To sensitize people with the ghastly implications of the use of single use plastic on environment, a Halloween rally was held here on Thursday on the theme of 'The Harrows of Plastic'.

The rally jointly organized by the Public Relations Department, Environment Department and the Government College of Arts, was a part of the ‘plastickatimeup’ campaign to sensitize the public about the harms of single use plastic.

Debendra Dalai, UT Chief Conservator of Forest flagged off the rally that moved from Lake Club Chandigarh towards Sukhna Lake in the evening. To ensure that the message can be communicated to a greater audience, the students of Arts College fabricated a 50 feet long ghostly creature — the Plastic Demon made of fibre glass which was mounted on a rickshaw.

The participants accompanied the Plastic Demon donning creative dresses fashioned out of plastic material, and used face painting and creative slogan-boards to reiterate city's resolve to become 'Single Use Plastic Free'.

The “Harrows of Plastic” rally also saw an outstanding response from the people. Posing for selfies and taking the ‘plastickatimeup’ challenge, many of them assured that they will stop using the single use plastic and accept the alternatives in their lives.

Through a silent rally, the message it sought to deliver could be heard loud and clear, as the participants dressed as ghouls and demons of plastic, to symbolise the negative impact it has on the health of our planet said Debendra Dalai, Chief Conservator of Forest.

Dalai said “This is a great initiative to sensitise people about the harms of single use plastic. The month long awareness campaign concluded with a ‘Harrows Of Plastic’ silent  rally which was done keeping in mind the Halloween theme.”

Recently, the Administration had notified ban on single-use plastic products in the union territory of Chandigarh. The violators could face imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees, or with both.

As per notification, no person including a shopkeeper, vendor, whole seller or retailer, trader, hawker or rehriwala, shall manufacture, store, import, sell, transport, supply or use plastic, thermocol or styrofoam items from now onwards.