Deepavali fireworks: Nilgiris collector bans paper, plastic tumblers in hills
Ooty: In a stunningly bold initiative, the Nilgiris district collector, Ms J. Innocent Divya on Tuesday announced a ban on the use of paper and plastics tumblers and cups in the hill district as the wax in the paper containers is believed to posing a threat to health, while plastic tumblers/cups straight pollute the environment.
While the former collectors of Nilgiris, P. Sivasankaran, Supriya Sahu and Anand V.Patil, showed exemplary interest in controlling plastics in the Nilgiris, where plastics items like carry bags and cups had been banned during 2000-2001, Ms Divya, who assumed charge last July, has been showing interest in plastics control measures in the hills.
With Ms Innocent Divya's latest ban initiative, wedding halls, shops around tourist spots, bars, hotels and restaurants have been hereby instructed not to use both paper and plastic cups and tumblers.
This apart, packing food in plastic wrappers and plastic covers and bags in hotels and restaurants too is banned, official sources told Deccan Chronicle here.
Traders have been requested to immediately comply with this ban to conserve the environment as well as the health of citizens. Action will be taken against those found to defy this ban.
A penalty of Rs 20, 000 will be imposed on wholesale traders found to be dealing with these banned items and Rs 5,000 on retailers defying the ban, she noted.
The pro-active Ms. Innocent Divya, who has been showing considerable interest in the all-round development and progress of Nilgiris including that of the Tribals, also appealed to the hill residents to support this initiative and use silver, glass and earthen tumblers and cups instead of the hazardous plastic and paper ones.
Meanwhile, S. Jayachandran, joint secretary of the ‘Tamil Nadu Green Movement’, welcomed the district collector’s announcement. He appealed for special teams to monitor the movement of banned plastic products in the Nilgiris and wanted more surprise raids to check the plastics menace in the hills.
