Almost eight years after Lachen became the first town in Sikkim to completely ban packaged drinking water bottles, the town is set to introduce bamboo bottle as an alternative. The town with a mere population of 2,500 is located 129 km from Gangtok, at a height of 2,750 metres.
The town which is surrounded by snow-capped hills and aquamarine lakes is a famous tourist hub. Annually, the town witnesses over a lakh tourists’ footfall. It was because of plastic bottles left by the tourists that prompted the authorities to ban the packaged water bottles eight years back.
The bamboo water bottles have been ordered from Assam through Sikkim Rajya Sabha MP Hishey Lachungpa. Around, 1,000 bamboo water bottles have been ordered as an alternative.
Sikkim was the first state in the country to take steps against the use of plastic, bringing in restrictive measures as far back as 1998.
In 2016, it banned the use of packaged drinking water in government offices as well as at all government events.
Lachen Tourism Development Committee (LTDC), comprising locals, and the Dzumsa, are the two monitoring bodies that spearheaded the ban on plastic packaged water move. These two bodies’ aim is to prevent the entry of plastic bottles in the town.
They crack down on tourist vehicles and confiscate plastic bottles.
According to The Indian Express report, the LTDC imposes a fine of â¹500 on the driver of the tourist vehicle. The fine for second and third offences is â¹1,000 and â¹2,000 respectively.
Now the authorities are grappling with the wafers and biscuit wrappers. According to them, a ban on such products will badly hit the town’s economy. In the town, residents generally use cloth bags instead of plastic bags.
Also Read: Worried Of Plastic Bottles? This Man’s Bamboo Bottles From Assam Come To Rescue
