Plastic bags are still being used in the State despite the State Government having enforced a ban on it. Quizzed over the matter, Dehradun municipal commissioner Nitin Singh Badauria said on Wednesday that they are fully engaged in stopping the use of plastic bags in the city. “The result is discernible now. The figure involving the use is steadily coming down thanks to the initiatives we have taken. Besides, we have seen to it that bags below 40 microns are strictly banned across the city,” he added.
“We are getting deep into the menace to see that the ban proves effective. We are raiding the shops regularly to stop the use of the ones below 40 microns. Fines are being slapped on the violators and the amount of the fines are being fixed according to the size of the plastic bags being used,” he further said.
A fruit seller trading on Dispensary Road, Hamid said that they were selling fruits wrapping them in papers in deference to the order. “However, the buyers still asking for the fruits to be given them in plastic bags. But we are not giving in to the pressure,” he asserted.
Another fruit vendor from Aaraghar area, Brijesh said there are still some vendors who are selling things in plastic bags to the customers.
“Many times, fines have been slapped on them for violating the order. But things are still continuing,” he said.
He added that some people are seen dumping the domestic waste in plastic bags in their localities. “Police should be more active to eliminate the menace and, at the same time, a vigorous campaign should be launched to warn the people against using such bags in any form,” he added.