Ambikapur (Chhattisgarh): Though discarded plastic is considered 'waste' in the rest of the country, in the sleepy little city of Ambikapur in Chhattisgarh, it can get you a meal!
India's first garbage cafe will shortly be launched here, under the Centre's flagship 'Swacch Bharat' Mission. Under this scheme, the Ambikapur Municipal Corporation will provide food to the poor and homeless in lieu of plastic waste.
Persons fetching 1 kg of plastic waste will be offered a full meal while those collecting 500 grams of waste will get a substantial breakfast.
The cafe will operate from the city's main bus stand, and it will be run by the women workers who currently provide meals at the city's shelter home.
The city's mayor Ajay Tirkey informed that an amount of Rs 6 lakh has been set aside for the scheme, and the sum might gradually be increased later on.
"People will have to submit the waste at the segregation centre right in front of the proposed cafe. Based on the weight of the plastic waste, they will be handed over a coupon for breakfast or a full meal, which they can use at the cafe," he said.
Ambikapur, which has been selected as the second cleanest city after Indore, plans to use the plastic for construction of roads. Pertinently, the city of less than two lakh residents already has a road made with plastic granules and asphalt.
Further, Ambikapur made stupendous progress from last year's 40th rank to mark its emphatic presence as the top civic administered town in solid waste management.
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