Successful Ban on Use of Plastic in Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve

Between 15th July to 15th August 2007, ATREE along with the Tamil Nadu Forest Department and Singampatti Samasthanam organized a successful campaign to ban the use of plastic in KMTR. Here's the report.

Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR) in the Agasthyamalai range is endowed with rare plants and animals. The reserve is also known for several religious and tourist places that attract large number of people from places far and near throughout the year and especially so during certain festivals. One of them is the Arulmigu Sorimuthu Iyanar temple which is visited by lakhs of people during the Aadi amavasai festival which falls on the new moon day of the Tamil month of Aadi.

The festival and its background
Locally known as the Sorimuthaiyan Kovil, the temple’s history can be traced back to the Pandian Kingdom of Singampatti. Iyanar and Mahalingam (a self-emanated Sivalinga) are among the numerous deities worshipped in the temple. On the day of the festival, mass-cooking and offering of pongal takes place.

During this festival, the Raja of Singampatti (who is also the hereditary trustee if the temple) holds his customary durbar for two consecutive days. Dance and martial arts performed by descendants of traditional dancers and walking on the fire by devotees are also an integral part of this ritual.

The issue
Earlier, few people used to visit the temple but now, due to availability of public and private transportation and better roads, the number of pilgrims has raised manifold. Since people visit the temple from far off places, they camp in the forest for 2 – 5 days. Besides fuel wood collection, threat of forest fire, water pollution and outbreak of diseases due to extreme unhygienic conditions, the major concern has been littering of garbage, especially that of plastics in the forest. Plastics not only clog the soil, but can also be fatal to animals that consume them. Lack of awareness and a complete absence of a garbage collection and disposal mechanism have been the contributing factors.

In 2006, ATREE, along with the Forest Department, launched an anti-plastic campaign during the festival and a clean up campaign by placing garbage bins. Though the effort was small, it helped us in planning a fitting campaign of a greater magnitude in 2007 to tackle the problem.
This year, we first worked towards getting a ban imposed on plastic covers and cups within the sanctuary. Later, a major awareness campaign on the hazards of plastic and the ban order was launched with the help of the Forest Department and the Temple Samsthanam. During the festival, a string of activities were planned to ensure a successful implementation of the ban.

Getting a ban imposed would not be possible without local support. For this purpose, letters of support were obtained from the Raja, the Panchayat members and Panchayat union, the Lions Club, the Rotary Club, pensioners’ association and farmers’ union of surrounding villages. This was submitted to the District Collector of Tirunelveli requesting for a ban. The Field Director of KMTR followed this up and eventually the collector issued a notice to prevent plastic in the sanctuary. The press and news channels were effectively used to highlight this. In total, 6 local dailies, 3 satellite channels, 3 local network channels reported the issue and the ban order.

Awareness was targeted at different levels using various media. Arumugal Trust - a local NGO, helped us in highlighting the hazards of plastic through a string of street plays and cultural programmes in target villages around Alayakulum. These were repeatedly telecast during prime hours in local TV channels. Prior to the festival, students from Tilak Vidalaya School, Kallidaikurichi; Thithapathi Higher Secondary School, Ambasamudram and St. Mary’s High School, V. K. Puram took out processions holding placards and wearing animal masks made by ATREE’s Green Brigade (an eco-club for school students also known as Pasmai Padai).
An awareness procession by school students wearing masks

Interviews in TV and radio channels were another important way of spreading awareness. Dr. R. Ganesan, was interviewed during the prime hour in Suryan FM – the most popular local FM channel. Dr. Soubadra Devy, Dr. R. Ganesan and Dr. T.Ganesh were interviewed by satellite channels where they spoke about the plastic menace and requested people to minimize use of plastic in the sanctuary. The ATREE team also gave lectures in schools and colleges on the importance of making the sanctuary plastic-free. To highlight the ban, we also arranged for a press meeting with the Panchayat leaders, the Rajah and the Field Director of KMTR.

Implementation
Bins were placed in various places to avoid littering. Over 3 days, about 500 volunteers from various colleges helped us in collecting plastic covers from the pilgrims and replacing them with cloth/ paper bags and in collecting and replacing plastic cups with paper cups from shops. The volunteers also took out an awareness procession around the temple. Efforts were made to ensure that the ban is implemented successfully during the festival.

A vehicle census was carried out on all 3 days at the entrance to get an estimate of the number of people and the number of vehicles that enter the sanctuary. Water samples were collected from the Tambraparni River before and after the festival to test for BOD and E coli levels. To assess the prevailing belief system that prompts people to visit the temple every year in spite of the hardships involved, a social survey was conducted. The social survey also looked at the awareness levels among people which will help in planning the next campaign better.
After the festival, a clean up of the place was organized. NSS students from Theerthapathi Higher Secondary School along with the ATREE and Forest Department staff picked up plastic covers and paper strewn all over the place.

Reported to The Eco-Informatics Centre by Jahnavi Pai and M. Mathivanan