06 January,2010 08:52 AM IST | | Shree Lahiri
What started as a morning tea-time discussion with a group of friends has turned into a cause with a passion.
Praveen Dhore (35) started his war against plastic bags last year.u00a0 "It was in June 2009, when I started taking concrete steps," he shared with MiD DAY. They undertook another activity in the end of December, propagating the concept and doling out plastic bags.
Dhore strongly feels that non-recyclable plastic bags are harmful to human beings, who are a part of this eco-system. And he is not a lone crusader. His movement has found many supporters.
"We were 10 of us who used to play badminton and go for morning walks in Kothrud. We stopped regularly for tea near a sabji mandai, and often noticed that people would carry vegetables in plastic bags," Dhore continued.
Dhore, a country manager of a manufacturing company, who heads this anti-plastic movement, conducted a small activity near Vithal Mandi, in Karvenagar, at the sabji mandai two weeks ago. The group spread their message by word of mouth and got in touch with a couple of sponsors who funded their activities.
Said Dhore, "We distributed free cloth bags to people coming to buy vegetables at the stall and requested everyone to stop using plastic bags. The activity got tremendous response and was well appreciated by even the vegetable vendors as well."
"Some people also offered to help our cause and donated small sums towards the movement," he added.
Net gains
The campaign u2014 Say No to Plastic Bags u2014 also has an online presence. A community on Facebook boasts of 103 members. The group, all in their 30s, is planning to carry on similar activities in various parts of the city.
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Tushar Bajwala (36), who deals in medical equipment said, "If you don't say 'no' to plastic, it will be very difficult for the new generation to survive. We want to spread this message across the city. We should have started this campaign earlier."
Another member, Kaushik Konlade (30), a professional in the hospitality industry enthused, "Our cause is simple, but we need to spread the word around and make people aware about the importance of the cause. To make a difference is a great feeling. We are already seeing a change and that is reassuring."
It may be a small beginning. But they sure have a long way to go.
