Eco-Friendly Paper Seed Flag by Eco Friends Group to Mark Kannada Rajotsava
Mangaluru : After promoting Clay lamps (Diya) which are an indispensable part of the festival of lights— Deepavali, and delivered them to those who booked online during the certain period of time during Diwali, Eco Friends Group in Mangaluru has come out with an eco-friendly paper seed flag to celebrate Kannada Rajyotsava, which is on 2 November. Last year the same Group had initiated several green programmes in the City, including the ‘Thota Ganappa’, a eco-friendly Ganesha idol concept during Ganesh Chaturthi festival. Nearly 500 paper seed flags will be distributed prior to Rajoystava in five schools.
Speaking to Team Mangalorean, Rajesh, the President of Eco Friends Group said, “The paper seed flag will be distributed to students in five schools in Mangaluru. About 100 such flags will be distributed in each school for Rajyotsava. Today we distributed such flags to students of Canara High School-Urwa, Govt Primary school-Urwa and Govt High School- Mallikatte/Kadri. These bio-degradable paper seed flags not only decompose in soil within a short period, but will grow into fruit-yielding trees and vegetables”.
Rajesh further said, “We wanted to reduce the waste. The paper used in the flag has two layers. One layer has the Karnataka flag for Rajyotsava and the backside of the flag has seeds of papaya and tomato pinned to it. The seeds will sprout within a week of being put in flower pots or soil. Each flag has three to four types of seeds. The children can dispose after the Rajyotsava celebrations. We also conducted many experiments. The seeds had sprouted within a few days of being placed in pots. A flag of 3 cm X 2 cm size can be pinned onto shirts or sarees,”.
“If the flag proves a hit during Rajyotsava, the Eco Friends Group intends to replicate it during Independence Day celebrations in 2020. Despite of the ban on plastic flags, many still use them and dump them on the roads after the celebrations. The dye used in the paper seed flag is not harmful to Nature. The seed flags will also be distributed free of cost at the ‘Savayava Santhe’ (organic market) held near Mannagudda in the City on Sunday after Rajyotsava. Next year we also plan to visit schools and teach students how to prepare such flags. Our main aim is to encourage gardening among school students during time of Rajoysava, thereby put an end to use of plastic flags” added Rajesh.
