'Please don't litter!'

Conserve power’. ‘Save the planet’. ‘Green Bangalore, Clean Bangalore’. These are some of the mantras that subconsciously keep running in our heads thanks to the heavy publicity given to them by the infinite number of hoardings, posters and other forms of media. Though this bombardment of information is a good thing, how many of us actually follow these rules? 

Urmila Pullat is a second year law student, who carries a cover for garbage whenever she is out. “I don’t litter at all and if I do, I put the litter in the bag that I carry. Even when others throw garbage in front of me, I make it a point to pick it up,” she says.

“I travel a lot and trains don’t have dustbins. So I carry bags whenever I am on a train as well,” she adds. Urmila is even working on an animated video against littering. “It’s an entire sequence on what happens when a person litters.” Regarding World Environment Day, she says, “It’s an important day as people need to be constantly reminded about the environment.”

Serah, a postgraduate student, recalls the time she spent in Doha, Qatar. “Once, there was a case over there, where people had littered plastic on the beach. The turtles had eaten the plastic and were floating. Gradually, these turtles got burnt in the heat and died. So there was a huge movement and my father was involved in it. That’s what got me started,” she says. She always carries a spare bag with her especially while shopping. “When you purchase small things, you are given big plastic bags by the shopkeepers to carry them. So carrying a spare bag really helps. I also plan to motivate auto drivers to get their engines tuned.” According to her, “An announcement on the radio or the newspapers won’t really help unless the people are interested in the first place.”

Vardhan, an engineering student, has participated in green drives a few times. “I went along with a youth group to Cubbon Park to raise awareness, and plant trees. We have many rallies in college as well,” he says. “World Environment Day is definitely needed. But don’t overdo things just for the sake of this day and ignore the environment for the rest of the year,” he adds.

Lekha, a theatre artist and a young professional, has planted many trees in and around her area in Vasanthnagar. She has even named these trees after her friends and family.
As part of a group of young environmentalists, who are actively involved in plantation drives, she says, “We are in talks with authorities for the plantation of trees on the Inner and Outer Ring Road.” She adds, “A day like World Environment Day is good to remind us of our duties. It’s always good to have a reminder and something from which, everyone can learn a lesson.”