Puri: The enforcement squad of the city municipality here imposed a penalty of Rs 1 lakh on a trader after seizing around five quintals of banned polythene and plastic bags from him during a raid Tuesday.
Similarly, a sweet-shop owner was asked to pay a penalty of Rs 2,000 for possessing polythene bags weighing around 6 kg.
The state government has imposed ban on the sale and use of polythene bags in cities like Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Berhampur, Rourkela, Sambalpur and Puri. The shopkeepers and the common people have been permitted to use biodegradable polythene bags.
However, many traders and shopkeepers are still using plastic bags even though the ban came into force October 2, last year.
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Taking the issue seriously, district collector Balwant Singh had directed the civic body of the Holy City to take action on traders who were dealing in banned plastic bags.
Acting upon the collector’s order, the enforcement squad Tuesday raided several sweet stalls and other shops on both sides of the Grand Road.
“We seized around five quintals of polythene bags from a trader and imposed a penalty of Rs 1 lakh on him,” said city enforcement officer Shyamsundar Mahapatra.
