The iconic Mysuru Palace, a destination in the must-see list of every tourist visiting the city of palaces, will soon become ‘plastic-free’. It will be the second tourist destination after the Mysuru zoo to shun plastic with the Mysuru District Administration, the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC), and the Mysuru Palace Board joining hands to make it possible.
As thousands of tourists visit the palace daily, generating large amounts of plastic waste, this would often result in littering of plastic bottles. While single-use plastic is banned and cannot be carried inside the palace, water bottles are allowed but the visitors need to deposit a sum and get the money back after returning the used bottle after the visit.
“This concept has worked really well at the Mysuru zoo. Visitors deposit a sum of ₹20 per bottle to carry inside the zoo. After the visit, they would get back the money in return for the bottle. The received bottles go for recycling. This ends plastic pollution. The same model is being adopted at the Mysuru Palace as this will bring a sense of responsibility among the visitors and make them conscious,” said MCC Health Officer D. G. Nagaraj.
