Mathura: PM Picks Plastic Along with Garbage Worker

PrimeMinister Narendra Modi on Wednesday sat with women who pick plastic fromgarbage and helped them out in an event in Mathura at Uttar Pradesh. Images ofthe PM sitting on the ground with the women and sorting plastic from waste madefor a powerful message in his mission to end single-use plastic.

Some25 garbage workers met the PM as part of the Swachhta Hi Seva programme.

It was seen that the women, standing with piles of garbage, wore masks and a glove. They reportedly responded to the PM's questions about garbage usually generated from households and the amount of plastic in them. The women were also honoured for their work.

Modiwas also seen getting down segregating garbage in an attempt to demonstrate theimportance of ending the use of plastic.

ThePrime Minister had referred to India's resolve to end single use-plastic at aUnited Nations conference on Monday and urged other nations to embrace it.

ThePrime Minister said that his government has announced that India would put anend to single-use plastics in the coming years. "We are committed to thedevelopment of environment-friendly substitutes and also an efficient plasticcollection and disposal method," said Modi.

Thegovernment has pledged to eliminate single-use plastic by 2022. As part of theeffort, the government is likely to put out descriptors of what constitutessingle-use plastic.

Modialso launched the National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP) which aimsat eradicating foot and mouth disease and brucellosis in livestock.

According to a government release, the programme aims tovaccinate over 500 million livestock heads, including cattle, buffalo, sheep,goats and pigs, against FMD, and some 36 million female bovine calves annuallyagainst brucellosis. The programme has received 100% funding from the Centre,amounting to Rs 12,652 crore for five years until 2024, the release said. TheNADCP aims to control these two diseases by 2025, and to eradicate them by 2030.