23 December,2022 06:10 AM IST | Mumbai | Rajendra B. Aklekar
An employee of a food stall on a CR station pours chips into a paper bag for a customer to ensure the plastic bag is disposed of properly
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Chips and samosas will be served in paper bags at city stations, as the Central Railway (CR) last week launched a drive to keep plastic bags and sachets out of commuters' hands. These are the main reason for the clogging of drains on railway premises. Vendors at railway stalls have been advised to give snacks in paper bags to consumers to keep as much plastic away as possible.
"Central Railway, Mumbai division, has started a unique initiative towards a plastic-free environment. It has been started to make the railway premises plastic free. The staff at the catering stalls on the stations have been sensitized by the divisional manager and his team to sell the food items in eco-friendly paper bags instead of plastic bags," a CR spokesperson said. The employees of food stalls also open packets of food such as wafers, pour them into a paper bag for the consumer and then dispose of the bag properly.
"Employees working at all stalls have been given the status of âSafai Yoddha' and they are being encouraged to actively participate in this campaign. This will not only help keep the environment clean but also solve the problem of waterlogging during the rainy season due to plastic bags which get stuck in the drainage system," he added.
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During the monsoon season, it is plastic bags that lie around rail tracks and clog drains and flood tracks. "Along with the drive, we have come up with a unique concept of combining floriculture and beautification of railway tracks with routine maintenance work carried out during the mega block every week. This involves cleaning of tracks, removal of vegetation, dry grass and muck along the railway tracks, renewal of soil and manure, planting of new saplings and trimming, pruning and watering the existing flora.
"These works will be carried out simultaneously with maintenance work done during the mega block," he added. The environment and housekeeping wing of the CR had also worked on cleaning up plastic during Swacchata Pakhwada 2022 when it had collected about 1,394 kg of plastic waste in a month between September and October 2022.
