Parvathamalai to get water stations at Rs 1.5 cr

50 crore at strategic locations on the way to 4,500-ft-high Parvathamalai in Kalasapakkam panchayat union in a bid to reduce plastic waste generation by 50 per cent especially by curbing the usage of non-biodegradable water bottles, Collector KS Kandasamy toldDT Next.

The initiative was the outcome of a daylong garbage cleaning drive recently led by Kandasamy with a team of 1,500 volunteers on the hill. The volunteers removed a total of 2 tonnes of plastic waste with around 90 per cent of the waste being plastic bottles.

Stating that the accumulated 2 tonnes plastic garbage was handed over for recycling, he said, “As we had already announced about the drive, we handed the collected plastic trash to collectors who immediately took it away for recycling.”

The cleaning drive was initiated by Kandasamy after his visit to the hill a month back. Kandasamy said, “I was literally walking on plastics. As there are no water sources in the pathway to the hill top, visitors are forced to buy water bottles which they discard on the route immediately after emptying. This results in the plastics getting washed away by rain to the nearest water source which then gets clogged.”

Disturbed by the accumulation of plastics on the hill, the Collector held a series of discussions with the volunteers and conspired on certain short term measures. The Collector decided to set up temporary trash bins and provide direction to the next nearest bin for the climbers with the help of posters. The plan is likely to ensure that plastic bottles are not tossed away.

“If we provide water points enroute to the top of the hill and place notice boards as to their location we feel that visitors will not be forced to opt for plastic bottles and this will hopefully reduce plastic waste by half,” Kandasamy said.

Expressing his views on the new initiatives, Sethumadhavan, a volunteer from Tiruvannamalai said, “We are happy as our work ensured a clean environment. We only hope that when the improvements promised by the Collector are completed, visitors will heed and ensure that the hill and the surrounding forest are plastic free.”