The Hindu 18.03.2010

Web site on plastic ban launched

Staff Reporter

Nagercoil: The district administration has launched a web-site recently to create awareness among school and college students as well as the general public on the ban of plastic materials in the district.

The Collector, Rajendra Ratnoo, said that in the web-site there were two options where the public could click ‘yes' or ‘no' to express their view on whether to ban or not to ban plastics in the district.

He also appealed to the public to post their suggestions in this web-site to declare Kanyakumari as a ‘plastic free district' at the earliest.

Four municipalities

The officials of four municipalities including Nagercoil, Padmanabhapuram, Colachel and Kuzuthurai, 56 town panchayats and 99 village panchayats were being asked to form committees in connection with creating awareness among the people about the usage of plastic items above 20 microns.

It had been decided to conduct IEC (information, education and communication) programme throughout the district.

‘We would not be able to eradicate the plastic menace within a short span. But we could minimize the usage day by day, by making use of paper or jute bags,” said the Collector.

Committed

The district administration was committed to bring in a ‘behavioral change' among the people by creating awareness about the ill-effects of using plastics, which could be responsible for diseases as cancer.

The campaign stressing on reduced use of plastic items began in October last and other awareness programmes were conducted every month to educate the public about the evils of its usage.

It would be continued in future also, he said.