NEW DELHI: Ministry of Defence has launched a two-week campaign against single use plastic in Delhi Cantt as a part of the Swachhta Pakhwada campaign. The awareness campaign is conducted in all the cantonment regions of the nation between December 1st to 15th. Rajnath Singh, Union Minister of Defence, Shripad Yesso Naik, Minister of State for Defence and several top ranked defense officers from Indian Navy, Air Force, Army and Coast Guard were present during the flag off event for a plogging drive which was held in Delhi Cantt on December 7. Shripad Naik addressed the crowd of approximately 500, “Reducing single-use plastic is the need of the hour for India. We need to preserve the environment for our future generation and single-use plastic is one of the biggest malice to it.”
The inaugural event also hosted nukkad nataks, art work displays through which students of Cantonment Board regions expressed their opinions on the issue. Rajnath Singh appreciated the initiative. In his speech, he highlighted how such campaigns would benefit other urban areas of India as well. He said that children should be the ambassadors for cleanliness drives as their messages hold more weight given that they are the next generation. Following this, he administered a Swachhta pledge to the people attending the event and flagged off the march. The march saw a contingent of NCC and school students from Delhi Cantt who undertook the long plogging march in which they retrieved plastic waste dumped on the street.
Throughout the two-week period of the campaign, various awareness programs like nukkad nataks, debates, quizzes, painting competitions among students would be organized and would also see participation from all the forces. On December 7, similar events were held in 400 locations throughout India and were organised by all the three defence services (Army, Navy, Air Force), Indian Coast Guard, Defence Public Sector Undertakings, Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), Cantonment boards, National Cadet Corps (NCC), Boarder Road Organisation (BRO).