Tiger Hill, the famed sunrise-view point in Darjeeling perched at an altitude of more than 8,000 feet, has been declared a plastic-free zone by the state forest department.

Tourists and local residents alike will now need to deposit all plastic items at the entrance gate of the sanctuary.

The Darjeeling Wildlife Division has in fact declared the entire Senchel Wildlife Sanctuary, some 12km away from Darjeeling town, as a plastic-free zone. However, there are hardly any visitors to other places in the sanctuary except Tiger Hill.

S.S.S.S. Sherpa, the DFO of the Darjeeling Wildlife Division said that they were stressing on awareness programmes among people to implement the plastic-free initiative rather than imposing fines, at the initial stage.

The cycle rally in progress. Telegraph picture

“We are holding talks with various stakeholders like drivers, travel agents, tea sellers and even vendors selling puja items in front of the Senchel Devi temple to help us implement this initiative. Puja item vendors and tea sellers have already started selling and using plastic items,” said Sherpa. “We can think of fines at a later stage.”

Senchel Devi temple is a famous temple for the people of this region.

The forest department has also set up drop boxes at the entrance of Tiger Hill.

“Anyone carrying plastic items, or even food packets, will have to deposit the same at the entrance. They can collect the articles on their way back to the entrance,” said Sherpa.

During the tourist season, there is a huge rush among people to catch the sunrise. Local residents also go to Tiger Hill for picnics.

The forest department last Sunday organised a mountain bike rally from Jorebunglow to Tiger, a distance of some 4km, to spread awareness among people about the new rule and to keep the area clean.

The cyclists also organised a clean-up drive at Tiger Hill.

“We have tied up with various social organisations like Scavengers and TIEEDI (Take It Easy, Easy Does It) to clean up the area and also to spread awareness among people to keep the place clean and not litter,” said Sherpa.