NOT THE SEA OF POPPIES BY AMITAV GHOSH BUT THE SEA OF PLASTIC BAGS The Bodgueshwar Jatra is over. What is left is the fringe entertainment like the giant wheel and a few stragglers among the merchants hoping to make an extra buck. But there is something more sinister, more noxious and more damaging left behind. Plastic bags all over the place. These plastic bags have been left by the shoppers and the stall keepers who did business at the Jatra. I refuse to believe that there is anyone in Goa, whether niz Goenkar or migrant who is not aware of the menace of plastic. This has been tom-tomed, drummed, shouted out from rooftops time and again. The TV clips, the video clips and posters all carry this message. Besides, this is being taught in schools. So ignorance is not an excuse for the mess you see in the visuals. So what is responsible for it? It is the typical who the hell cares attitude of our people. This attitude can only change if there are stringent fines for littering. Officially, plastic bags are banned in Mapusa. How then did the stall owners use the bags? The Municipal Inspectors or the concerned Government must be taken to task for this lapse. A suggestion to the Jatra Organizers, in future please keep volunteers to make sure that every stall owner has the area around his stall clean. Please above all, MAKE SURE THERE ARE BINS SO THAT THE SHOPPERS CAN THROW THE PLASTIC IN THE BINS. Let us hope that next year we will not see such ugly sights but then hope springs eternal in the heart of man.
Posted on: Sat, 25 Jan 2014 16:39:54 +0000
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