BMC, Alumni Assn Launch Campaign To Make Odisha’s Utkal University Campus Plastic-Free

Bhubaneswar: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Alumni Association of Utkal University on Saturday launched an awareness campaign and mass cleaning activity against single-use plastic to make the university campus clean, green and plastic-free.

“This campaign would be an ongoing programme in the campus with an object of freeing it of single-use plastic involving all stakeholders such as students, faculty members, shopkeepers, staff and residents of the university spearheaded by the alumni association in association with university authorities and BMC,” former Odisha Chief Secretary and Utkal University Alumni Association president BK Patnaik said while flagging off the campaign on Saheed Diwas, the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

The BMC, under its ‘Mu Safaiwala’ campaign, engaged its safaikarmis and mechanical sweepers to clean up the entire campus.

The civic body has donated 10 large dustbins and cloth bags, which will be put up at different places on the university campus.

Leaflets and pamphlets have been distributed to make students aware of single-use plastic like water bottles, bags, cup, plates, jugs, plastic straws, sachets, pencils boxes. They have been urged to abolish plastic from their routine life on campus.

As an alternative, students have been given jute bags for use in their daily life.

Among other officials present at the event were BMC Deputy Commissioner (Sanitation) Suvendu Sahoo, Utkal University Vice-Chancellor Prof. Sabita Acharya, General Secretary and former Vice-Chancellor Utkal University Prof. Ashok Das, Chairman, PG Council Prof. Basant Kumar Mallick, Utkal University Registrar Avaya Kumar Nayak, Information Commissioner, Govt of Odisha Dilip Kumar Bisoi.