Telangana: ‘Silver coin for plastic’ campaign a hit in Siddipet

The idea, floated by Konyala Bal Reddy’s KBR Foundation, is to gift a silver coin of 10 grams in exchange for every 10 kg of plastic

Siddipet: A unique idea to make the Ksheera Sagar village in Mulugu mandal free of plastic is turning out to be quite a draw.

The idea, floated by Konyala Bal Reddy’s KBR Foundation, is to gift a silver coin of 10 grams in exchange for every 10 kg of plastic. Ahead of launching the campaign, Bal Reddy roped in some experts to counsel the villagers for over a period of a week with lectures and other campaigns across the village.

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Bal Reddy, the husband of Ksheera Sagar MPTC Mamatha, set up the NGO to carry out various social activities in villages and also in different parts of Siddipet district. Since April 20, the Foundation has received got 800 kilos of plastic from the villagers. The Foundation has given away presented 800 grams of silver (80 coins) until Sunday evening. April 30 was the last day of the campaign.

Speaking to Telangana Today, Bal Reddy said Panchayat Secretary Soni came up with the idea after seeing a similar campaign in a village in Jammu & Kashmir. Sarpanch of Sadivara village in Anantnag district, Farooq Ahmed, had won appreciation for the idea of giving silver in exchange for plastic, with the same now inspiring KBR Foundation.

Bal Reddy said he was seeing how plastic was affecting people in day-to-day life, and he wanted to send a strong message to the villagers with the campaign. He said the plastic collected as part of the campaign would be sold to plastic recycling units. Apart from the ‘silver coin for plastic’ campaign, he said he had a water filter in the village, built a bus shelter, Yellamma Temple and a few other religious and public facilities in the village.

The Foundation is also organizing sports championships every year besides distributing free school uniforms to government school students.