Pernod Ricard India Foundation & TSL Foundation Launch Eco Empower Project on Waste Circularity and Waste Worker Support in Dabua Mandi, Faridabad
VMPL
Faridabad (Haryana) [India], June 4: Pernod Ricard India Foundation (PRIF), in collaboration with the TSL Foundation, has officially launched its flagship initiative, "Eco-Empower," at Dabua Mandi, Faridabad. Aligned with the Government of India's Swachh Bharat Mission, the project is set to engage over 1000+ local shopkeepers and strengthen the city's plastic waste collection, recycling and upcycling ecosystem and create essential community infrastructure.
Eco-Empower has been designed with a dual objective -- to address environmental sustainability and to support the inclusion of informal waste workers. The project aims to benefit over 150+ informal waste workers through better access to healthcare services, safety equipment, and skill-building opportunities.
The launch event was graced by the esteemed presence of Hon'ble Sh. Satish Kumar Phagna, Member of Legislative Assembly, NIT-86, Faridabad as Chief Guest, Mr. Vinay Yadav, District Marketing Enforcement Officer, HSAMB and Mr. Yaduraj Yadav, Executive Officer cum Secretary-Market Committee Dabua Mandi, alongside Ms. Anantika Singh, General Manager-CSR, from Pernod Ricard India Foundation (PRIF) and Mr. Sahil Arora, CEO, TSL Foundation. The event brought together over 200 attendees, including local market representatives, community leaders, civic authorities, and members of the media.
Key moments from the launch included:
- The flag-off ceremony of a dedicated waste collection van, reinforcing PRIF's commitment to a circular economy.
- The unveiling of the project mascot, symbolizing community action for a cleaner Faridabad.
- The distribution of dustbins to market stakeholders, initiating a structured waste segregation process in the region.
Mr. Gagandeep Singh Sethi, SVP Integrated Operations & S & R at Pernod Ricard India, emphasized the company's commitment:
"Sustainability and inclusion are core drivers for Pernod Ricard India, and our partnership with TSL Foundation through Eco-Empower is a testament to this commitment. We are addressing environmental challenges through circular making, while enabling those who work tirelessly to keep our communities clean. It marks a step toward a brighter, more sustainable future for Faridabad.
Mr. Sahil Arora, CEO, TSL Foundation, highlighted the project's broader vision:
"Eco-Empower is more than an initiative--it is a movement to instill long-term behavioral change. Our goal is to position Dabua Mandi as a replicable model for sustainable market ecosystems nationwide."
Chief Guest, Hon'ble Sh. Satish Kumar Phagna, Member of Legislative Assembly, NIT-86, Faridabad, lauded the initiative:
"Collaborations between corporates and civil society are essential to sustainable development. Eco-Empower is a stellar example of how public-private partnerships can drive grassroots transformation. I congratulate Pernod Ricard India Foundation and TSL Foundation for this impactful initiative."
Special Guest, Sh. Vinay Yadav, District Marketing Enforcement Officer, HSAMB, welcomed the initiative:
"The Eco-Empower initiative is aimed at transforming waste management practices through community engagement and behavioral change, by actively involving traders and waste workers. Implemented at Dabua Mandi in Faridabad, this program is among the first of its kind in any agricultural market (Mandi) in Haryana. It also reflects the emphasis placed on sectoral development by Shri Shyam Singh Rana, Agriculture Minister, Haryana, and Chief Administrator, HSAMB."
The event concluded with a vote of thanks by the TSL Foundation, followed by a dedicated media interaction and networking session. As Eco-Empower enters its implementation phase, on-ground efforts will focus on driving awareness, enabling efficient waste collection, and establishing a closed-loop recycling model.
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Pernod Ricard India Foundation & TSL Foundation Launch Eco Empower Project on Waste Circularity and Waste Worker Support in Dabua Mandi, Faridabad
VMPL Faridabad (Haryana) [India], June 4: Pernod Ricard India Foundation (PRIF), in collaboration with the TSL Foundation, has officially launched its flagship initiative, "Eco-Empower," at Dabua Mandi, Faridabad. Aligned with the Government of India's Swachh Bharat Mission, the project is set to engage over 1000+ local shopkeepers and strengthen the city's plastic waste collection, recycling and upcycling ecosystem and create essential community infrastructure. Eco-Empower has been designed with a dual objective -- to address environmental sustainability and to support the inclusion of informal waste workers. The project aims to benefit over 150+ informal waste workers through better access to healthcare services, safety equipment, and skill-building opportunities. The launch event was graced by the esteemed presence of Hon'ble Sh. Satish Kumar Phagna, Member of Legislative Assembly, NIT-86, Faridabad as Chief Guest, Mr. Vinay Yadav, District Marketing Enforcement Officer, HSAMB and Mr. Yaduraj Yadav, Executive Officer cum Secretary-Market Committee Dabua Mandi, alongside Ms. Anantika Singh, General Manager-CSR, from Pernod Ricard India Foundation (PRIF) and Mr. Sahil Arora, CEO, TSL Foundation. The event brought together over 200 attendees, including local market representatives, community leaders, civic authorities, and members of the media. Key moments from the launch included: - The flag-off ceremony of a dedicated waste collection van, reinforcing PRIF's commitment to a circular economy. - The unveiling of the project mascot, symbolizing community action for a cleaner Faridabad. - The distribution of dustbins to market stakeholders, initiating a structured waste segregation process in the region. Mr. Gagandeep Singh Sethi, SVP Integrated Operations & S & R at Pernod Ricard India, emphasized the company's commitment: "Sustainability and inclusion are core drivers for Pernod Ricard India, and our partnership with TSL Foundation through Eco-Empower is a testament to this commitment. We are addressing environmental challenges through circular making, while enabling those who work tirelessly to keep our communities clean. It marks a step toward a brighter, more sustainable future for Faridabad. Mr. Sahil Arora, CEO, TSL Foundation, highlighted the project's broader vision: "Eco-Empower is more than an initiative--it is a movement to instill long-term behavioral change. Our goal is to position Dabua Mandi as a replicable model for sustainable market ecosystems nationwide." Chief Guest, Hon'ble Sh. Satish Kumar Phagna, Member of Legislative Assembly, NIT-86, Faridabad, lauded the initiative: "Collaborations between corporates and civil society are essential to sustainable development. Eco-Empower is a stellar example of how public-private partnerships can drive grassroots transformation. I congratulate Pernod Ricard India Foundation and TSL Foundation for this impactful initiative." Special Guest, Sh. Vinay Yadav, District Marketing Enforcement Officer, HSAMB, welcomed the initiative: "The Eco-Empower initiative is aimed at transforming waste management practices through community engagement and behavioral change, by actively involving traders and waste workers. Implemented at Dabua Mandi in Faridabad, this program is among the first of its kind in any agricultural market (Mandi) in Haryana. It also reflects the emphasis placed on sectoral development by Shri Shyam Singh Rana, Agriculture Minister, Haryana, and Chief Administrator, HSAMB." The event concluded with a vote of thanks by the TSL Foundation, followed by a dedicated media interaction and networking session. As Eco-Empower enters its implementation phase, on-ground efforts will focus on driving awareness, enabling efficient waste collection, and establishing a closed-loop recycling model.
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However, the Ujjwala and Swachh Bharat schemes seem to be turning out to be pan-India is indeed a silver has seen a spurt in deaths due to tiger attacks, especially since has been an alarming spike in May with 24 people dying in tiger attacks, against 16 lives lost in the same period in IN TIGERS AND TIGER-HUMAN CONFLICTS IN INDIAIndia has 3,682 tigers in the wild, which is 70% of the world's wild tiger population, according to the tiger estimation of 2022. The country has added 1,456 tigers since in itself is a turnaround poaching and habitat loss left tigers on the brink of extinction in India, which led Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to launch Project Tiger in 1973. 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What has made matters worse is the condition of corridors, which connect wildlife habitats and have turned reserves into tiger high tiger density in these fragmented spaces could also be leading to fights among the animals over territory and prey base, forcing out some big cats into fringe areas that see more human to central government data, more than 600 people were killed in tiger attacks in the country between 2014 and 2024, an average of 60 deaths annually. 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Now, all houses have toilets," says non-timber forest produce collection for sale is a seasonal affair, venturing inside the jungle for firewood and open defecation was a year-round problem, he and ecotourism expert Imran Khan says that both toilets and LPG connections are likely to have helped reduce man-wildlife conflicts in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh by reducing the movement of locals into tiger habitats."Ninety-five percent of the conflicts take place within tiger habitats, which extend all the way into the periphery of the villages. Movement of villagers into high-tiger-density habitats either in Corbett Tiger Reserve or Pilibhit Tiger Reserve is the major cause of man-animal conflict," says Khan. A resident of a village inside MM Hills Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka's Chamarajanagar district with her free LPG hotplate and cylinder. A resident of one such village said the LPG connection had reduced the number of trips she had to make deep inside the forest for firewood. (Credit: Holematthi Nature Foundation) advertisementDECADES-OLD KNOWLEDGE IMPLEMENTED NOWThat toilets and alternatives to firewood can help reduce human-wildlife conflict isn't a recent Bhartari, a veteran wildlife expert and former Principal Chief Conservator of Forests of Uttarakhand, says, "Toilets have been a priority for interventions since Uttarakhand's statehood."He says the allocation of four percent of the budget in the community tourism plan for Agora village in Uttarkashi district in 2005 emerged as the most beneficial investment a decade later."Toilets play a crucial role in addressing human-wildlife conflicts in specific locations. However, they are just one component of a broader strategy," says strategies, the expert says, include regularly clearing bushes along pathways, eliminating invasive species in village areas, ensuring adequate outdoor lighting, and proper disposal of food a state with high tiger numbers and tiger-attack deaths, has worked for a decade to reduce forest dependency in villages within and around protected areas. Jitendra Ramgaonkar, the Chief Conservator of Forests (wildlife) of Chandrapur, where the Tadoba Tiger Reserve is located, cites Maharashtra's Shyamaprasad Mukherji Jan Van Yojana, which offers Rs 25 lakh grants to forest villages to reduce reliance on forests for livelihood, firewood, or defecation."There has been a big reduction in incidents and deaths where people going to collect firewood or to defecate were attacked by tigers and leopards since the scheme was started in 2015. This is despite a three-time increase in tiger numbers," Ramgaonkar tells India Today HAVE BROUGHT BEHAVIOURAL CHANGES AMONG TRIBALSDoddathayamma, a 40-year-old from Jayammanadoddi village in Chamarajnagar district, says earlier she would frequently hear of fatal attacks by animals, especially by elephants. Such news, she says, has become rare since villagers got LPG connections and Sanjay Gubbi of NGO Holematthi, which works with villagers like Doddathayamma, says there is a lack of nationwide data on these issues."However, at the sites where we work, we have scientifically documented an 85% decrease in per capita firewood usage after alternative energy sources were provided," Gubbi tells India Today forester Jitendra Ramgaonkar says toilets and the safety attached to them have brought about a behavioural change in people."Tribal people who earlier used to go to forests to defecate despite having toilets at home are now using the toilets after seeing that it is safer and protects them from being attacked by tigers and leopards," he might be crucial in preventing attacks by leopards in Uttarakhand's hill districts like Pauri Garhwal and Singh Bargali, Deputy Director, The Corbett Foundation, says leopards are often drawn to human settlements in search of small livestock and occasionally attack children."Providing proper toilet facilities can play a crucial role in reducing human-leopard conflicts in Uttarakhand," he says. Govindamma (L) of Soolekobe village, who received an LPG connection, and Pavithra S of Asthuru village, who got both an LPG connection and a toilet, say their lives are safer now, after the Karnataka-based NGO helped them. (Images: Holematthi Nature Foundation) WHY VILLAGERS STILL VENTURE DEEP INTO FORESTSIf villagers like Govindamma receive LPG cylinders, why do they still need to go into forests and risk encounters with wild animals?Both Jogwe and Khan, the conservationists from Tadoba and Corbett, say that though LPG connections have helped, the villagers aren't getting the number of refills as there is the question of livelihood through the sale of non-timber forest products like honey and tendu leaves. At times, villagers also collect firewood to sell in the expert Bhartari shares an incident from a meeting in Sankar village of Almora district to explain that there is no magic bullet for the issue of human-animal village meeting was held to extend support to Kamla Devi, who had survived a tiger attack in the neighbouring Jameriya village. Both the villages are in the buffer zone of Corbett Tiger women from the Rachnatmak Mahila Manch stated, "Hum jangle jana chhod denge; hum jangle se ghas lana chhod denge; par ye jo hamari dahleej par guldar aur baagh aa rahe hain, unka hum kya karein?"The villagers said they were willing to stop venturing into the forest, but what do they do about the leopards and tigers that are reaching their doorsteps?"There is no one or simple answer to their question. A greater understanding of the conflict through research, detailed planning, and site-specific actions is necessary to effectively address such situations," says conflict is a species-specific issue in sanctuaries that are all unique in their own way, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Small steps like providing toilets and LPG cylinders help in a big way, but they will need to be supplemented with site-specific action."Tigers have adapted to living with human beings and now, it is high time that humans too learn to live with tigers," says Corbett-based Watch
