Corporation organises ‘Ploggathon’ for 5 kilometres at Elliot’s Beach

Speaking to the reporters, G Prakash, Chennai Corporation Commissioner said that the event is being conducted in partnership with HDFC Bank. “We have already conducted plogging events in Besant Nagar, Porur Lake and in some places in north Chennai on a small scale. We are expecting more than 3,000 participants in the Chennai Ploggathon event,” he added.

He also said that the civic body would attempt for Asia Book of Records by attracting a huge number of participants. The event would be conducted for 5 kilometres, in which the participant should jog or walk and collect plastic waste from the road.

Residents who want to take part in the event could register their names at free of cost. The civic body also launched www.chennaiploggathon.com website for registration. Registered participants would be given T-shirts, safety gloves and refreshments. “As on Friday, around 1,500 participants had registered on the website.”

The civic body is expecting the participation of residents’ welfare associations, students and the public in large numbers. While explaining the initiatives taken by the civic body to make Chennai a zero-waste city, Prakash said that the Madras Waste Exchange platform was launched to recycle dry waste.

“Around 1,000 buyers and 300 sellers registered their details on the platform. By the end of 2020, Chennai would have the infrastructure to process all the wet waste (around 2,500 tonnes) generated in the city. Apart from this, facilities to process dry waste would also be created,” he added.