Forest dept to put cork on use of plastic in parks

Kolkata: The state Forest department is going to impose some restrictions on the usage of plastic material in the parks that are owned by the department.

During a programme organised on the occasion of World Environment Day at Central Park in Salt Lake, state Forest minister Binay Krishna Burman said that the visitors will not be allowed to enter parks with any plastic items or bags.

During the programme, some saplings were planted in the park while some others were distributed among the people by the Forest department. The principal secretary of the department Chandan Sinha was also present at the programme.

Burman said that his department will impose restrictions on the entry of people who are carrying plastic substances. The step has been taken to protect the environment of the parks.

It is often seen that people dump plastic bags and other items in the waterbodies inside the parks, which in turn cause damage to the animals and plants in the water.

The minister also instructed the senior officials of his department to carry out extensive campaigns against the use of plastic items, which disrupt the ecological balance.

Various awareness programmes would be held by the department to make people aware about the ill effects of the plastic items. He also urged the people to plant more trees in their neighbourhood, which is one of the steps to keep the nature intact.

The Forest department would also urge the stalls situating near the parks not to sell plastic items to the people. It may be mentioned here that the Forest department often distributes saplings among the people for protection of the environment.