Hyderabad Mayor Banda Karthika Chandra Reddy on Sunday flagged off a rally at the Jamia Osmania Road overbridge, to create awareness among the public on the need to cut down on the usage of plastic in everyday life.
The 'Ban On Plastic' rally saw Adikment Corporator Sunitha Prakash Goud, and local leaders and residents participating. The participants took an oath to ban plastic in the entire jurisdiction of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation.
Speaking on the occasion, the Mayor said plastic bags litter the landscape, and that once they are used, most plastic bags go into land fills.
"Each year, more and more plastic bags are ending up littering the environment. Once they become litter, plastic bags find their ways into our waterways, parks and streets; and if they are burned they infuse the air with toxic fumes," she said.
Karthika Reddy further stated that "plastic bags have become such a ubiquitous way of life that it seems as if we simply cannot do without them."
She added, "However, if we have the will we can start reducing their use in small ways. A paper or a cloth bag can make a good substitute."
The Mayor said the government is working out ways to lessen the impact of plastic bags on the environment. She called upon the public to shoulder some of the responsibility to reduce the usage and thus solve the problem.