The Zilla Parishad in Jalpaiguri has introduced a conservancy system to curb pollution at the tourist destinations in the district’s Malbazar and Kranti blocks.

On Friday, the Zilla Parishad authorities handed over two e-carts (battery-driven vehicles) to both blocks’ block development officers (BDOs).

These vehicles, sources said, will move into the private and government resorts in these two blocks and will collect garbage every day. There are over 100 such government and private accommodations in these two blocks.

“We are putting impetus on a systematic collection and disposal of garbage from these resorts to check pollution in the areas. The waste would be collected and recycled in the solid waste management units run by the panchayats,” said Raunak Agarwal, the additional district magistrate of the Zilla Parishad.

The initiative, he said, will help keep popular tourist sites like Lataguri, Batabari, and Kranti clean.

So far, there has been no proper garbage disposal system at the resorts in these two blocks. Time and again, nature lovers and wildlife conservationists have expressed concern over the absence of a conservancy system, as it can pollute the forests and the fringe areas.

Previously, Mahua Gope, the karmadhyaksha of the public health department of the Zilla Parishad, said that a cart was handed over to tourist accommodations in
Matiali block.

“We hope the system will effectively work to keep the resorts as well as the surrounding areas clean,” she said.