Champua: Plastic and polythene bags are back in circulation in the markets. Street vendors and petty businessmen are using plastic bags despite a ban order issued by Champua NAC in Keonjhar district beginning October 2, 2019.
After prolonged awareness campaign lasting for a couple of months, the civic body had banned single-use plastic products. But only two months after the ban, the violators are back to their old habits.
The NAC’s efforts to promote handmade paper and canvas bags have failed to yield the desired results.
Sources said after the imposition of ban on plastic use i.e. from October 2, the civic body had started raids and seized banned plastic products of below 50 microns to the tune of about three quintals and collected about lakhs of rupees in fines from the storekeepers and businessmen.
The NAC had also cleared tonnes of plastic wastage from every ward and residential area.
But two months after these bans and awareness campaigns, plastic has made its comeback to the NAC.
Violators have again flooded the markets with banned plastic products, especially thin polythene carry bags. Roadside eateries and food kiosks are supplying hot cooked food in thin plastic carry bags, while fruits, vegetables, non-vegetarian items and other retail items are being sold in polythene bags as they cost cheaper than prescribed permissible alternatives.
Champua being a fringe area of Keonjhar sharing borders with Jharkhand, traders from the neighbouring state are allegedly pushing polythene sales.
It was observed that people are hardly using the prescribed eco-friendly paper bags.
Intellectuals have suggested that polythene menace can be controlled to a great extent if the administration intensifies raids and undertakes massive awareness campaigns to instil civic sense among the people.
PNN
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