The Dehradun district administration will once again enforce the implementation of the ban on polythene bags in the State capital. The district magistrate has said that the clean Doon clean campus will be resumed from Saturday apart from which the polythene ban will be enforced strictly.
It will be recalled that the ban on polythene bags of all dimensions was enforced in the State capital in March this year. In the initial phases the ban was enforced effectively with many quintals of the banned item being seized and many traders being penalised.
The use of polythene in Dehradun diminished substantially. However, due to the local bodies elections in April, the focus of the authorities was shifted to the polls and the use of polythene items resumed again. The disaster in June caused the authorities to shift their focus on relief measures which in turn led to the polythene ban becoming diluted as the use of the banned items rose sharply.
Talking to The Pioneer, the Dehradun district magistrate Dr BVRC Purushottam said that the district administration will now focus on effectively enforcing the prohibition. “We will also resume the Clean Doon, Clean campus campaign from Saturday. Polythene bags of all specifications are banned,” he said while responding to a question on confusion in the public about polythene bags of some specifications are not prohibited.
It is worth mentioning here that polythene bags comprise a considerable proportion of the more than 200 tonnes of solid waste generated every day in Dehradun. With the municipal authorities failing to ensure effective garbage disposal in the city and prevent improper dumping of garbage, polythene bags end up choking the drains which in turn causes water logging in many areas of the city during rains.