Inaugural function of the awareness drive to popularise earthen cups. Picture by S.H. Patgiri

May 7: The anti-plastic campaign has got a big boost in the city with Environ, an NGO, tying up with the Gauhati Municipal Corporation (GMC) to popularise the use of earthen pots instead of plastic cups.

The NGO will distribute one lakh earthen pots among the members of the public to raise awareness about eco-friendly drinking pattern during a one-month awareness campaign, which was inaugurated today.

Mayor Kushal Sarmah today said the help of the NGO was sought to carry out the campaign with a view to sensitise the people about the importance of using earthen pots instead of plastic glasses and cups for drinking water or sip tea.

“Unless the public is aware of environmental hazards of plastic, any sort of campaign will not bear fruit,” he said.

Amarjyoti Kashyap, president of Environ, said the awareness campaign would first concentrate on the greater Dispur and capital complex areas. “We have set up a temporary shed near the Dispur Super Market to sensitise the public on the use of earthen pots instead of plastic glasses and cups. The earthen pots are eco-friendly and will be popularised with the support of students from Gauhati University and awareness programmes will be held in this connection,” he said.

Kashyap said the pots would be distributed free of cost among the public initially. The NGO will later persuade business establishments, hotels, restaurants and educational institutions to purchase the earthen pots at 30-40 paise each.

The NGO has many students of Gauhati University and other city colleges as members, who will work actively in support of the cause. Kashyap said the production of the pots might be a good source of income for the unemployed. The NGO plans to market the pots in a big way once those are popularised among the public.

The NGO initiative against the use of plastic has come after the failure of the Kamrup metropolitan district administration to stop use of coloured plastic bags. The district administration’s campaign against the use of plastic had started with a bang last year, but ended in a whimper soon.

The district administration had geared up all the nagarik committees and various NGOs to join hands to make the campaign a success.

“The authorities do not follow up their action. They make big promises, but within two to three months, things go back to square one. We need a more vigilant monitoring mechanism to implement such measures,” Anjali Das, a nagarik committee member of the Basistha area, said.

Mrinal Medhi, general secretary of the Environ, said awareness should be created against the harmful effects of non-biodegradable plastic bags in the school level. “We should start a campaign in schools and colleges about an eco-friendly environment,” he said.