Hyderabad: A major step toward a plastic-free Husnabad is underway with Minister Ponnam Prabhakar launching a Steel Bank initiative across the constituency, aiming to eliminate single-use plastics from villages.
At an event in Koheda mandal, Telangana Governor Jishnu Dev Varma inaugurated a Steel Bank set up in memory of the minister’s father by the Ponnam Sattaiah Charitable Trust. The Governor also launched an RTC bus service to Vemulawada and took part in a Van Mahotsavam tree plantation drive.
Ponnam Prabhakar said the goal is to replace plastic at weddings and social gatherings with reusable steel utensils. Each of the constituency’s 276 women’s federation groups will manage a Steel Bank. A total of 38 women’s groups in Koheda received Steel Banks at the launch.
The kits include tiffin plates, lunch plates, water and tea glasses, cups, dishes, and cooking utensils. Distribution is tiered 500, 400, or 300 kits per group based on local needs.
The minister said 3,400 steel glasses have already been supplied to 340 hotels, saving ₹2,000 per month for each by eliminating plastic use. In total, the constituency can now serve meals to 74,000 people simultaneously using steel rice plates.
Governor Jishnu Dev Varma praised the initiative as more impactful than technological revolutions, calling it a model for grassroots environmental change. He described the Steel Bank concept as aligned with Gandhi’s vision of village Swaraj.
Minister Konda Surekha and Governor Varma both highlighted the health risks posed by plastic, including cancer, and called on people to embrace reusable alternatives.
SHG members were also given interest-free loan cheques worth ₹28.95 crore during the event. Officials including SERP CEO Divya Devarajan and district collectors Haimavathi, Sneha Sabharish, and Pamela Satpathy participated.
మా తండ్రి పొన్నం సత్తయ్య చారిటబుల్ ట్రస్టు ఆధ్వర్యంలో ఈరోజు 38 మహిళా సంఘాలకు స్టీల్ బ్యాంక్ గవర్నర్ జిష్ణు దేవ్ వర్మ, సహచర మంత్రి వర్యులు కొండా సురేఖ గార్లతో కలిసి పంపిణీ చేయడం జరిగింది.@Jishnu_Devvarma @iamkondasurekha pic.twitter.com/PCUl9XQRoi
— Ponnam Prabhakar (@Ponnam_INC) July 17, 2025
