Contributing their bit to make Agra smart city

They may be drawn from different professions and may come from varied backgrounds, yet their goal is one and their sheer dedication to their cause make them leaders in the true spirit. All of them have been working tirelessly to rid Agra, the city that houses the monument of love Taj Mahal, of polythene and promote use of  paper bags.

They are all members of “Leaders Agra”, an organisation having doctors, social workers, women and even politicians, whose sole objective is to create awareness among the people about the disastrous environmental effects of polythene.

Although the Uttar Pradesh government has banned use of polythene, it remains only on paper and plastic bags are being used openly in violation of the rule, much to the chagrin of the people in the city.

“There is no point in banning polythene if it cannot be implemented…for all
practical purposes the ban is useless,” said Suresh Jain, the chief campaigner for Leaders Agra.

Jain, a former corporator, and many other eminent citizens of the city, have launched a campaign to promote the use of paper bags in Agra.

The members of the organisation choose a busy spot in the city, preferably a market, which is visited  by people in large numbers, and distribute paper bags to them and also urge them to shun plastic bags.

The members choose vegetable markets or ‘kirana’ (grocery) markets for their campaign. “These are the places where people use plastic bags for carrying articles bought by them,’’  Jain said.

The group is especially concentrating on women. “If we are able to convince womenfolk about the ill-effects of plastic bags, we can easily achieve our aim. After all, most of the grocery and vegetable shopping is done by the women only,” he said. “We not only give them paper bags free of charge but also request them to continue to use them and avoid polythene,” Jain told DH.

“So far we have distributed over 10,000 paper bags in different localities of the city,” Dr J N Tandon, a member of the organisation, said.

Tandon, a former president of the Indian Medical Association (Agra) and a well-known paediatrician, said that the organisation members also apprise the people about the ill-effects of polythene.

Jain, who is chief campaigner, said that polythene had turned out to be a big
menace in the Taj city. “The drains are choked with plastic bags. They also get into the sewage system compounding problems further,” he said.

He said that plastic bags also lead to the death of the cattle. “The cattle, while eating the thrown eatables, also consume  plastic bags, which result in their death on many occasions,” said Tandon.

The members feel that they can achieve success if they are able to drive home the message that use of paper bags will also result in saving the lives of the cattle. “No one wants cattle to die in such a manner. They may shun use of polythene bags if they come to know that their action is leading to the death of the cattle,” he remarked.

Jain said that the response of the people to their campaign was “tremendous”.  “The people patiently hear us when we explain to them about the menace…they also take pledge not to use polythene,” he added.

Interestingly, the cost of manufacturing paper bags are borne by the members of the organisation. “Leaders Agra does not get any financial assistance from the
government or any other organisation,” said Jain.

The organisation, however, has invented a novel way to finance its endeavours. “We encourage our members with ability to bear the cost of manufacturing bags…in whatever numbers they can…and in turn we get the names of such members on the paper bags,” Jain added.

In a bid to promote use of paper bags, it also plans to give the tag of “smart citizen” to those, who do not use polythene. “Agra has been included in the list of smart cities…we feel that shunning use of polythene by the people will make them smart citizens,” said Jain.

It plans to hold seminars and corner meetings to create awareness among the people about polythene menace. “We want to tell the people that paper bags are not as costly as they think they are…paper bags can be used for a long period cutting down their cost of purchase,” he remarked.

The members lamented that the government, despite banning use of polythene, did not ban its production. “How can one expect to curb use of polythene  unless its production is banned,’’ he asked.

The members realise that their task is not simple and easy. “It’s a huge task…we do not have enough resources to distribute paper bags,” admitted Jain. He said that the cooperation of the common people was a must for the success of the

campaign. “We need cooperation of every section of society. We plan to expand our reach. Though we have been undertaking door-to-door campaign, we still have a long way to go,” said Tandon.

The task might be big but the way the members have been going about their work there is little doubt that they will be able to persuade a sizeable, if not all, section of the people to switch to environment-friendly paper bags.