Plastic Free July is a global movement to raise awareness about plastic pollution and urge people to take action against it. We bring to you a series of real-life changes that are taking place at the grassroots. Read on for the second one!
Pooran Singh looks way older than his age of 58 years. A hard-working man from the scenic village of Kimadi near Dehradun, Pooran was a licensed contractor with the Public Works Department (PWD) until a few years ago. “Then I thought, why to be among mortar and cement all the time, be on the road all the time? And so I started this small shop near my home,” he says.
This small shop on the four-bigha land that also has his home and a cow shed sells all the usual fare people love on the winding roads to Mussoorie – bun-omelette, bun-maska, homemade momos, Maggi, and tea-coffee. “The shop is doing well, but then that is hardly a surprise, since I work hard and with dedication,” he says. The one thing that would weigh on his mind, however?
“All the plastic trash that I was burning made me uncomfortable. But at least I’m not throwing it down the hill, I’d tell myself,” Pooran confesses. And then there are other such eateries, generally called “Maggi Points”. From plastic cutlery and glasses and plates to Maggi and chips packets, these outlets generate a significant amount plastic trash on a daily basis.
Having seen the entire area change over the years, it saddens Pooran Singh to see all the construction, monsoon landslides, and the trash, which is everywhere. As he remembers it, the region was so green, clean, and quiet. “But I can’t do anything about most things, you see,” he says, adding, “But I can definitely do something about the plastic trash from my shop.”
Earlier, he would give away the plastic bottles to the kabadiwaala, and burn the plastic wrappers. But now, he diligently puts all the plastic waste into the dustbins given to him by SDC Foundation. “Their vehicle comes to pick it up once a week and that is one less worry for me!” In fact, the area around his shop has become cleaner, too, since some of the unburnt plastic would inadvertently fly around nearby.
“I had run away from my home and gone to Delhi when I was just 14 years old. I tried to survive there for about two years, but when I’d had enough, I wrote to my father and he came picked me up as soon as he got my letter,” Pooran reveals sheepishly. He then joined one of the limestone quarrying companies after the death of his father.
“I’m glad to be in the hills and not harming them. I am glad my plastic waste will not collect on the hillsides or pollute the cool crisp air. And I’m glad all that work experience in Delhi restaurants and dhabas is helping me now!” he chuckles, signing off, inviting all the readers to a plateful of piping-hot momos of Maggi at his shop.
