In spite of being drenched in sweat in the grueling heat of the capital, 32-year-old Rajeshwari Singh had a determined smile on her face as she approaches the United Nations building at Lodhi Estate.
Singh walked 1,100 km in 45 days from Vadodara to reach the capital on Monday morning to raise awareness about plastic pollution and to catalyse people to stop the usage of single-use plastic items.
Keeping in mind this year¡¯s world environment theme of ¡°Beat Plastic Pollution¡±, Singh undertook the journey on foot from Gujarat on April 22, making her way through Rajasthan and Haryana, interacting with locals from the cities she passed.
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Singh said her goal was to make people more conscious about the quantum of single-use plastic being used in homes and how it was impacting the environment. ¡°In most cities, people took a pledge to reduce plastic usage and said they are willing to make a change in their lifestyle,¡± she said.
Reaching the capital just a day before the world environment day, she was felicitated by Erik Solheim from the United Nation¡¯s Environment Programme (UNEP) while actress Dia Mirza was also present to cheer her as she completed the last leg of her journey.
While she did not even carry a water bottle during her entire trip, Singh said this did not phase her at all, which shows how reliant people have become on plastic bottles.
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¡°You can carry your own water bottle and refill it wherever available. As I was carrying a already heavy bag, I did not want to increase the weight and only stopped for water at the nearest city or village I crossed.
Starting with such small things, each and every individual can make a difference, especially by reducing the use of plastic bottles or the use of plastic bags,¡± said Singh.
Over a period of 45 days, she says she would cover approximately 20 to 25 kilometres on foot each day and stop at several small towns where then she would interact with vendors and locals to discuss their plastic problems as part of her ¡°caravan classroom¡± initiative.
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One particular town in Rajasthan called Dungarpur caught her attention, as it had no litter or plastic on the streets. Singh says people can make the smallest of changes in their daily routine and see a big change around them.
¡°Switching over to an aluminium bottle, carrying cloth bags for shopping and refusing plastic items that can be easily replaced is a decision anyone can make. The idea is to make people more conscious about their decisions,¡± said Singh.
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Highlighting local success stories, UNEP also pointed out the work of a 14-year old Gurgaon resident, Aditya Mukarji, who is on a mission to eliminate plastic straws from NCR and has already brought about a reduction in 1 million straws after approaching hotels, restaurants, clubs and cafes in the area.