Sumi church declares premises plastic-free zone

Eastern Mirror Desk
Dimapur, April 15: The premises of the Dimapur Sumi Baptist Church (DSBC) in Dimapur have been declared a ‘plastic-free zone,’ on Mon. April 15 by the Dimapur Municipal Council’s (DMC) administrator Moa Sangtam.
The declaration was made during a daylong training in paper bag-making that was organised by the DMC in collaboration with a local youth group, the CAN Youth, and the DSBC’s women ministry, at the church.
In his address, Sangtam said that the church may be the first church in the state to endorse the paper bags and declaring the area a plastic-free zone. The DMC’s establishment was declared a plastic-free zone from April 1, and those seen with plastic bags in the premises of DMC are fined, Sangtam informed.

The state govt. had declared the entire state to be plastic-free. For the declaration to be a reality in objective, the DMC administrator said, the cooperation of the people is essential.

Also, the DMC is in the process of completely banning the use of plastic. But without the acceptance and cooperation of the public the endeavour will not be fulfilled, he said.

“People will disapprove of such ventures in small areas but every success story starts small and the church, which is an important place to encourage the community, can convey a strong message,” Sangtam opined.

CAN Youth’s chief functionary Jenpu Rongmei also spoke at the event. In his keynote address, he said people questioned the group’s effort and purpose when the organisation started the mission in 2015. Four years since the mission started, the organisation is still surviving with people coming forward to support and endorse paper bags.

He expressed optimism about positive results with the endorsement of paper bags by the church.
The church’s senior pastor Rev. S Vitoshe Swu said starting something new is easy but to sustain it is a difficult task.

Such initiatives, which involve community participation, are a battle ‘within us which can be defeated with commitment,’ the gathering was told.