As the coastal region is gearing up to celebrate the first festival of the Shravana Masa, Nagara Panchami, on August 17, the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) has urged people to shun the use of single-use plastic while celebrating the festival .

The corporation has launched a campaign to celebrate the festival without single-use plastic to protect the environment, according to a statement from the assistant executive engineer of the civic body. MCC has urged people to abandon the use of banned single-use plastic during this festival, and to take the steps to celebrate Nagar Panchami as an eco-friendly festival by using alternative recyclable materials, including cloth bags, plantain leaves and steel containers.

Instead of bringing milk in single-use plastic bags and plastic bottles to ‘Naga Banas’, the civic body urged people to use recyclable alternatives, including steel containers. Recyclable material, including plantain leaves, arecanut plates, or steel plates may be used instead of plastic items. People were advised to go for mango leaf and flowers to make garlands instead of using plastic garlands.

The civic body urged people to use natural colours or flowers while drawing rangolis instead of chemical colours. It said flowers, oil, incense sticks, turmeric powder, tender coconut, and other items for worship should not be brought in plastic bags at places of worship; instead people should use cloth or jute bags. For distributing prasadam too, the organisers should use cloth bags, it stated.

MCC has asked caretakers of ‘Naga Banas’ to make arrangements for disposal of festival waste by keeping adequate number of dustbins to prevent dumping of single-use plastic and coconut shells. They were also advised to ensure the waste was segregated as dry and wet, properly and make arrangements for their disposal.