With the onset of winter, picnic parties have bee-lined to different spots, including the Hirakud dam.
And, Zero point here is another place of attraction and importance for picnickers. But most of the people are coming with huge quantity of polythene and leaving it here much to the discomfort of the common people as well as the administration since polythene has been banned in the district.
And to make people aware, the local administration in collaboration with the NSS wing of Sambalpur University, Sambalpur Municipal Corporation (SMC), Hindalco Hirakud, gathered at Zero point to make the people aware and also cleaned the area to set an example.
MLA of Sambalpur Dr Raseswari Panigrahi, Collector Samarth Verma, Hindalco CSR head Satyanarayan, VC of Sambalpur University Dr Deepak Behera, Director of VSSIMSAR Prof Aswini Pujahari, DFO of Sambalpur Territorial Division Dr Sanjeet Kumar and many other dignitaries of the district remained present on the occasion and also took an active part in cleaning and awareness drive.
“Such programme is sure to sensitize people and will discourage them to use polythene,” said Collector Verma. Since, more people come for picnic on Saturday and Sunday, the students of Sambalpur University under the NSS wing will visit Zero point and all other picnic spots adjacent to dam in both Burla and Hirakud sides to sensitize people, the organisers informed.
The administration is also making arrangements for plastic exchange, they added.