BHUBANESWAR: Voicing serious concern over widespread use of single-use plastic items in Koraput, city-based advocate Sankar Prasad Pani has sought immediate intervention of the state government and Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to launch strict enforcement against the unrestricted use of the banned products in the district, especially at Gupteswar, which has been declared a biodiversity heritage site.
Pani in his letter to the Koraput administration, Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB), state Forest department and MoEFCC pointed out that there has been rampant use of single use plastic across length and breath of the district.
On June 3, he found Gupteswar, the famous shrine and a biodiversity heritage site, filled with polythene bags and other single-use plastic products, that have been banned in the state. “Since the site is in a pristine environment and declared as one the biodiversity heritage sites in Odisha, it is essential to maintain the sanctity of the area,” Pani said.
As ‘Kanwar Yatra’ by devotees of Lord Shiva to the shrine during the holy Shravan month is expected to start from July second week, he demanded that awareness drive be taken up in advance, and enforcement squads mobilised to discourage and prevent use of single-use plastic in the shrine.
He also said that the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has already directed government to declare the area from Sabari river embankment to temple of Lord Gupteswar a plastic-free zone and impose penalty against the violaters.
“Koraput being a hilly area and with sizeable tribal population, promoting green alternatives by the government could also create more employment and boost the local economy,” he said.