THIRUNELLY: Alan, Anish Vasu, Sajeesh and Jijin had come down to the forest road in Thirunelly yesterday for garbage cleaning. They were surprised to find fresh elephant dung full of plastic. Within a kilometre of the garbage removal location, plastic was collected and bagged from elephant dungs from many places.

The group was out for an hour-long Swachhata seva cleanup announced by the central government ahead of Gandhi Jayanti. Two bags full of plastic waste were collected within an hour. Plastic was found not only in elephant dungs. They collected candy wrappers, snack wrappers, water bottles, liquor bottles and even baby diapers. Most waste were tossed from running vehicles.

Ignoring the heavy rains, the youth carried out cleaning on a one-kilometer road from Thirunelly Police Station Bus Stop area to Forest IB. They are the members of Gotra Jeevika ST Self Help Society of Scheduled Tribes Development Department. They came to paint the bus stand for free and went out to collect plastic waste during their free time. Plastic collected from an elephant's dung is a glimpse of how plastic dumping in the wild can affect the survival of wildlife.

The youth group is thinking of making at least a small part of the forest plastic-free twice a month in collaboration with the forest department. They say awareness should be created at the entrance to the forest to avoid throwing away plastic.