BHOPAL: Much before PM Narendra Modi appealed to the nation to shun single-use plastics, Chandora, a small village about 30 km from Chhatarpur town in the state had done away with it. The credit for this goes to the students and the teachers of the Government Middle School located in the village.
The school, established in 2008, also has played an important role in changing the mindset of the residents in relation to use of plastic items. Most of the houses in the village, having population of around 1500, have dustbins.
Students of the school made dustbins using cartons and named it as ‘Kachra Ghar’. They decorated it with the slogans of Mahatma Gandhi related to the cleanliness on it and distributed it to all the 163 families of the village. Not only this, 70% people of the village are using cloth bags instead of plastic one.
The school has around 160 students and unlike most schools of the rural areas, it has almost an equal number of girls and boys. This is especially remarkable, given the fact that the school is located in the heartland of Bundelkhand - a socially and economically backward region of the state.
Headmaster of the school, Anil Gupta told Free Press over phone, “Five months back, I started motivating the students not to use single-use plastics and informed them about its ill- effects. Especially, how it affects our lungs badly when we burn it. After that, no child of our school uses disposable plastic items and they are making their parents aware as well. In our school, steel-made glasses, plates and spoons are used instead of disposable plastic items.
“The 95% population of the village belongs to scheduled caste. To make them aware, we organise rallies. I myself wrote slogans about the harmful affects of plastic on placards, used in the rally. Also, the students made dustbins using cartons and distribute it among each home of the village. We also distribute cloth bags to buy the grocery items,” said the headmaster who hails from Naigaon and had joined the school in 2012.
“Besides, they collect the garbage and separate the polythene from it and bury it into the ground nearby the schools. I am also planning to train the students to make paper bags using waste papers soon,” he added.
He said that various activities are organised to create awareness about cleanliness among the students in school as well as their surrounding.
Gutpa said, “We made a soap bank in which students of class VI, VII and VIII keep soap in the bank separately. We also celebrate birthday of the students. And on any occasion, the leaders of the class gift soap to birthday boys or girls which the child takes at home to associate their parents with the cleanliness drive.”
He said “We also maintain records nail and hair cuts of each students here. And every students of the school come here in neat and clean school uniform.”
He also observed Deworming Day in the village to motivate children as well as their parents to use toilets wearing footwears.
“Almost every home in the village has toilet. But they can’t use due to lack of water. 60% people fetch water from the hand pump of our school,” Gupta said.
