Numerous plastic items, including bottles and carry bags, have accumulated along the 20-odd tourist points in the 7.56 sq km-long hill resort. Large heaps of plastic are visible at the One Tree Hill, the Porcupine Point, the Malet Spring, the Echo Point, and Alexander Point, among other places.

The eco-sensitive Charlotte Lake, which provides drinking water to the entire hill station, has also not been spared. Its watershed, which has suffered considerable harm in recent years due to deforestation, is now littered with articles of plastic.

When there is heavy rainfall, most plastic remains in the catchment area find their way into the lake, contaminating the water. The plastic pollutants entering the lake could cause numeroushealth hazards for residents of Matheran, environmentalists pointed out.

The slopes on the bazaar side of the hill station, too, are dotted with carry bags and other plastic items.

According to Farhad Gimi, a member of the Matheran Bachao Samiti, the destruction caused to Matheran's exquisite ecology by plastic has been massive. However, he added, Matheran's Municipal Council is paying scant attention to disposing garbage, the hundreds of tonnes of accumulated plastic notwithstanding.

``During an exercise carried out a few months ago, no less than 10 gunny bags of plastic were collected along a path measuring about 2 kilometres from Olympia,'' said Gimi.

Already, the policies of some hoteliers have led to the wiping out of a lot of forest cover. Now, plastic is adding to the pollution, soil degradation and destruction of upland habitat.

Acres of forest land have been cleared for upgradation of three-star and five-star hotels, villas, swimming pools and for the provision of other recreationalfacilities, subjecting the imperilled forests to additional pressure.

However, the destruction caused by plastic is not going entirely unnoticed. One of Matheran's municipal councillors, Jimmy Lord, told Express Newsline that he would table a motion during the forthcoming session of the Hill Council recommending a ban on plastic. Banning plastic in Matheran is the only way to save the hill station's ecology for posterity, he pointed out.