BHUBANESWAR: At a time when there is so much buzz around enforcing plastic ban in towns and cities, a village in Nuapada has hit upon a unique idea to shun the use of plastic containers in social functions, conventions and meetings.
Residents of Kurrumunda village in Bhaleswar gram panchayat have created a bartan (utensil) bank which anyone can use during ceremonies.Be it a wedding or a puja at home, residents can take the utensils from the bank paying a nominal fee, irrespective of the quantity of utensils used. The money is kept with a village committee.
Golaram Patel, a villager, said they have introduced the system recently and it is running well. “After the utensils are used, we ensure that they are properly cleaned,” he said.
The bank has everything — from utensils needed for cooking to plates to serve food along with cutlery and tumblers. All are made of steel. They even have bell metral plates to serve the elder or VIPs at these events.
Kurumunda is one of the smaller villages under the panchayat with a population of 450 and it took around Rs 75,000 to set up the bank. “We have used the village fund to set up the bank. That means it is essentially the villagers’ money. No government aid has been used,” said Saroj Devi Agarwal, the sarpanch of Bhaleswar gram panchayat. “We will need around Rs 2 lakh each for villages with a higher population. We are trying to have one bartan bank in each village and things are going as per plan,” she added.
Protection of the environment is personal to the people here. It directly affects livelihood. “Plastic waste was turning our land barren and when the cattle consume them, they die. The bartan bank will help reduce single-use plastic waste considerably,” said Agarwal.
We also published the following articles recently