Health Minister Jaynarayan Vyas’s office in Sachivalaya serves tea in thermocol

Health Minister Jaynarayan Vyas’s office in Sachivalaya serves tea in thermocol cups, which the GPCB wants people to give up for environment and better health


DILIP PATEL




The Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) has started a campaign to urge people to give up, or minimise, the use of plastic bags and polystyrene containers, including cups. It has, in fact, distributed several copies of a booklet that warns of harmful effects of drinking tea or coffee from polystyrene cups, commonly referred to as thermocol cups.
Surprisingly, the state government, which reportedly suggested the launch of such a drive, is not practising what it wants the GPCB to preach. On Wednesday, Mirror found the state health minister, Jaynarayan Vyas, sipping tea from a polystyrene cup (see picture) at his office in Sachivalaya, Gandhinagar.
When Mirror drew Vyas’s attention to this, he said: “These cups are used because they are convenient. However, I will ensure that they are not used in my office again. I also urge people to avoid such containers.”
The GPCB launched the drive against use of plastic bags and thermocol cups 15 days ago. The body’s chairman, C L Meena, and its member secretary R G Shah visited vegetable markets in Gandhinagar, and urged sellers to switch to eco-friendly containers and bags for storage and sale of vegetables. Later, 1,500 copies of the booklet were distributed among people.
Though the adverse effects of polystyrene cups — which are non-biodegradable — on environment are widely known, there is little substantive information about their impact on our health. However, according to environmentalist Mahesh Pandya, recent studies have indicated that sipping beverages from such cups can prove to be harmful in the long run.
When Mirror contacted Principal Secretary (environment) S K Nanda, he said: “Some studies suggest thermocol containers should not be used. Soon, we will start our own research into this, and then issue new guidelines on the basis of its findings.”
The commissioner of Food & Drugs Authority (FDA), C K Koshia, said tests would be conducted on such containers sold in the market. “We will test them in our laboratory, and check if they are safe,” he said.