Rohan Aggarwal, a resident of Nagpur, Maharashtra, travelled 16,000 kilometres after walking through 27 states of India and has set foot in the southern Bangladesh district of Jhalakathi.
Earlier, he travelled to 49 districts of Bangladesh on foot.
On August 24, 2020, Rohan started walking from the banks of the Ganges in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.
He plans to travel to 15 countries where plastic use is high. In the end he will go to Siberia.
Rohan Aggarwal said: “My main objective of starting this journey is to create awareness among people about plastic and its dangerous effects and to convey the message of unity in diversity. I have been on this journey for a total of 940 days. Today is my 140th day in Bangladesh. I have visited many schools and institutions to convey my message about saving the environment.”
“My goal is that the next generation should have a pollution-free world, a clean environment,” he added.
The 21-year-old Indian reached Jhalakathi on Tuesday evening. He visited different areas of Jhalakathi till Wednesday evening. He spoke to different classes of people and society and left the district for Barisal on Thursday.
Dhaka TribuneThe purpose of this trip is to make people aware of the dangers of plastic waste, the Indian youth told the media.
During his stay in Jhalakathi, he spoke to presidents of business associations, various ward councillors of the local municipality and many voluntary organizations, Rohan Aggarwal said.
Tahsin Mridha Anik, founding president of Duranto Foundation, a voluntary organization in Jhalakathi, said: “Rohan is working to make people aware of the environment. His intentions are very good. I assured him of all kinds of support during his visit to Jhalakathi.”
Councillor Humayun Kabir Sagar said: “Rohan's intention is extraordinary. The use of plastic is increasing in our country polluting the environment. Visitors to the municipal city park that I run advised me not to throw plastic waste into the pond.”
Shahin Sultana, chief executive officer of Jhalakathi municipality, said: “The young man from India came to the municipality and met me, asking why Jhalakathi municipality's garbage is discarded at the river bank. I informed him about the purchase of land at Kunihari as our dumping station.”
Jhalakathi Municipal Panel Mayor Tarun Kumar Karmakar said: “According to Rohan, this world is not only for human habitation. Plastic is destroying the balance of our environment. We should be aware of this.”