CUTTACK: The Centre for Environmental Studies (CES), which functions under the state forest and environment department, has initiated steps for an eco-friendly Holi . It hopes to create awareness about the need to use herbal colours through eco-clubs formed in educational institutions across the state in recent years by the district environment societies.Director of CES, Ashutosh Debata, said instructions had been sent to the eco-clubs to create awareness among the people on the environmental hazards of using artificial colours. He said eco-clubs were present in around 9,500 schools and colleges in Odisha . Each has between 100 and 200 students."If everything goes as per plan, we expect to touch nearly two crore people through the eco-clubs," Debata said on Sunday. "This is our effort to have an eco-friendly Holi," he added."The eco-clubs are expected to promote the use of herbal colours to prevent the pollution of water and land, which is caused by the entry of toxic colours," he explained, adding that, "They must ask people to stop playing with plastic balloons containing coloured water." The CES director said markets were flooded with different types of paste, wet and dry colours that contained harmful chemicals. The chemical colours contain solvents such as lead, aromatic compounds, tetrathyline and benzene

Stay updated with all the Latest Cuttack headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.