Bhubaneswar: The Chilika Development Authority will enforce the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, to check pollution in the lake area.

The authorities conducted an awareness and cleaning drive at the Kalijai temple in the lake on Monday. Officials said the temple, spread over an area of 45 acres and built in 1717, had been declared as a plastic-free zone. "Entry to the temple with plastic materials has been prohibited, and we will monitor the ban in regular intervals. We will also take an awareness drive for tourists visiting the lake," said the authority's additional chief executive Sasmita Lenka.

The authority will involve motorboat associations and student volunteers to educate the tourists. "The boat operators will be asked to request the tourists not to litter the lake area. After the awareness campaign for few months, we will start penalising the violators. We will form several squads to patrol the lake and penalise the offenders," said Lenka. More than 1,000 boats are operating in the lake to ferry tourists.

Officials also said the plastic ban would make the lake a strong contender for world heritage site tag by Unesco. The lake, spread in three districts of Puri, Khurda and Ganjam, attracts more than five lakh tourists annually and the footfall is at its peak during winter.

The development body officials said the plastic ban would not only prevent pollution in the lake, but also prove beneficial for Irrawaddy dolphins - a Schedule-I animal under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. "Polythene bags, plastic bottles and snacks, which are thrown by the tourists to entice them, pose threat to the dolphins. Besides, accumulation of such waste at the bottom of the lake disturbs their habitat," said an official. The lake houses 155 Irrawaddy dolphins, according to the latest census conducted in February.