Chief Minister of Tripura Dr. Manik Saha on Monday appealed to people of the state not to use plastic bags to help protect the environment and suggested that they carry cloth bags, which are long-lasting, for shopping.

He was addressing in a programme organized by Maharaj Ganja Bazar committee on the occasion of World Environment Day 2023. The need of the hour is to shun the usage of plastic and adopt alternative solutions, he added.

Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha shared that though we are aware of the ill effects of single use plastics but we are not being able to do enough to avoid their ill effects. Single-use plastics are typically items that are discarded after being used only once and do not go through the recycling process. Heavy usage of plastics across the world has caused quite a lot of menace, governments and various global regulatory bodies are trying hard to arrest it, he added.

This plastic pollution is not only harming marine life but also entering our food chain and our bloodstream posing a significant threat to human health. Conventional plastics break down into micro and nano plastics quickly which stay in our biological cycles for thousands of years. They often end up in landfills or are leaked in the environment, finding their way into the oceans, he mentioned.

This day helps raise awareness about environmental problems and how we can take steps to tackle them. People should know about the environmental issues that are going to be a big threat in the near future. It is important to take action immediately to avoid major problems later on. We should learn to take care of our environment. World Environment Day helps us know more about the changes we can implement. This year the theme pertains to ‘solutions to plastic pollution’, he said.