Ban goes up in smoke as use of polythene bags rampant in city

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, February 18

The use of polythene bags is going on unabated in the city despite the ban imposed on the same. Heaps of garbage that includes polythene in a large number has remained a serious concern in the city for the past many years.

Though efforts are being made by the Municipal Corporation Bathinda (MCB) to curb the menace, they have not succeeded in making the city a polythene-free zone. Despite awareness drives and raids on shops, use of polythene bag is on in various areas.

Even teams were constituted to issue challans to violator shopkeepers who keep or use polythene bags, but all has remained on papers only.

The polythene bags are being used by all shopkeepers in the city. The use is rampant among vegetable vendors and grocery shopkeepers. High-end stores have started charging Rs 12 for either a cloth bag or paper bag, which they have started as an alternative.

It poses a major risk to the environment and has become a Herculean task for the civic agencies to clean the city littered with poly bags.

Stray cattle are often seen feeding on heaps of garbage dumped in polythene bags. The menace has reached an alarming proportion due to the absence of an effective waste management and disposal system.

There are various laws to control the usage of plastic bags like the Punjab Plastic Bags Manufacture, Usage and Disposal Control Act-2011 and the Punjab Plastic Carry Bags (Manufacture, Usage and Disposal) Control Act-2005. The 2005 Act imposed a ban on polythene bags below 30 microns in width, having dimensions less than 8x12 inches or not complying with the specified colours.

A shopkeeper said: “Customers fail to bring their own bags and ask us for polythene bags. If we stop providing the same to them, our business will suffer.”He said the government should strictly ban the manufacturing of the polythene bags.

Sandeep Garg, a city resident, said the government should take the matter seriously for it was a grave issue and should be dealt strictly as it was also affecting the sewerage system in the city.

MCB Senior Deputy Mayor Tarsem Goyal said it was a serious issue, hence the polythene bags were banned by the state government as they were harmful for people. We have already constituted teams to check its usage in the city. He also appealed to residents to stop using them and make the city clean and green.