The tourists now have to pay for a sticker for all the plastic items they carry inside the jungles during their safari which is totally refundable. The price of the sticker is Rs 20/- per plastic item such as a plastic water bottle, chips packet, etc.
The stickers will be depending on the number of plastic items the tourist will carry. The initiative has been taken by the PTR forest department, Maharashtra in which they aim for a plastic-free jungle in order to provide wildlife with a safe environment to live in.
Once the tourists are back from their safari, they are needed to show the items containing stickers on them. If they wish to take the plastic item back, the stickers will be removed and the item will be returned to them. If they wish to throw it away they can into the dustbins provided outside the gates.
Prabhunath Shukla, DyCF told The Live Nagpur that “ The department will be taking note of the stickers. The sticker system has been implemented effectively since October 15, 2022. The eco-development committee (EDC) will be collecting solid waste from the complexes and will be conducting an auction for the waste. The money that will be generated from this auction will be distributed amongst the villages in the buffer zones.”
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