Odisha-based innovators make eco-friendly pens with newspapers, vegetable and fruit seeds

As an alternative to plastic pens, two Bhubaneswar-based innovators, Prem Panday and MD Ahmad Raza, have made eco-friendly, use and throw pens from newspapers and vegetable, fruit and flower seeds. Keeping in mind the growing concerns of the usage of plastic and its detrimental impact on the environment, Pandey and Raza have tried to challenge the hegemony of the plastic pens through these "eco-friendly pens," which are manufactured by 'Likhna' - a startup founded by both of them. The pens are provided in two variants - one consists of vegetable, fruit and flower seeds in it which can regenerate into plants after being thrown, while the other is made without seeds. The variants have been priced at Rs 5 and Rs 7, respectively.