Installation at Onam Week celebrations a reminder of the threat posed by plastics

At Kanakakkunnu Palace, a 90-ft snake made of 20,000 plastic bottles serves as a reminder of the environmental damage caused by overuse of plastic. 11 artists created the installation to raise awareness of the threat posed by plastic. The Thiruvananthapuram city Corporation has deployed a 200-member green army to enforce green protocol guidelines. Suchitwa Mission officials handed out uniforms and advised traders and vendors to avoid single-use plastics. They appealed to the public to cooperate with the green army and avoid single-use plastics and littering.

Visitors to the Kanakakkunnu Palace, the main venue of the Tourism department’s Onam Week celebrations, are sure to have a rethink on the overuse and discarding of plastic materials.

A 90-foot-long snake installation made out of 20,000 used plastic bottles about to gobble up the globe, installed at the venue, serves as a reminder to the unsustainable practices that have been causing environmental damage.

Eleven students of the College of Fine Arts here took four days to complete the installation using plastic bottles that passengers had discarded at the Thiruvananthapuram Central railway station during the past few days. The installation was made on behalf of the Suchitwa Mission, which planned the activity as a means to raise awareness among the public of the threat that humanity faces due to the uncontrolled use of plastic.

The idea behind the installation was conceived by Suchitwa Mission Campaign Coordinator Ravikrishnan P.K. and Executive Director Balabhaskaran K.T. A collective named Trivandrum Young Artist Group, consisting of artists Mithun J., Sumesh B.S., Balasundaram P., Hashir C.P., Arun P.V., Aswathy S., Arya M.R., Eswar D., Mahesh B. Nair, Athul K.P. and Kruthika N., executed the work on the ground. Tourism Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas appreciated the artists and the Suchitwa Mission team for their efforts which also carry an important message.

The Thiruvananthapuram city Corporation, in a bid to enforce green protocol guidelines at various venues of the celebrations, has posted a 200-member battalion of green army at Kanakakkunnu. Gayathri Babu, chairperson of the Health standing committee of the Corporation, flagged off the passing-out of the green army at the palace.

The Suchitwa Mission officials handed over the uniforms, sponsored by the Mission for the green army members. On the first day of the celebrations, they visited the traders and vendors at the venue and advised them against single-use plastics. Fines will be imposed on those who do not follow the green protocol.

The Suchitwa Mission, which is the technical support group in the waste-management sector under the State’s Local Self Government department, made an appeal to the public at Kanakakkunnu and other venues to cooperate with the Green Army and avoid single-use plastics at the site besides desisting from littering the venue.