TEAM HERALD
CALANGUTE: In a bid to tackle plastic waste in their areas, two former sarpanchas of Calangute have revived a traditional concept of taking care of plastic waste – hang the plastic bags to hooks on iron rods.
Laxman Parab and his wife Geeta, who is also a sitting panch, have taken the initiative in their area to encourage family members and neighbours to hang plastic waste like milk packets, food packets and sachets on iron roads with hooks, instead of littering these around.
The Parabs initially tried the traditional method at their residence and when the exercise was successful, they shared the idea with family members and neighbours.
The concept has paid rich dividends as many households have now started taking care of their littered plastic waste with the help of iron rods.
The Parabs have taken a step further and undertook an awareness drive ‘Let’s start from our home’ to stop littering of plastic waste and they distributed iron rods with hooks to residents of the ward represented by Geeta as Calangute panchayat member.
Geeta now plans to take the initiative to other villages in Bardez taluka in her capacity as president of Goa Panchayat Mahila Shakti Abhiyan (Bardez Block).
The awareness drive was attended by residents of Naikka Vaddo, Calangute. Speaking along the sidelines of the awareness drive, Geeta said the traditional concept came to her mind when they saw an iron rod hanging in the house of an elderly relative with important papers like bills and documents.
“We then deliberated on the concept for plastic waste and gave a try at our own home and this worked well. We then informed our family members and neighbours to try out the idea.”
“The concept was well accepted by everyone, including those renting premises in our areas. With the support of everyone, we have the desire to take it to other villages of Goa for a clean and neat society,” said Geeta.
“The concept is simple and easy to understand for everyone to implement it at their residences. It does not require huge amount of money to put it in place. Our children too will be encouraged to take care of the plastic and stop the litter leading to pollution. The system could be a success for ‘Nitoll Goem’ with the co-operation of one and all,” added
Laxman.
