Vadodara: One of Gujarat’s oldest and largest public parks is facing an unusual threat—one it has never encountered in its 148-year history. Not weeds, pests or encroachment, but thousands of discarded plastic bottle caps are quietly endangering the city’s largest green space. Scattered across the sprawling lawns of Sayajibaug, these tiny pieces of plastic are becoming embedded in the grass and soil, contributing to long-term environmental degradation.Alarmed by the growing problem, the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) has launched a crackdown on littering and, for the first time, imposed a ban on single-use plastic inside the historic park.“Every day, thousands of visitors enter the park carrying plastic bags, sachets and bottles. Many carelessly throw away bottle caps and small plastic wrappers. These caps get lodged in the soil and remain there for years, gradually polluting the garden ecosystem,” said Mangesh Jaiswal, director of parks and gardens, VMC.Park officials said removing the tiny plastic caps has become a major challenge in their efforts to make Sayajibaug plastic-free. Despite repeated appeals to visitors to maintain cleanliness, bottle caps and plastic sachets continue to be tossed across lawns and landscaped areas. Until recently, sanitation workers spent a significant part of every morning collecting plastic waste from different corners of the park.Concerned about the environmental impact, the VMC has begun imposing fines on litterers while enforcing the ban on single-use plastic. “We started penalising people for littering a few days ago, and the results are already visible. Sayajibaug is noticeably cleaner now,” said Municipal Commissioner Arun Mahesh Babu.“We have prohibited single-use plastic in Sayajibaug. For now, we are appealing to visitors not to bring plastic bottles into the park. Those carrying them are being instructed to dispose of them only in designated dustbins. Our staff has intensified monitoring across the park,” Mahesh Babu told TOI.Civic officials also pointed out that plastic waste discarded within the park eventually finds its way into the Vishwamitri River, which flows through Sayajibaug, adding to the city’s broader environmental concerns.Checking at entry pointsTo enforce the new rules, civic authorities have started checking visitors’ bags at entry points to ensure that single-use plastic is not brought into the park. Over the past two weeks, more than 100 visitors have been fined for littering plastic and other waste instead of disposing of it in dustbins.
