Banned polythene sneaks into shops BHADARWAH JULY29-- Despite a ban, the smuggling of polythene from other states is keeping authorities on toes in Bhaderwah and Doda . The seizure of huge quantity of polythene carry bags by the Municipal officers at Bhaderwah and Doda over past two months points towards this fact.Lack of coordination between the civic, police and the Pollution Control Board (PCB) gives a free run to inter-state smugglers. The smugglers reap huge profit by bringing polythene into the state.Over past two months , the Municipal Committee ,Bhaderwah ,Doda and Thatri seized huge quantity from various markets in the area .TOfficials said despite several measures taken by the government to stop the influx of polythene carry bags in the state, it is being smuggled from Punjab and Delhi to Jammu where from it supplied to Doda and others parts of the state ."There are reports that till Lakhanpur it is brought in vehicles and from there, on foot people carry into the state before it is sold to the traders. Some city businessman help in allowing it to enter illegally and conceal them in trucks," claimed a municipal official.Since 2009, when the High Court imposed a ban on the use of carry bags, keeping in view its environmental hazards, nearly 400 tonnes of polythene has been seized by the Pollution Control Board (PCB) and respective municipal corporations in whole state .A ban was imposed on 16 items of non-biodegradable material, including polythene, poly bags, nylon and thermocol, as per SRO-182 (ban on carrying polythene bags) under the Non-Biodegradable Material (Management, Handling, and Disposal) Act 2007 in 2009 and in pursuance of its SRO 122 issued later, delegates powers to different authorities to punish offenders."The question is how banned items are finding their way into the city despite so many checks. There is need to investigate the whole issue so that action could be taken against people who are involved in illegal dumping," said Bushan Parimoo, an environmentalist.ADC Doda Gulam Nabi Balwan who is also the administrator of all Municipal committees in Doda district said the MCs constantly checks the influx of banned polythene items in the city. "I think now we have better coordination with other agencies and efforts are being made to stop the entry of polythene into the state. There are several proposals, which have been discussed, which include taking help of the police.”
Posted on: Mon, 29 Jul 2013 10:55:23 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015