Daijiworld Media Network - Puttur (SP)

Beltangady, Jun 20: Dakshina Kannada zilla panchayat has begun to take strict action against shops which are opened on highways by the side of forests, which violate norms of cleanliness. As a first step, temporary shops which had mushroomed on both sides of the highway in reserved forest area near Periyashanti on national highway 75 have been evicted.

Almost all the shops and other commercial establishments that have been set by the roadside adjacent to forest region have cultivated the habit of throwing their waste into the forest. The officials believe that the action taken against the above shops will force the other shops against disposing of waste generated by them into the forest area.

Sometime back, citizens of Puttur had found that truckloads of waste was being thrown into the forest area. With the support of the panchayat development officer, the concerned were nabbed and handed over to the police.

Periyashanti happens to be the spot where tourists and travellers halt for sometime. A number of unauthorised shops had come up all along the highway. At Periyashanti in particular, all kinds of waste including plastic were being thrown into the forest, overlooking warning issued by the forest department. In some cases, people with political clout had come to the rescue of these shopkeepers.

After a social worker, Shashidhar, complained to the zilla panchayat chief executive officer, the official asked Puttur taluk panchayat executive officer to take steps. Kaukrady gram panchayat development officer served notices to owners of 14 shops and got them evicted.

Zilla panchayat chief executive offier, Selvamani, said that executive officers of all the taluk have been instructed to file cases in police stations in respect of people disposing off waste in public places and forests.