life without plastic has become unimaginable for many today with plastic being used for various purposes in day to day lives from water bottles to carry bags to hospital items. But, there are plenty of things one can do in everyday life to reduce its use and the resulting negative impacts for which plastic waste is responsible.
In a recent study published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, a team of scientists have pointed out that ten of the world's rivers, including the Ganga and the Brahmaputra, together account for about 90 per cent of plastic waste deposited by rivers into the sea. This shows the grim reality that plastic waste is gathering along the rivers' catchment zones, killing the aquatic life and disturbing the whole ecosystem. Plastic pollution is a major environmental problem causing damage to the humans, land and water animals and their habitats. The waste that accumulates in landfills causes drastic effect on the food chain.
The city on the banks of the Ganga is no exception being affected by this global plastic menace. Heaps of garbage with thin coloured plastic bags and plastic packaging clinging to iron barricades on Ganga Ghats and littering residential areas in major parts of the holy city of Haridwar have become a matter of concern to the residents and the administrators alike.
It is estimated that 65 per cent of public water needs are met by rivers. Flood, drought and rivers turning seasonal are increasingly leading to crop failure across the country. These are alarming aspects considering which it is high time to conserve sources of water and stop littering.
It is a harsh reality that the bulk of garbage in water bodies originates on land— carried to rivers from the streets during heavy rain through storms, drains and sewer overflows. As per the National Green Tribunal (NGT) directions, a complete ban has been imposed on the use of plastic and polythene bags of any kind from Gaumukh to Haridwar along the Ganga river. There is a penal provision of Rs 5,000 per day on erring hotels, dharamshalas and ashrams spewing waste into the river. Though officials are silent over the use of Ganga Jali (the plastic can used to hold holy water), regular raids are being made on violators of polythene and plastic ban.
Speaking to The Pioneer, the district magistrate of Haridwar Deepak Rawat said, “Our team conducts raids from time to time in various parts of the city to check the use of polythene and plastic items. Till now our team has penalised many traders and vendors who are violating the NGT directions. We have caught wholesalers and retailers and lot of awareness drives have been carried out in schools and colleges but time has come now that consumers also get the pinch of it.” He further said, “I shall now announce penalisation of the consumer who is found using thin polythene bags. The vegetable sellers are forced by the consumers to give the articles in polythene bags, the consumers prefer buying things from vendors who pack products in polythene bags. My personal observation is that the manufacturers of polythene are not in Uttarakhand but they use small boys to distribute these to the local vendors. Now I will book such boys under child labour Act,” he said.
As per an estimate by the Central Pollution Control Board, 60 cities across India together generate about 1.28 million tonnes of plastic polythene waste each year which is enough to pack a tower of the size of the Qutub Minar every two days. Sitting by the Ganga river bank while enjoying its cool breeze, one cannot ignore the reality of the waste floating around in that water—and a lot of most of it is non- biodegradable plastic which lasts in the environment for far longer than other forms of trash.
The district administration has urged traders, local priests, industrialists and religious bodies to forget their personal and commercial issues and work in tandem with the NGT orders, administration, civic body, Ganga Pollution Control Board and other nodal agencies to ensure that the sanctity of the river is restored by reducing plastic waste.
Karuna Sharma of a social organisation AIWC suggests, “Monitoring in the sensitive areas around Ganga by administration where food articles and ‘prashad’ is sold, can help protect the river from plastic menace. Besides, the problem can also be solved if younger priests come up as caretakers asking pilgrims and visitors not to throw polythene in Ganga. The administration is doing its bit but half measures never bear fruit until it is 100 per cent.” Another way is for senior citizens to come forward and spend their time making the effort to spread awareness and stop the defaulters, added Karuna. Mahant Ramanand Puri said, “NGOs can help the government in becoming a monitoring agency to check violators who throw plastic on river banks or in the streets.”