BMC wants people not to carry prasad in plastic bags

Bhubaneswar: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to appeal to people not to bring prasad in polythene carry bags to Durga Puja pandals in an effort to check the use and littering of single-use plastic during the festival.

There will be awareness messages written on boards, which will be put up in kiosks. The BMC will set up the kiosks through which it will urge people not to come with polythene carry bags. During Durga Puja, the city’s municipal solid waste goes up by another 200 metric tonnes a day. Normally, the city generates about 800 metric tonnes of garbage, out of which 200 tonnes is plastic waste.

A band of volunteers will be deployed at the kiosks to distribute leaflets that will have messages on cleanliness during the puja. “The main objective of having the kiosks is to spread the message to abstain from using polythene carry bags, to check litter, reduce the burden on sanitary workers, and minimise the overall burden of handling plastic waste. Besides, the volunteers will make people aware not to litter puja waste on roads and nearby puja pandals but to dump them in the designated dustbins,” said a BMC officer.

The kiosks will be put up only at big pandals such as Baramunda, Nayapalli, Sahid Nagar, Rasulgarh, Jharpada, and Damana. The BMC has decided to depute its officers, including the three zonal deputy commissioners, to oversee the awareness drive. The senior officers will sit at the kiosks on a rotational basis. “We will also educate puja committee members on how to immerse idols in the artificial ponds dug near the traditional ponds,” added the officer.