BENGALURU: Pourakarmikas across the city got a breather on Tuesday morning as thousands of citizens, armed with plog kits, took to the streets to rid their neighbourhoods of plastic waste. The city’s first-ever ‘Plog Run’, held in over 50 localities, led to the city waking up to clean streets on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanthi. A term created by Swedish runners, a Plog Run is a marathon where the participants, armed with plog kits, also pick up plastic waste dotting the streets.
According to the organisers, over 7,000 participants took part in the run. The main run was flagged off from MG Road by the BBMP Commissioner. Other runs look place in areas like Banaswadi, Whitefield, Basavanagudi, Electronics City and other parts of the city. “Bengaluru has suffered enough and today the disposal of solid waste is a major concern. Such drives will help in educating the people of the city on how to handle and dispose waste properly,” said one of the participants in the run.
Others simply came to have some fun. “The combination of running and cleaning was an irresistible one for me, and keeping our area clean is a responsibility all residents must take seriously. It was heartening to see neighbours and others from the area show up and run alongside you for a cause that helps us all,” said Shreya Prasad, a resident of Kengeri.
Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) commissioner, N Manjunatha Prasad, was also all praises for the participants. Around 5,000 people had pre-registered for the run while a lot more showed up on Tuesday. “The large scale participation is noteworthy and such runs will instill in every citizen the importance of keeping our surroundings plastic free,” he said.
While the event witnessed over 4,000 enthusiasts from the entire city, the plog run was carried out in 54 locations where the participants went on handpicking the solid waste, specifically plastic. The event was inaugurated by the BBMP commissioner Manjunath Prasad who said, “An endeavor such as this will instill in every citizen the need to keep their surroundings plastic waste free.
The large scale participation of individuals in this event is extremely noteworthy.” According to Ramakrishna Ganesh, chief mentor of the run, over 30 tonnes of waste was collected from 54 locations. “The plastic waste in this will be immediately sent for recycling and we will plan more such events. We have working with us, three agencies who will help us with the systematic disposal of the waste,” he said.
The run was organised by Go Native, Namma Cycle Foundation and Let’s See the Change in collaboration with the BBMP.