Dumping of plastic and food waste by tourists in Munnar hill station is proving to be a major concern for the local authorities.
Munnar Panchayat secretary K. N. Sahajan said that the littering is a major threat to the hill station. Hundreds of tourists arrive at the hill station every day by tourist buses and throw food and plastic waste on the roadside. On Sunday, the Green Army members found a cow eating plastic, including waste, from near the Police station area. A group of tourists arrived on a tourist bus and threw the waste. The panchayat will file a complaint against the tourists at the Munnar police station on Monday,” said Mr Sahajan.
“The panchayat had already cleared the non-segregated waste from the panchayat dumping area after noticing that wild elephants were eating it. . Tourists throw used sanitary pads, diagram, snuggies, vomit, balance food, disposable containers on roadsides and the segregation of such wastes is a major problem for us,” said the official.
The panchayat has already fixed bins at various town points to deposit segregated waste for tourists.
“ We will take strict action against those who throw waste in town. The panchayat has posted Green Army members to monitor the tourists’ vehicles,” said Mr. Sahajan.
Team Munnar Environment and Wildlife Society (MEWS) president R. Mohan said that some tourists are trying to change the hill station to a garbage collection point. “ The throwing of plastics in town poses a serious threat to elephants, including wild animals, and cows, including domestic animals. Tusker Padayappa is a regular visitor of Munnar town areas,” said Mr Mohan.
On January 11, wild elephants ate waste from the Munnar panchayat’s dumping yard at Kallar, raising concerns. Later, the panchayat strengthened the initiatives to stop the dumping of plastic and food waste at the hill station.
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