Bhubaneswar: Orissa POST, the only homegrown English newspaper Saturday awarded its readers who came onboard for the ‘My Paper Bag Challenge, launched by this newspaper to work towards creating sustainable alternatives to single-use plastic.
Out of thousands of winners who created carry bags by using newspapers, selected winners Saturday were awarded for their valuable contributions to the environment. Many Odia entertainment industry stars also joined the bandwagon and urged people to shun single-use plastic and adapt to such healthy practices like recycling newspapers.
“This is a chaotic time for environment. Pollution and global warming are making their presence felt in the nature. We are also part of nature. Conscious and collective efforts can ensure a better future for the next generation,” said Babushan, a leading actor from the Odia film industry. Noted anchor Aswini Mishra and former Opera Mrs India Global 2018 Pupul Bhuiyan were also present in the event and gave away the awards.
The management of the newspaper meanwhile said that the challenge was one of the initiatives to encourage readers to shun plastic usage.
“We were flooded with encouraging response from our readers after we started with this campaign. A small revolution has started with this initiative. Our aim is to make the earth a better place to live in. We wanted to ensure we inculcate such good habits among our readers and give the generation a better world ahead,” said Orissa POST Editor Tathagata Satpathy.
Other claimed that this was a part of the newspaper’s fight against plastic menace. Adyasha Satpathy, Chief Executive of Orissa POST said, “Before this challenge started, we had already worked on stop plastic use campaign with noted celebrities. The rampant use of plastic has been adding burden to the environment. We need more awareness on the ill effects of plastic and need to take vow to discourage its use in picnics, daily use. Small habits like carrying own water bottle also add to the fight against plastic.”
The awardees said that collective efforts could help in fighting against the menace. Anup Mohapatra, a winner from Puri said, “We are thankful to the newspaper for starting such an initiative. If all the people in a similar manner try to bring a chance by shunning plastic, we can definitely bring down plastic usage.”
Another awardee Pitabas Tripathi from the city said that this initiative was effective because this was planned to bring many people together for a noble act. He also added that he was grateful to be a part of such an initiative.
