Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Nagercoil bids adieu to plastic - District Collector explains how they did it!

I received this comment for my post 'Nagercoil bids adieu to plastic, shall we try to follow them?' today, from the District Collector of Kanyakumari @ Nagercoil. He has explained the step by step method of how he was able to implement this ban, which each and every State of our country and people can follow as an example. Now, to the comment:



Rajendra Ratnoo has left a new comment on your post "Nagercoil bids adieu to plastic, shall we try to f...":

Thanks to the author and all those who contributed here in discussion, on behalf of District Administration and the People of Kanyakumari District! Its really encouraging for me, my team and the people of this district to hear such nice feedback! One little correction, the plastics carry bags and cups are banned in the entire District, consisting of 1057 rural habitations, 56 Town Panchayats and 4 Municipalities (Nagercoil is one among the 4 municipalities) and not in Nagercoil alone! What made us to succeed is that we did almost a six months long campaign and this campaign had some specific strategies, such as

1.Campaign had three components- Awareness generation, Training for behavioral Change of all stakeholders and Enforcement from a preannounced date i.e. 1st April

2.Focus in the trainings beyond knowledge i.e. on change in attitude and behaviour

3. Leading by example before preaching i.e. before launching the campaign in Public Domain, First Collector and his family stopped using plastics, then entire Collector Office Staff and District Level Officers said NO to it, then we targeted the Leaders and opinion makers, including Honourable Minister for Tourism, MLAs, Municipal and Town Pt Chairpersons and gradually we went down upto ward members, SHG leaders, Traders, and sanitary workers!

4. Multiple Channels of Communication, including vernacular media, Schools, Colleges, FM Radio, SMS,Voice calls from District Collector to all citizens, through religious leaders i.e. both mass media, and interpersonal communication strategies were used!

The results of our team work are very encouraging and we are following and monitoring the Enforcement! Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board provided good support in the campaign.

We have now launched the next Campaign for waste segregation and decentralised composting wherever possible and stopping pollution of water bodies that will be liable for criminal action from 1st July! We finally dream for a Zero Garbage Kanyakumari District! Solicit support and encouragement of responsible civil society members like you!

Thanks and regards

Rajendra Ratnoo, IAS

District Collector, Kanyakumari @ Nagercoil, TN


Thank you Sir, for your valuable comment to my post and this will help everyone who wants to follow your steps to ban plastics in our day-to-day usage.

I made this comment of the District Collector into a post because I would like everyone to know that if there is a will, there is a way. There is no meaning in just complaining that the government is not doing anything for banning plastics or in any other matter. We can all come together with the help of leaders like Mr.Rajendra Ratnoo. We really admire him and we need more people like him.

23 comments :

Swaram said...

Thatz so nice Sandhya. Gr8 to know its not only @ Nagercoil, but even @ other places too. We def. need to follow them :)

Shilpa said...

This is really nice.
Your post got a response from the man who was part of the team that made it all happen.

Coming here after a really long time. I see that the layout has changed. Will be browsing through the content leisurely.

R. Ramesh said...

thanks ya:)

Anonymous said...

That is so interesting! And it just goes to show that when we really want to, we can make a difference.

Thank you so much for sharing Mr Ratnoo's comment. We might have missed it otherwise!

KParthasarathi said...

A laudable work indeed by the district administration.You did well to highlight it

Renu said...

I also admire him and agree with you that we need more people like him.

Deeps said...

Thank you for sharing this comment of Mr Mattoo with us, Sandhya. I wish every state enforces these steps and plays a proactive role in banishing plastic and such kinds thereby making our country a much safer place to live.

Sandhya said...

Swaram: Pl. read D.I.'s comment in the old post, interesting.


Shilpa: Nice to see you here again! Nice to know this great man behind this achievement.


wordsndreamz: That is the reason I highlighted his comment in a separate post, Smitha! Everyone should know how he did it.


Renu: Yes, we need more people to push us, Renu!


Deeps: Yes, Deepu.

Rajendra Ratnoo said...

Thanks to all for encouraging words!
Please join 'Plastics Free Kanyakumari' on Facebook and make it a vibrant platform for sharing ideas and interacting as to how we can save mother Earth from the menace of Plastics Pollution, particularly one time use plastic!

SG said...

Thanks for the nice info. We need more civil servants like Mr. Ratnoo.

Sandhya said...

Rajendra Ratnoo: Sir, we will join 'Plastic free Kanyakumari' in Facebook shortly and spread the message to other States in our country too.

Thank you, Sir.


SG.: We sure need more people like him, SG!

Rajendra Ratnoo said...

Thanks, for the quick and positive response . We are launching the next level campaigns for segregation & composting as well as stoping pollution of water channels and water bodies by way of irresponsible disposal of solid waste !

Aparna said...

This is so nice.
Blogging is such a beautiful medium to interact. I loved your previous post and this one. And to get such a feedback comment from Mr.Ratnoo, really great.

PNA said...

I'm glad it's a success story, because plastic these days have become so necessary, we hardly think before opting for it...

We had a similar drive in our state, ppl were scared to carry plastic bags below or above a certain micron unit, in fear of the fine!!

I think if there are alternatives readily available, sturdy paper bags and cups instead of plastic ones it's easy to switch...

Good good, progess let the word spread:):)

Glad

kanagu said...

Its so nice of him to elaborate how he and his team has done that... and I wish their district continues that way and let it stood as example...

Thanks to you for sharing this... :)

vimmuuu said...

Thanks a lot for the info Sir. and a pat on your back Sandhya for all these efforts ! :D

Sandhya said...

Rajendra Ratnoo: Thank you Sir, for the comments here.

Some of the readers here are active in Facebook and I am sure they too will give a hand in your efforts. I am sending messages for my other friends too.


Apparna: Are you active in Facebook? If so, please have a look at Mr.Ratnoo's 'Plastic free Kanyakumari'. His efforts will spread to other places too, in this way.


PNA: Please check Facebook for the Plastic Free Kanyakumari campaign.


Kanagu: Please have a look at Facebook for the Plastic free Kanyakumari campaign and inform your friends too. I know you are very active in Greenpeace movement, Kanagu.


vimmuuu: Join the campaign, vimmuuu!

Haritha Koottaima said...

What a wonderful effort. What we were wondering is how cold this be done without any legal tangles. Hats off dear Collector. I write from Trivandrum, the neighbouring state and district.

On July 3rd we are having an International Plastic Carry Bag Free Day and doing an event in Trivandrum. We are highlighting the efforts of Kanyakumari...

Sandhya said...

Sridhar: Yes, the effort put by the District Collector is great.

Good to know that some other city also is following suite.

These people should be interviewed in prominent TV channels. Don't know if anyone did that. I tweeted to Sardesai but was doubtful if he would give importance to ordinary people like us, giving him tips.

All the best, Sridhar.

bindaas said...

This is really motivating. I am highly inspired by it, I live in Noida and am interested in starting a similar campaign here. But the government officials are not supportive. Please guide. How to move further.

Sandhya said...

Bindaas: Welcome to my blog, Bindaas! It is nice to know that you are motivated by reading this news.

I don't know to give you advice in this matter. You can contact the District Collector, Nagercoil. It might not be very difficult to contact him.

Thank you!

Amrita Sabat said...

Really happy 2 read this Sandhya! Glad I came across ur blog! We sure do need officers like Mr.Ratnoo who can inspire ppl to stop using plastic.

Whenever I've tried telling ppl not to use plastic, they have picked fights with me. It's a miracle 2 achieve this in an entire district! :)

Sandhya said...

AMRITA SABAT: Welcome to my space, Amrita! He seems to be a great man!

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