In a collaborative effort by the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), plastic bags have been replaced by biodegradable ones for carrying ‘karah parshad’ and ‘pinni parshad’ at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The move has been made to discourage the usage of polythene bags and promote environment friendly carry bags in the state.
Chairman of Punjab Pollution Control Board Kahan Singh Pannu informed the local media that the new compostable carry bags are made of starch granules extracted from maize and potatoes, among other things.
He added that although the Punjab government had imposed a blanket ban on the manufacture, sale and use of plastic bags in 2016, these bags continue to be widely used across the state due to “lack of an alternative.”
According to the SGPC Chief Secretary, Roop Singh, the shrine has been using as much as 200 quintals of polythene bags for ‘parshad’ and 65 quintals for packing ‘pinni parshad’ in a year.
Golden Temple Source: Pixabay
Environmentalists claim plastic bags clog the drains and sewers and pose a grave threat to the health of people and animals alike.
However, this is not a first attempt to reduce air pollution around the shrine.
Earlier in 2016, the SGPC along with the pollution board had installed an air pollution-monitoring tower inside the complex to collect data of the pollution around the shrine.
Furthermore, the SGPC is also setting up an in-house power substation to replace diesel run generators all in a bid to check pollution around the holiest Sikh shrine that attracts thousands of visitors every day from across the globe.
