[ Prem Chetry ]
ZEMITHANG, 22 Apr: The government upper primary school (GUPS) in remote Lumpo village in Zemithang circle, nearly 107 kms from headquarters Tawang, has been on a ‘Plastic-free village’ mission.
The mission is an initiative of the GUPS Headmaster Dorjee Neema. “It was my mission to get rid of plastic waste, which is a menace to our environment and pollutes our beautiful and virgin landscapes,” he said.
“It was in 2021 and 2022 when I started creating awareness on plastic waste among my students, and I, along with my students, used to collect plastic waste scattered in the village. The people remarked that a teacher collecting wastes was a waste of time,” he said.
The headmaster’s consistent effort was closely observed by Dehla, a granny living near the school. One day, she brought a huge bundle of plastic waste and handed it over to him. This was a reward for him, which propelled his mission further. The elderly woman was later felicitated.
Once, Neema took his students on a tour to the Jhamtse Gatsal Children’s Community, where his students were astonished by the
plastic waste recycling plant, and by the numerous items made out of recycled plastic.
On returning to their school, the students themselves shouldered the responsibility of collecting plastic waste to keep the village plastic-free.
Neema, along with 30-40 boarders of the school’s hostel, collect plastic waste during morning walks. Boarders who spend weekends at home bring plastic waste from their houses. Whoever brings the most amount of plastic waste is felicitated by the school.
The school sends the waste to Jhamtse Gatsal Children’s Community for recycling.
