KOZHIKODE: Kozhikode Municipal Corporation has mooted the idea of keeping the Sarovaram Bio-Park, located in the heart of the city, plastic free by imposing strict restrictions.
Sarovaram is the only eco-friendly bio-park in Kerala promoting the conservation of mangrove forests and wetlands.
The corporation has decided to hold talks about this with the tourism department and the district tourism promotion council (DTPC), the custodian of the park.
The corporation council meeting also approved the submission presented by Paraya-nchery councillor K. Raveendran, which calls for declaring the area plastic-free.
The matter was also discussed in the Sarov-aram Bio-park destin-ation management council (DMC) meeting held recently, and a decision in principle was taken to make it plastic-free.
The authorities are planning to implement the idea on the lines of the Kuruva Island preservation in Wayanad, where strict rules on the use of plastic have been imposed.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, K. Raveendran, the councillor of Parayanchery ward where the 200-acre park lies, said that the rich biodiversity of the park was under threat due to the uncontrollable accumulation of plastic.
“Two years ago during the CPM’s party Congress, there was a cleaning drive by CPM volunteers in the Park. The volunteers who expected a maximum of five bags of plastic waste, ended up with 50 bags from Sarovaram and nearby Connolly Canal. The situation is still the same. By declaring it a plastic-free zone, we can definitely check the extinction of rich biodiversity of the Park,” he said.
DTPC secretary P.G. Rajeev said that the tourism department was positive to the idea. “In the recent DMC meeting, the issue was raised and all were in favour of making the park a plastic-free one. After further discussions, we will decide how and when it would be implemented,” he said.
