Plogging in Kolkata Organized by TMSL
Plogging is a combination of jogging and picking up litter at the same time. One has to run a certain distance following a specific route and carry a dustbin at the back, or a plastic bag at one hand for collecting any litter he/she sees while running. In the end, one who finishes quickly as well as have a good amount of litter collection is the winner. Plogging started as organized activity in Sweden in 2016 and later spread to other countries following increased concern about plastic pollution. The word plogging comes from the mashup of words jogging and the Swedish term “plocka upp” meaning pick up, in this case, litter.
Plogging is a fitness activity and can be categorized as sports. As a workout it involves running, bending, squatting, and a wide range of body movements. Plogging, however has no age-limit, and it forms the best platform for spreading awareness for keeping the surroundings clean. Apart from cleaning, it also focuses on not littering public places, recycling and reusing waste non-biodegradable waste items, proper disposal of wastes, etc.
Plogging is spreading thick and fast among all corners of the globe. A few weeks back, Noida coupled it’s annual marathon run with litter picking event. Fitness enthusiasts during their morning jog have adopted the new trend of picking litters on their way in Delhi, Kochi, Thane, and other cities of India. Historic cleanliness drives have been organized at Bengaluru on Gandhi Jayanti day last year, attracting thousands of participants.
Now what solution have we come across? The solution does not lie to a particular section of the society, nor a particular day of event. Rather, we must consider each and every day as a plogging day, and that everyone is a plogger. So whenever we see any waste lying on the streets, or anywhere, and we aren’t busy either, we must pick up that waste and put it in its proper place.
We, the students of Techno India, Salt Lake, have organized and took part in Kolkata 2019 Plogging at Sector 5, Salt Lake, Kolkata, on 9th March, 2019, and urge others to welcome this first step and take it forward to achieve the goal of a clean and green environment.
