At the monthly Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) council meeting held on Saturday, it was the brand new shining steel tumblers and jugs that caught the attention of everyone.
Normally, half litre mineral water bottles used to be placed before each member, prior to the start of meeting in the council hall. However, when corporators and officials stepped into the hall on Saturday, they found new steel tumblers and jugs with water waiting for them.
Sources informed DH that the government’s circular on making alternative arrangements for safe drinking water without generating plastic waste had motivated the corporation to replace plastic bottles with hundreds of jugs and tumblers.
MCC Commissioner Mohammed Nazeer claimed to be unaware about the amount spent on buying steel tumblers and jugs to replace the plastic bottles. The steel tumblers were also a topic of discussions and generated a few laughs from members.
Congress Corporator A C Vinayraj in a mock appeal urged members to refrain from using the tumblers or jugs to attack members during high-pitched debates. The joke, however, fell flat on MCC Mayor Bhaskar K who chided Vinayraj for his idle talk.
When BJP corporators trooped to the well of the house and created a ruckus, JD(s) member M Abdul Azeej managed to raise a bigger din by repeatedly striking the jug in his left hand with the new tumbler.