Bright display boards against the use of banned plastic items can be spotted in the 16th-century granite fort complex at Vellore as the district unit of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has declared the fort plastic-free zone.
As part of strict enforcement of the ban, officials from the TNPCB and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), , have started to check visitors and their belongings inside the fort complex. “Along with ASI, a special team has been deployed at the entrance of the fort to check visitors for possession of any banned plastic items. The imposition of fines will have to be decided by the district administration,” G. Ravichandran, District Environmental Officer (Vellore), said.
The fort complex spanning 137 acres has at least 58 colonial buildings, including the mahals of Mysore warriors.
On average, 3,000 visitors, including foreign tourists, visit the fort everyday. However, over 10kg of plastic waste, mostly bags, are generated in the complex. Currently, garbage collection in the fort complex is being done by Vellore Corporation under the supervision of ASI.
At present, police personnel have been deployed at the checkpoint near the entrance of the fort. The special teams from TNPCB and ASI have been coordinating with the police on duty at the fort complex to check on plastic items that are carried by visitors. They are allowed to carry only recyclable plastic water bottles.
ASI officials said that the fort has been getting more visitors especially from Vellore town due to the ongoing beautification work taken up by the Corporation under the Smart Cities Mission project. The civic body has installed more than 1,000 ornamental lamps at 97 spots and on the parapet wall of the fort. It also laid a bitumen road to a distance of 2.4 km inside the fort to ease access of heritage buildings for visitors.
As a result, along with TNPCB, the ASI has started to enforce the plastic ban, which has been in force since 2019 in the State, strictly within the fort complex.
