SEIJOSA, 3 Jun: The authority of the Pakke Wildlife Sanctuary and Tiger Reserve has prohibited single-use plastic water bottles inside the park.
“Henceforth, no single-use mineral water bottles would be allowed inside the park,” Pakke Wildlife Sanctuary and Tiger Reserve DFO Satyaprakash Singh said in a release.
He made the announcement during the launch programme of a five-day ‘Plastic-free Pakke campaign’ under the Arunachal Mission LiFE campaign on 1 June.
However, visitors and tourists will have the option to get bamboo water bottles on payment of refundable lumpsum amount as decided by the park authority.
The visitors on their departure from the park can return the bamboo bottles and get their deposited amounts refunded, it said.
“This is a small initiative by the Pakke Tiger Reserve to help nature,” Singh said.
He emphasised on the concept of the three Rs – reduce, reuse, and recycle – “to cut down on the amount of waste we throw away.”
The DFO also highlighted the initiative taken by the environment, forest & climate change department under the Arunachal Mission LiFE campaign.
He lauded the efforts of all the RFOs and staffers for executing the various activities in addition to their routine duties.
On the occasion, the park authority distributed jute bags and eco-friendly bamboo dustbins to shopkeepers, and encouraged people to avoid single-use plastic materials.
Fruit-bearing saplings were also distributed during the event.
“The drive aims to spread the message of protecting the environment for better living by minimising the risk of polluting the earth. This is also an effort to recycle and reuse, thereby reducing the stress on the environment,” the release said.
The campaign, which will conclude on 5 June, is reportedly receiving good response from the public, the district administration, the school authority and the youths of Pakke-Kessang district.
