Team Herald

PANJIM: Giving a clarion call to avoid and stop single-use plastic, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday announced that the government would impose fines on the violators in the near future. 

Speaking at the State level event organised to celebrate Mahatma Gandhi's150th birth anniversary at Gandhi Chowk Old Goa, Sawant lamented that though Indians gained freedom under the leadership of Gandhiji, for whom cleanliness was more important than anything else, his dream of a clean India is still unfulfilled.

"We have banned single-use plastic in the State from today (Wednesday). We have started it with government offices, meetings and functions. But I want citizens to take the initiative and make this a mass movement through awareness," he said. 

On the occasion, Chief Minister launched cloth bags, manufactured by the State Handicraft, Textile and Coir Department. The bags would be made available to the public as substitute to plastic bags. 

"Our movement against plastic is based on three concepts - awareness, availability and avoid," Sawant said, adding “Unless we create awareness and make the alternative available, people will never stop using plastic.” He also said that once people stop using plastic bags and single use plastic items, its manufacturing will also stop.

"In near future, we will impose fines against use of single use plastic items," he stated. 

Union Minister for Ayush Shripad Naik was present. 

Sawant said, “Gandhiji's teachings of non-violence, swadeshi and his emphasis on cleanliness inspire us. Though we celebrate 70 years of our Independence, we have not able to inculcate Gandhi’s values in us. Each one of us needs to do that. Cleanliness has been dream of our Father of Nation but, we have not been able to achieve that till now". 

The Chief Minister urged people of Goa to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mass movement of Clean India, a dream of Mahatma Gandhi. 

Later in the day, Sawant flagged off the BJP's 'Gandhi Sankalp Yatra' from the party head office and took out a padyatra along with party workers, Panjim MLA Atanasio Monserrate, corporators and school students. The padyatra concluded at Azad Maidan, after taking a round of the city.