Students urged to pledge against plastic menace

Caption: CVSV Prasad, MD of Swarna Group of Companies presents a bicycle to Ritwika Karigar, a student who won the bumper prize in competitions organised by the NGO ‘Possible Together' at Dharwad.(TOI).Dharwad: A mega environment mission titled "Let's Stop Asking for OTP (One Time Plastic)" was launched on Feb 25 at Ambedkar Bhavan on Sanmati Marg in Dharwad by the Possible Together organisation. The initiative was inaugurated under the leadership of Chigurupati VSV Prasad, managing director of the Swarna Group of Companies.The programme commenced with the distribution of paper bags to shopkeepers, symbolising a shift away from single-use plastic. Addressing the gathering, Dr. Prasad said protecting the environment is the responsibility of every individual. He noted that natural calamities such as landslides and floods are consequences of environmental neglect and urged students to join hands in eliminating plastic use. He lauded the efforts of Possible Together founder and president Vijayalakshmi Perry for spearheading the campaign."Students are the future citizens of the nation. If they take a pledge to eradicate the plastic menace, success is certain," he said, adding that across the world efforts are underway to eliminate plastic and promote eco-friendly alternatives.Labour minister Santosh S Lad, who attended as the chief guest, praised the initiative of distributing paper bags made by children to shopkeepers in place of single-use plastic covers. Vijayalakshmi Perry said the mission aims to create a people's movement to make Hubballi-Dharwad plastic-free and drive lasting transformation in civic habits.Among those present were DDPI SS Keladimath, Ravi Guttal, CTO of AXIS Company, and Pro. MR Patil of KLE Technological University.As part of the campaign, Possible Together organised a paper bag-making competition across Hubballi-Dharwad, collecting more than one lakh paper bags from students. Various competitions were also held to raise awareness among children and parents about the harmful effects of plastic usage. Mementoes were distributed to winning schools and teachers.JSS Manjunatheshwara State English Medium School secured the first prize.Ritwika Karigar, a Class IV student of the same school, won the bumper prize. Other prize winners who received wristwatches included Jia Madhurkar of Aryan School, Ankita of JSS Murughamath School, Prisha Pawar of JSS State Syllabus Vidyagiri School, and Shreya Shirasangi of Smt. Vimala Kulkarni Memorial School.