In Halloween-themed march, hundreds rally against single-use plastic in Chandigarh

Dressed as monsters in costumes fashioned out of plastic bags and bottles and their faces painted all shades of scary, hundreds took part in a Halloween-themed rally here on Thursday to generate awareness about the harmful effects of single-use plastic.

The silent rally, with the theme 'The Harrows of Plastic', was jointly organised by Chandigarh's Public Relations Department, Environment Department and Government College of Arts.

It was flagged off from the Lake Club by Chief Conservator of Forests, Chandigarh, Debendra Dalai. The rally culminated at the Sukhna Lake.

"This is a great initiative to sensitise people about the harms of single-use plastic," Dalai said.

A 50-ft-long 'Plastic Demon' made out of fiberglass, symbolising the ill-effects of single-use plastic on the environment, was the highlight of the rally. It was made by the students of the Government College of Arts.

The participants donned creative Halloween-themed costumes made using plastic bags, bottles and tarpaulin sheets etc. They painted their faces in different colours to look the part and carried placards urging people to not use plastic.

The message that the silent rally sought to send out could be heard loud and clear as the participants dressed as ghouls and demons of plastic to symbolise its negative impact on the health of our planet, an official statement said.

The rally received an "outstanding response" from the people, with many promising that they would stop using single-use plastic and adopt alternatives, it said.

In the Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called for an end to single-use plastic to protect the environment. Since then, the Centre as well as various state governments have announced measures to curb its use.

Earlier this month, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar had said the government will conduct a mega public outreach programme over the next three years to rid the country of single-use plastic.