Anti-poly drive ends in fiasco, single-use plastic back in the bazaar
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Anti-poly drive ends in fiasco, single-use plastic back in the bazaar

The concern for ecology does not seem to have percolated down to the grassroots level.

Anti-poly drive ends in fiasco, single-use plastic back in the bazaar

Greater Noida: Single-use plastic seems to have staged a comeback in the market undoing all the efforts of the Noida authority and residents of several societies across Gautam Budh Nagar to get rid of it.

The authority has been running a campaign against single-use plastic for the past several months. But the polythene bags, which can be found in use at several places in Noida especially the unorganised vegetable and fruits markets, defy the resistance the hazardous material.

With plastic becoming the new buzzword in India everybody is calling for about curbs on the use of single-use to contain its adverse impact on the environment. However, this concern for ecology does not seem to have percolated down to the grassroots level. If this was not the case, why then fruit and vegetable vendors are still seen openly using plastic with impunity.

A resident of Antriksh Golf Views took to Twitter to complain about the open defiance on Saturday.

Notably, the authority has also opened over 100 free Thela banks in different societies and 13 banks in the market area along with bartan (utensil) bank to curb the menace of single-use plastic. But no effort has been able to free the markets from plastic.

Talking to CitySpidey, a resident of Noida, Manju Anand, said, “I, for one, always avoid using plastic, but whenever I go shopping at my local market for grocery, I notice people taking these bags without a murmur. I think the Noida Authority should focus on providing alternatives to the vendors rather than the general public.

Ramesh, a street vendor at sector 50 told CitySpidey that though there are people who come with their own bags, invariably he uses 100 polythene bags every day to cater to the demand of many others who don't possess them.

Interestingly, while the initiatives for the ban have been underway for quite some years now, there has been a distinct change in the attitude of the people when it comes to using plastic especially by high-end shops or bigger vendors. 

Sushil Jain, president of Noida's Sector 18 Market Association alleged that the ban was a big scam in the market. While the Noida Authority says there is a ban, there isn't any notification from the state or the Central government, he explained.

He further added that as we understand that polythene bag above 50 microns is allowed, but the NA officers imposing penalty do not have any scale or instrument to measure the microns. 

We want to know that whether the notification banning and imposing penalties is from the Central or state government. And what is the amount of penalty and how is it decided as the officials are issuing challan between Rs 1,000 up to a lakh and still plastic is blatantly being used.