Dibrugarh: With monsoon season barely six weeks away and the spectre of waterlogging looming large over the city, the Dibrugarh Municipal Corporation (DMC), in collaboration with a local non-governmental organisation, launched a citywide awareness drive on Wednesday against single-use plastic. Held on the occasion of World Earth Day, the initiative — themed “No to Single-Use Plastic” — aimed to mobilise shopkeepers, traders, and citizens to adopt eco-friendly alternatives before the rains arrive.Recurrent waterlogging during the monsoon months has long been a source of civic distress in Dibrugarh. Civic authorities have identified the indiscriminate disposal of single-use plastic — particularly polythene bags — as one of the primary culprits behind the blockage of the city’s drainage network. When storm drains and natural channels are choked with plastic waste, even moderate rainfall turns busy streets and low-lying neighbourhoods into urban pools, disrupting daily life and posing serious public health risks.Wednesday’s drive addressed the problem head-on. Volunteers from Shrishti NGO, accompanied by DMC officials, fanned out across markets, commercial stretches, and residential localities. They engaged shopkeepers and customers in direct conversations about the environmental and health hazards associated with single-use plastics — from soil contamination and clogged waterways to the entry of microplastics into the food chain. As a tangible alternative, cloth bags were distributed free of cost, encouraging residents to switch to reusable carry bags immediately.Many shopkeepers expressed willingness to stop offering plastic bags to customers, while several residents pledged to carry their own cloth bags when heading to the market.Dibrugarh mayor Saikat Patra highlighted the urgency of the campaign given the impending monsoon season. “The monsoon typically begins in the first week of June, and we have less than two months to prepare. Every polythene bag that goes into a drain today becomes a flood risk. This drive will continue across all wards of the city until the message reaches every household,” Patra said.He added that DMC plans to extend the outreach to schools, colleges, and weekly markets across the city. Authorities are also expected to ramp up enforcement against the use of single-use plastic as the monsoon season approaches.
