RAMESWARAM
As Rameswaram secured a dismally low 268th slot in the Swachch Survekshan sanitation ranking and figured at the bottom of 28 towns/cities covered under the survey in Tamil Nadu, the municipality has geared up to enforce the Plastic Waste Management By-laws 2016 and make the pilgrim island ‘plastic-free’.
The municipality held a meeting with all stakeholders here on Thursday and decided to ban all types of plastic carry bags, irrespective of their thickness, after a month-long awareness campaign from June 1.
“Though the notification empowered the municipality to ban plastic carry bags, which were below 50 microns, we have decided to ban all types of plastic carry bags and plastic sheets used for packing food and other items,” Municipal Commissioner K. Jayarama Raja told The Hindu on Friday.
More than 35 persons, including traders, businessmen, roadside vendors, police and tourism department officials, tourist guides and temple priests, participated in the stakeholders’ meeting and agreed to extend their cooperation to keep the island clean and hygienic, he said.
The municipality had decided to sensitise sellers and consumers during the month-long awareness campaign before strictly enforcing the laws from July 1, Sanitary Inspector M. Iyappan said.
Door-to-door campaign would be launched and pamphlets distributed by involving self-help groups and sanitary workers. The civic body had decided to involve even priests who conducted rituals for pilgrims visiting the island and tourist guides in spreading awareness, he said.
‘Hand in Hand’, a non-governmental organisation, had come forward to distribute cloth bags to tourists for a year, he said.
After checking tourists and pilgrims at the entry points, volunteers would replace their plastic carry bags with cloth bags, he said.
Hoteliers, lodge owners, fishermen leaders and business community had also come forward to cooperate and stop using plastic bags. The municipality had also decided to create a system to monitor the ban by forming a consumer committee, Mr. Iyappan said.
