Jamia Millia Islami declared plastic free on 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi

Jamia Millia Islamia was declared plastic free on the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on Wednesday, the varsity said. University Vice-Chancellor Professor Najma Akhtar administered the pledge of not using plastic and keeping the campus clean to the staff and students while announcing the ban on single-use plastic inside the varsity.

She asked everyone not to use plastic themselves and motivate others not to do so. She suggested that better alternatives for plastic should be looked for. She asked everyone to keep reminding each other about the ban on single-use plastic in the campus.

She said the university has already issued an order barring single-use plastic in the entire campus including all hostels, Jamia Community Centre, canteens, shops, coffee houses and others. Teachers and students also carried out a cleanliness drive in the campus and collected waste.

Akhtar also flagged off seven groups of students comprising NSS and NCC volunteers, who will visit nearby localities to spread the message of not using plastic in their day to day life. The items banned in the university campus include plastic bottles, cups, glasses and other items, polythene bags and plastic items less than 50 microns (in width), cutlery including plates, cups, straws among others.

Cutlery and other decorative items made from Styrofoam (thermocol) have also been banned. An exhibition on Mahatma Gandhi was also inaugurated at the university in which rare letters written by Mahatma Gandhi in English and Urdu to Dr M A Ansari, one of the founders and Chancellor of JMI, Zohra Ansari (Ansari's daughter whom Gandhiji considered as his daughter) and others associated with the university are on display apart from several rare pictures and books, officials said.

The exhibition will remain open till October 12.

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