The Haridwar district administration raided several shops located along the banks of Ganga and Peeth Bazar in Jwalapur on Tuesday and found them flouting the ban on plastic imposed by the administration. The administration slapped penalties on a few of them.
The team headed by ADM lalit Narayan Mishra seized polythene and plastic items from the shop owners and the street vendors. The National Green Tribunal in a recent order had re-enforced the ban on plastic products.
It seems that the civic officials have pulled up their socks to act on the NGT’s order across the district. Teams have been formed at administration level for the successful implementation of the order through anti- polythene and anti-plastic drives being launched in the district in assistance with the health authorities. Meanwhile, the traders are being urged through meetings to abide by the ban.
ADM lalit Narayan Mishra conducted the unannounced raids after he found that plastic ban was being flouted by shops located along the banks of Ganga in Har-Ki-Pauri. Panic gripped the traders as the team reached Peeth Bazar near BHEl and started seizing polythene bags from the vegetable and fruit vendors. A fruit vendor Aslam said , “I would not be able to earn Rs 500 I parted with by way of the fine by selling fruits for the whole day. This is unfair. What the administration should do instead is to force the customers to bring their own bags. They do not buy from us if we do not give fruits wrapped in polythene bags and move to other vendors who satisfy them.”
DMHaridwar Deepak Rawat said, “I have asked the Haridwar Municipal Corporation to conduct raids in Peeth Bazar which is held twice a week and act against traders selling plastic.”“We have launched vigorous awareness campaign to desist the people from using polythene. Now it is time to launch relentless drives to stop the practice once and for all. Nobody would be spared the fine we are slapping,” said the DM, adding they are asking the wholesalers dealing with polythene to stop selling such items to the retailers. “They are also being penalized in course of regular raids launched by the administration’s teams,” said Rawat. He further said the shop owners found defying the NGT order are being made to cough up Rs 7000.
It is learnt that the task force formed under the ADM seized 15 kg of polythene from the Peeth Bazar on Tuesday. A few customers in the bazar have also been warned against asking the shop owners/ vendors giving items in polythene bags..
Notably, the NGT order had come in July two years ago on a complaint filed by environmentalist M C Mehta on the unabated pollution of Ganga. He had held the Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board, district administration and Municipal Corporation responsible for the river's pollution in his complaint.