In a far-flung village Sadiwara in South Kashmir's Anantnag District, the village panchayat has started a unique mission for saving the environment. The village head has started a campaign called 'Give Plastic and Take Gold'. Under the scheme, if someone gives plastic waste of 20 quintals, then Panchayat will give him a Gold coin.
Farooq Ahmad Ganai, a lawyer by profession and sarpanch of the village Sadiwara has become an inspiration for everyone in the Kashmir Valley. After the start of the campaign, the whole village was declared plastic free within 15 days. The campaign has gained a lot of popularity and has been appreciated by all and even been adopted by other panchayats too.
Advocate Farooq Ahmad Ganai said, "I started a slogan in my village to give polythene in return for a reward. I took the initiative to clean the rivers and streams. Now everyone in the village helped us to clear the sites."
Last month Deputy Commissioner Anantnag announced this village plastic free. The gold that we are giving is from the plastic we sell after collecting.
Ganai added, "We will soon be a green village. I will not stop at my village but also take it to all districts of the Union Territory and later start it from Kashmir and end the campaign in Kanyakumari."
The water streams flowing through the village have been completely cleaned and all the plastic that had choked these streams has been taken out.
“Cleanliness is half of our honour. We have been working with Sarpanch for four months now, to make sure our village gets clean. It’s his hard work that is making sure our village is clean. We are sure we will give plastic and get gold," said Sakeena Begum, a villager.
The Village which had heaps of plastic thrown on the roads and streets is now completely clean and all the plastic that is collected is handed over to the Panchayat members. This village is setting an example for all other villages and the government is also trying to replicate the same idea in every village of the Union territory.
