Dubai, July 4 : The Dubai Municipality has honoured a 10-year-old Indian expat who turned his love for the World Cup into an innovative way to reduce plastic bag waste.

Using his own Eid money, Faiz Mohammed distributed hand-decorated reusable bags to a number of groceries near his home in Karama after he grew tired of seeing so many plastic bags being wasted on home deliveries, the Khaleej Times reported on Wednesday.

To combat the excess wastage, he distributed the free tote bags in place of plastic ones.

Abdulmajeed Abdulaziz Saifaie, Director of Dubai's Waste Management Department, on Tuesday named the youngster one of the Dubai Municipality's Sustainability Ambassadors.

The Sustainability Ambassador initiative was launched in 2013 with a view to train students on how to carry out lectures and workshops on various environmental topics.

"The fact that this boy didn't use that Eid money to buy a ball, toy, something for himself, is commendable. He has a good hobby. If his family and community keep encouraging that, he will have a good future and so will the environment," Saifaie said.

Thanking the municipality, Mohammed said he felt honoured to be named a Sustainability Ambassador, the Khaleej Times reported.

"I will keep urging friends, family and shop workers about the importance of using reusable bags in place of plastic ones," he said.

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Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre on Tuesday said a 7-km railway barricade has been approved for the Madikeri division and 20 km for the Nagarhole division in 2025–26 to curb human-elephant conflict in the regions.

Responding to a proposal raised by BJP MLC Suja Kushalappa during Zero Hour in the Legislative Council, he assured that work on the proposed railway barricades would begin soon.

Citing the death of a 17-year-old girl in an elephant attack on February 28 and that of a tribal woman on March 9 in the state, the minister said these deaths caused by elephant attacks were "extremely painful".

"Human life is very precious and cannot be valued in monetary terms. The Forest Department is taking all measures to prevent human-wildlife conflict."

The minister further said steps such as maintenance of elephant-proof trenches and solar-powered fencing were being undertaken, while two elephant task forces were currently in operation.

Orders have also been issued by the Chief Wildlife Warden to capture two rogue elephants.

In both cases, Rs 5 lakh compensation has already been disbursed to the families of the deceased, and the remaining Rs 15 lakh each will be provided within a week, he added.

Khandre said the government was making sincere efforts to find a permanent solution to the human–elephant conflict.