Chandigarh to become plastic free from next year

Chandigarh, Dec 8 (UNI) Chandigarh will be made plastic free from February 1, next year, Punjab Governor and Chandigarh Union Territory Administrator General (Retd) S F Rodrigues said today.

Addressing a workshop on 'Smoke Free Cities - Learning form Chandigarh's Experience', the Governor said there was a need for mass movement in generating awareness among the people in this regard. Chandigarh had already been declared smoke free from July 1, this year.

The workshop was organised by Chandigarh Administration in partnership with Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, World Health Organisation and Burning Brain Society.

General Rodrigues said making Chandigarh a smoke free zone was an initiative taken for improving the environment and ecology of the region. It needed a constant monitoring to achieve the desired goals.

He said implementation of the smoke free plan for the city must be ensured as both active and passive smoking were dangerous.

''As part of the strategy for improving environment, there is a plan of introducing 100 small electric buses for internal routes, equipping all CTU buses with CNG pollution-free devices and introducing 2000 electric motor rickshaws in the near future'', General Rodrigues added.

He cautioned against the threats of global warming and ecological imbalances caused by various factors. The Governor also appealed to people to extend their cooperation in improving the quality of life of the people in the city.

UNI