TN govt’s campaign to bring back manja pai will curb the use of plastics
Recently, the Tamil Nadu government launched a campaign called ‘Meendum Manja Pai’ aimed at encouraging people to use cloth bags instead of plastic. This move by the state government has been received well by many eco-warriors. Krishnan Subramanian, who started YellowBag Foundation as an initiative to promote reusable cloth bags, is happy with the campaign. But he says that the enthusiasm with the officials and others shouldn’t die down after a month or two. “When the plastic ban was implemented in TN, many were religiously following it for the first two months or so. Slowly, they lost interest. The same shouldn’t happen with the Meendum Manja Pai campaign. There is enough awareness of the harmful effects of plastic and people know the benefits of using cloth bags. What’s important is policy implementation,” says Krishnan.
He adds that the officials should enforce strict measures on this. “It should be a continuous effort on the part of officials, traders and consumers as well. Earlier, manja pai with goodies
were offered to guests when they leave important functions like weddings. A few used to keep the bags and reuse them. These cloth bags can be used for a longer period when compared to plastic ones. When such policies are implemented by the government, they should make sure that the cloth bags are manufactured locally, thereby, giving employment opportunities for locals. This will benefit that particular village or town as well. Also, throughout the campaign, we have to stress on the many uses of cloth bags,” he adds.
If you are running a business or hosting an event, you can encourage the use of cloth bags, Krishnan says. “You don’t have to wait for any official announcement. If you are an entrepreneur and are sending packages to the customer, make sure to deliver them in cloth bags. Small gestures like this will make a huge difference.” Seethalakshmi, who puts up the Organic Farmers Market (OFM) in the city, has stopped using plastic bags for many years. “It was a huge revelation for me when I got to know about the benefits of using cloth bags. At OFM, we only use cloth bags to sell the products. I feel it is the responsibility of each citizen to stop using plastic. It has been reported that 140-tonne plastic was collected from a prominent subway after the recent floods. One of the main reasons for flooding in many parts of Chennai was due to blocked drainage. I hope the Meendum Manja Pai campaign will bring some changes in people’s attitude and save our environment,” remarks Seethalakshmi.