Anti-plastic campaigner reaches out to Thanjai students with a message

As part of her mission to ensure a plastic-free Tamil Nadu, Shaiby Mathew, a tailor by profession, plans to cover 10,000 km on her bike.

She started her expedition from Ooty on February 3 and reached Thanjavur on Thursday. She was warmly received by students and staff of the Raja’s Government School.

In her address to the students, she said, “By avoiding plastic bags, we can reduce usage of plastic by as much as 50 per cent. It is the duty of every person in Tamil Nadu to stand with the State government in preventing the usage of plastic. We can thus ensure the State becomes plastic free and environment friendly.”

Talking about her expedition, Mathew said she had initially attempted to ride the bike by standing for 250 km. “It worked out well. I was featured in the Limca book of records last year. I had a fascination for bike riding from my childhood days, but my son gave me the idea of riding the bike by standing. Now, I want to cover 10,000 km,” she said.

She plans to travel across all 33 districts of the State. “So far, I have covered 20 districts and travelled for 6,000 km. The remaining 13 districts would be covered soon,” Mathew said, adding that she has spoken to students of as many as 400 schools and colleges across the State and advised them against the use of plastic.