Kannur: Tourism Minister Mohammed Riyas, who posted a picture of quail egg fry served on a thermocol plate on his Facebook page, was in for a major embarrassment when an employee of the Suchitwa Mission reminded him of the violations involved in the act.

The Minister had captioned the picture, "Have you ever had quail egg fry with hot tea from the Thamarassery Pass?" The post, meant to promote tourism in Wayanad, garnered many likes and comments, but it was the comment by K R Ajayakumar, an enforcement officer with the garbage disposal management squad under the Department of Local Self-Governance in Kannur, which drew widespread attention.

Ajayakumar’s comment begins by raising a doubt on whether the plate in the picture was made of thermocol and politely pointed out that serving food on thermocol plates violates a government ban in place for years. He explained that using single-use materials like thermocol could result in a fine of Rs 10,000 for first-time offenders, rising to Rs 25,000 for repeat offence. A third violation could lead to a Rs 50,000 fine and cancellation of the vendor’s license.

He also raised concerns about the disposal of the thermocol waste and noted that the hotel might be dumping the material after use, which is hazardous to health, too, somewhere along the Thamarassery Pass.

"Thermocol cannot be processed like bio-waste, nor can it be burned. When mixed with food waste, it becomes unsuitable for recycling. It is the responsibility of the vigilance squads in each local body to seize such single-use products and impose fines. There is also an enforcement squad at the district level," Ajayakumar wrote. He also urged immediate action from the authorities to realise the goal of a litter-free Kerala.