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Chennai, Nov 9 (IANS) In a fresh effort to maintain the plastic ban in the Nilgiris district, the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC), Ooty region, has issued strict instructions to ensure that passengers do not carry banned plastic drinking water and soft drink bottles while traveling to the hill district.
Following complaints that banned plastic bottles are still being carried in government buses, TNSTC has directed all drivers and conductors to alert passengers before departing from Mettupalayam bus stand in Coimbatore, the major gateway to the Nilgiris.
In a circular, TNSTC (Ooty region) General Manager M. Jaishankar directed conductors of all six branches under the region to ensure that passengers traveling to the Nilgiris do not carry banned plastic items.
“Conductors and drivers should ensure that passengers entering the Nilgiris via Mettupalayam do not carry plastic bottles. Officers in-charge of the Mettupalayam bus stand should monitor buses bound for the hills to ensure compliance,” the circular said.
The circular further warned that disciplinary action would be taken against any TNSTC personnel failing to follow the instructions.
The move comes as part of the district administration’s coordinated efforts to support the anti-plastic enforcement campaign, which aims to preserve the delicate ecosystem of the Nilgiris and reduce litter on major tourist routes.
Jaishankar said that apart from written instructions, oral instructions have also been made mandatory. “Drivers and conductors should remind passengers before departure that carrying plastic bottles or other banned items is prohibited in the Nilgiris. This announcement should be made before the buses leave the Mettupalayam stand,” he said.
He said that this instruction is not limited to Ooty area only. “Drivers and conductors of buses operated from other branches of TNSTC to destinations in the Nilgiris have also been instructed to ensure that passengers comply with the ban,” Jaishankar said.
Officials hope the move will strengthen enforcement at the source and stem the flow of plastic waste into one of the most ecologically sensitive hilly regions of Tamil Nadu, where the district administration has been strictly enforcing the ban for several years.
–IANS
AL/DPB