Tribals urge ITDA to enforce ban on plastic in Lambasingi

Visakhapatnam: As the temperatures dipping drastically in Agency areas, it was attracting a greater number of tourists and simultaneously it was losing its beauty with the throwing of empty bottles, plastic bags, glasses and other waste materials near scenic locations.

The tribes who were residing at surrounding hamlets were urging the local and tourism authorities to take immediate steps and impose ban on usage of plastic carry bags to prevent pollution.

The tribals were very keen about the locations around Araku Valley and Lambasingi surrounding areas to keep clean. As many tourists have been dumping the food wastes in plastic bags along with disposable plastic containers at beautiful scenic locations like Lambasingi despite repeated requests of locals.

Currently, the temperatures dipped nearly to zero in some hamlets under Chintapalle mandal in Vizag agency. The valley has been hitting the headlines when it recorded lowest temperature (1.5 to 3 degree Celsius) with dense fog. To witness this climate, tourists from adjacent states like West Bengal, Odisha, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were thronging Vizag agency.

Surendra Kilo, a tribal community leader and resident of Lambasingi, said that even there were dust bins, the indiscipline visitors simply litter the waste materials on roads and farm fields.

Among them youth were hanging out by conducting night camps and boozing around the tourist spots, this causes of plastic and empty bottles (liquor and water bottles) in Lambasingi and Tajangi dumped by tourist is spoiling the beauty of spots and affecting the birds and animals, he added.

Former sarpanch of Lambasingi K Raghunath said that the plastic waste and broken glass bottles has become common sight for us, at-least now as many of the tourists thronging to these natural beautiful spots we urge the authorities of ITDA-Paderu and Sub-Collector to take immediate steps to ban use and sale of polythene bags by imposing fines on defaulters to make the Lambasingi free from plastic wastage.

District tourism officials said that we had already banned the usage or sale of plastic carry bags in Araku Valley by imposing huge fines on the violators. We are planning to extend the ban of plastic carry bags in all the tourist destinations (Lambasingi, Dallapalle and others in Vizag Agency) and will promote the paper and jute products to keep the tourists spots always clean and healthy.