Urge people to drink water with hands while visiting hill shrines; avoid plastic bottles: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court on Friday asked the State government to urge devotees visiting the temples in Girnar Hill region to drink water with their hands and avoid using plastic bottles or other disposables [Amit Panchal vs State of Gujarat]..A division bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Aniruddha Mayee was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by advocate Amit Panchal who highlighted the poor facilities for sanitisation and disposal of both solid and liquid waste in the temples in the Girnar region. The bench noted that one of the reasons for the litter around the temple was use of disposables and plastic bottles in particular."What is the alternative to plastic bottle? We are not saying that people should stop consuming water or people should be stopped taking water together or not sell water. But there is a need to have a mechanism. We cannot let people throw plastic bottles in these areas," the Chief Justice observed.The bench said that one of the measures to avoid using a plastic bottle could be by providing drinking water facilities (through taps etc) on the approach road of the temple."Provide drinking water facilities on the way but do not use paper or plastic cups for it as they will be thrown away. We used to drink water with hand earlier and even in temples. So, you must force people to drink with hand. In fact, now doctors also say that use of hands for drinking water is better than use of plastic or other cups," the Chief Justice suggested..Further, the bench said the State must completely ban disposables and eatables in these areas."There is a need to ban plastic disposables. In fact ban all disposables be it plastic or thermocol everything should be completely banned. People should not use disposables in these areas and even if you are purporting some other kind of disposables, they will throw it around," the Court said.It also ordered the State to come up with some alternative to plastic bottles in the hill areas."People have a very impulsive tendency of throwing everything in a hilly area. I do not know what fun they get, may be seeing the bottle rolling down may give them some fun. But yes, this is a reality," Chief Justice Agarwal observed.The Court further suggested that the State can consider motivating local people to volunteer to ensure that visitors do not litter."People of the locality can be motivated to work as a voluntary force. They must be given this idea that it is not some region but their own house and no outsider can come and throw garbage in their house like this. Once such a spirit is instilled, they will make sure no one throws garbage," the bench said.The matter will be heard again after Diwali break of the Court.