Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu stressed the need for curbing environmental pollution being caused by single-use plastic, while highlighting the indispensability of plastic material for its durability.
Addressing the faculty and students at the Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology (CIPET) at Surampalli in Krishna district on Monday, Mr. Venkaiah Naidu said that the positive dimension was the wide-ranging applications of plastic, which was of immense utility during the coronavirus pandemic in the form of personal protection equipment (PPE) and other medical supplies.
“Life has become unimaginable without use of plastic which, along with other polymers, has formed an integral part of petrochemicals. However, single-use plastic poses a major environmental hazard as it is being discarded irresponsibly,” said Mr. Venkaiah Naidu.
He said that marine ecosystem around the globe was being polluted with plastic waste.
But, banning or avoiding single-use plastic was easier said than done. However, people must refrain themselves from littering the habitations, water bodies and etc., he suggested.
The Vice-President said he was happy to visit CIPET, Vijayawada, one of the 36 institutions sanctioned to Andhra Pradesh post-bifurcation.
Bifurcation blues
He recalled that he had impressed upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he was in the Central government, to give Andhra Pradesh the institutions it desperately needed to overcome the crisis caused by bifurcation.
“The location of most of the industries, businesses and sources of revenue in Hyderabad at the time of bifurcation was a cause for concern. We did our best for the development of Andhra Pradesh by getting various institutions and projects sanctioned. The CIPET, Vijayawada become a reality due to the cooperation extended by the then Union Ministers of Finance and Chemicals and Fertilizers Arun Jaitley and Ananth Kumar,” he said.
Endowments Minister Vellampalli Srinivas, Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals Joint Secretary Kashi Nath Jha, CIPET Director General S.K. Nayak, Principal Director R. Rajendran, CIPET-Vijayawada in-charge C. Sekhar and Vijayawada Sub-Collector Dhyana Chandra were among those present on the occasion.
