Corbett Tiger Reserve will ban plastic water bottles in all areas from October

The administration of Corbett Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand has decided to ban the use of plastic water bottles in all tourist areas from October this year as part of an initiative to make the reserve plastic and pollution free, forest officials said.

The announcement was made by Corbett Tiger Reserve director Saket Badola on the occasion of World Environment Day.

According to officials, the ban will come into effect with the start of the new tourist season after the monsoon period. Instead of plastic bottles, tourists visiting the reserve will be provided with drinking water in reusable glass bottles.

Badola said the initiative aims to reduce plastic waste and preserve the fragile ecosystem of the reserve.

“Tourists need clean drinking water while visiting Corbett and generally rely on plastic bottles for this purpose. Although arrangements are already in place to ensure that these bottles are taken out of the park and disposed of properly, the use of plastic has not been completely eliminated,” Badola added.

As part of the initiative, preparations are being made to set up a bottling plant within the Corbett Tiger Reserve. Officials said that pure drinking water will be bottled in glass bottles at the facility and offered to tourists at the entry gates before they start their safari.

Officials added that tourists will be allowed to carry bottles during jungle safaris and return them to designated collection centers when exiting the reserve.

To ensure smooth functioning of the system, the management plans to introduce a deposit recovery mechanism. “Tourists will be charged for drinking water and bottle at the entry gate. If the bottle is returned in good condition after the safari, the security deposit for the bottle will be refunded. This will encourage visitors to preserve and return the bottles while enabling their repeated use,” Badola said.

“The Corbett administration is striving to make the park area plastic-free for a long time. Most of the tourist areas are already largely plastic-free and the administration has achieved great success in this regard. We expect the reserve to become almost completely plastic-free from the new tourist season,” Badola added.