With the Municipal Corporation of Dehradun once again beginning to enforce the ban on polythene bags measuring less than 40 microns, some have termed this enforcement a joke and others have welcomed it, while some members of the business fraternity point at the advantages of using polythene bags.
Ashok, the owner of a clothes stall in Paltan Bazaar said, “It has been a year since I last used a polythene bag. Instead of polythene bags, we use the transparent bags in which our stock is packed.”
Another stall owner Anil said, “We are only using our remaining stock of polythene bags and will start using cloth bags from Friday. Banning polythene bags is good but it also causes inconvenience to the public. Firstly, polythene is waterproof and good for keeping our mobile phones and other items to prevent them from getting wet in the rain during the rainy season. Secondly, the alternative available-cloth bags are not spacious and cannot bare much weight,”
he opined. Meanwhile, Chukkhuwala resident Soni said, “The main cause of water logging in rainy season is polythene bags which choke the drains.Due to this the dirty drain water overflows and enters our homes. The authorities have taken the right step by enforcing the ban on polythene bags which would at least decrease the possibility of dirty rainwater entering our homes if the ban is enforced effectively,”she said. When Citizens for Green Doon chief coordinator Dr Nitin Pandey was asked about his opinion on the action being taken to enforce the ban on polythene bags in Dehradun he said that it was a joke.