After repeated reminders for not using the prohibited polythene bags and polystyrene materials in the city, officials of Municipal Corporation Dehradun (MCD) are all set to stop their entry through the entry points of the city. As per the information, the newly elected mayor Sunil Uniyal Gama is likely to write to the district magistrate (DM) S A Murugeshan and senior superintendent of police (SSP) Nivedita Kukreti, seeking suggestion on how to check the entry of the polythene and the polystyrene materials through the border areas of the city.
Queried over the matter, the mayor Sunil Uniyal Gama said, “With the ban on the use of polythene bags and polystyrene materials being in force, our team is engaged in seizing the banned materials from various parts of the city. I am going to write to the DM and the SSP in a couple of days, seeking more help to ensure that the banned materials do not enter the city.”
Dwelling on the matter, the senior municipal health officer RK Singh said, “Our special cleanliness drives have been going on in full swing across the city. We have printed nearly five thousand posters meant to create awareness among the people about the ill- effects of polythene bags and polystyrene materials. We have already pasted three thousands of them at various parts of the city and the remaining two thousand posters would be posted soon.”
Meanwhile, as part of the special cleanliness drive now on in the city, nearly 350 quintal polythene and polystyrene materials have been seized from several areas of the city. Besides, about Rs three lakh has been collected as fine while1655 people have been slapped with penalties over the 16 days of the drive till Friday.
When asked for more details about the cleanliness drive, a sanitation department officer said, “We are facing the people’s resistance when they are slapped with fines. They all know that using polythene bags or polystyrene material is banned. But they are still choosing to cling to their long-time habit. They are resisting changes.”
He further said, “The minimum fine we are taking is Rs 500 while the maximum is Rs 50,000, depending on the quantum of materials we seize. There are instances of a single shopkeeper being repeatedly slapped with fines.”