JEYPORE: Deomali, Odisha’s highest peak and a prime tourist destination in Koraput district’s Pottangi block, is grappling with plastic waste pollution and littering with visitors’ footfall on the rise coupled with poor waste management system.
The scenic spot, which attracts an average of 25,000 visitors monthly except during the monsoon season (June to August), is struggling with mounting plastic waste and inadequate sanitation facilities. The site’s popularity has surged due to improved road accessibility and social media exposure, drawing tourists from both within and outside the state.
However, growing popularity has brought challenges to waste disposal. Water bottles, plastic containers and bags dot the site as tourists show little respect for the cleanliness of the site. Worse, there is no proper toilet or water facility for outside day visitors who, in most cases, use the hilltop to relieve themselves, adding to the sanitation challenges of eco-tourism spots.
“The tourist spot faces two major challenges, visitors leaving behind plastic materials and food waste and overnight campers generating waste including human waste,” said Ch Santakar, a Koraput-based social activist. He points at the insufficient manpower and machinery for maintaining cleanliness at the site.
The Pottangi block administration has contracted a Self-Help Group (SHG) for Rs 1.18 lakh monthly to manage vehicle entry and maintain sanitation. The group collects Rs 100 per vehicle as entry fee but maintaining the entire four-kilometer hill stretch has proven challenging.
“The group collecting entry fees should ensure appropriate maintenance of the spot with public money,” said Dolirani Nayak, a visitor to Deomali.
Responding to public concerns, the block authorities initiated a massive cleanup drive recently. About 200 volunteers including SHG group members participated in the operation using tractors and manual labour, removing approximately two tonnes of waste, primarily plastics. Pottangi Block Development Officer (BDO) SK Patnaik acknowledges the growing challenge. “We are concerned about maintaining sanctity of this eco-tourism spot. We have started a massive cleanliness drive aiming to clean the hill from top to bottom in the next couple of days,” he said.
The administration has implemented a new waste management system, providing visitors with two containers for dry and wet waste. Visitors must deposit Rs 200 for the containers upon entry and return them with proper waste disposal before leaving the site.