Mulugu: District Collector's innovative way to shun plastic use

Mulugu: If you are traversing down towards the countryside of River Godavari, do not get flabbergasted by the giant structure made of plastic refuse that resembles like Kalakeya, a character in S S Rajamouli's multilingual blockbuster Baahubali: The Beginning, at Gattamma Temple, a couple of kilometres before the district headquarters Mulugu.

In what is termed as an innovative measure to catch the imagination of the people, the Mulugu District Administration has come with the 20-foot statue of Kalakeya roadside near Gattamma Temple, on the NH-163, where devotees heading to Medaram make a customary halt. The authorities put up a notice board that reads... "Mulugu District Welcomes the Devotees Heading to Medaram. Don't be a plastic Kalakeya that degrades the environment. Like a plastic free Bahubali seek the blessings of Goddess Gattamma and proceed towards Sammakka and Saralamma deities at Medaram."

Thanks to District Collector C Narayana Reddy who came up with an out of the box idea to popularise the government's move to turn the upcoming biennial Sammakka Saralamma jatara plastic free. The Collector's penchant for turning Medaram jatara is well known in this part of the tribal hinterland. He had already banned the use of plastics besides promoting eco-friendly jute, cloth and paper bags. It may be mentioned here that the Collector had even announced to provide stalls at Medaram jatara free of cost to those traders selling eco-friendly bags at a reasonable price.

Speaking to The Hans India, C Narayana Reddy said, "the onus is on people to protect the sanctity of the Adivasi jatara, which is located in the midst of thickets, besides not causing any harm to the forest environs and Adivasi culture. Imagine the kind of refuse that piles up at a congregation like Medaram fair where 1.30 crore devotees gather during the jatara. It is time for the people to don the role of Bahubali to drive away plastic Kalakeya permanently," he said. He stated that Kalakeya statue would be the limit where people have to leave whatever plastic material they have with them.