VISAKHAPATNAM:
Visakhapatnam Railway Station authorities have chosen an interesting way to grab passengers’ attention and discourage them from using plastic on the station’s premises: Eye-catching posters of Baahubali characters now ‘order’ people to adhere to the ban on the non-biodegradable material.
The ban has been in place for a year, but officials decided to step up the drive and seek the help of popular Tollywood movie characters to drive home the point.
Shops and canteens at the station do not use plastic bags or cups and passengers have been dissuaded from bringing plastic bags inside the station. Though the station is maintained well, the tracks are often littered with plastic bottles and parcel boxes. To avoid rag-pickers selling uncrushed plastic bottles, two bottle crushing machines were installed at the station.
Posters with lines from Baahubali and Bharat Ane Nenu encourage people not to bring plastic inside the station. “Though passengers won’t be fined for the use of plastic, they are regularly told to avoid it inside the station. We want to attract the attention of passengers, so we thought these Tollywood movie stars would have a good impact. Fines are being imposed on vendors using plastics starting from `500,” said Divisional Railway Manager MS Mathur.
A few vendors have been booked for continuing to use plastic covers. A total of 1,322 littering cases have been filed from January 2018 till date and a fine of `1,32,000 collected.
