the MCC will focus on ensuring that every stakeholder of the city will be involved in the campaign and seminars will be held at schools, colleges and educational institutions, with the participation of volunteers, to raise awareness to make Chandigarh plastic-free.
She said that the Swachh Survekshan mandates a ban on single-use plastic below 75 microns, in compliance with Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2021. However, Chandigarh has gone one step further and banned all types of plastic irrespective of its thickness. MCC with due support from CPCC is also regularly conducting raids and issuing challans to the violators. The Commissioner said that as responsible citizens, let’s move towards more sustainable options like jute and cloth bags.
While talking about the grievance redressal platforms, the Commissioner said that the Swachhata App is a grievance redressal app of MoHUA, Government of India for sanitation-related complaints through which any citizen can approach the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh for complaints regarding basic amenities and encroachments etc. On similar lines, the Chandigarh Administration has developed the I’m Chandigarh App, through which people can use either of the apps to lodge complaints & avail services. She appealed to actively use these platforms, and leave positive feedback if their complaint is satisfactorily resolved. These messages encourage the MCC to serve citizens better.
Speaking on the facilities of public toilets in Markets, the Commissioner said that Chandigarh has an extensive network of Public Toilets & Community Toilets, which are being renovated and keeping these toilets clean besides installing QR codes in all toilets to get citizen feedback and know the areas of improvement. She said that all toilets have been made geotagged, and anyone can locate these through Swachhata App.
She appealed to the gathering for giving their valuable feedback, which is the most urgent component of the Swachh Sarvekshan-2022 with weightage to the voice of youth and Sr. Citizens. She said that to help Chandigarh succeed in its mission, the MCC would require active support from all the stakeholders. She said that there are 6 channels through which citizens can give their feedback, i.e. through Swachh Survekshan portal, MyGov portal, QR Codes, Calling on 1969, Swachhata App & Vote for your city app. Additionally, the citizens may receive calls from the ministry asking basic questions regarding the Survekshan and City’s initiatives. When the survey team comes for direct observation, they might ask these questions face-to-face also.
Earlier, Saurabh Joshi, area councilor welcomed the Chief Guest and other dignitaries. He said that the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh regularly conducting awareness programmes themed “Plastic Mukt Bharat” and take measures to reduce plastic waste in the city. He said that without the role and responsibility of the citizens and especially the Market Welfare Associations, the task may not be completed successfully. He appealed all the office bearers and representatives of Market Welfare Associations to contribute some time in the field of reducing the plastic from not only their residences but from markets as well.
Swachhata Anthem was run during both programmes.
