Himachal Pradesh will impose a ban on using polythene for packaging non-essential eatables, especially potato chips and candies, from July 1.
The ban, first of its kind in the country, comes in the wake of a Himachal Pradesh High Court order in January, imposing a blanket ban on polythene use in packaging non-essential eatables that the court said are junk food.
This means eatables like potato chips, cookies, candy, chewing gum, ice cream, chocolates and noodles would not be available in polythene packs. But essential items like milk and vegetable oils are exempted from the ban, an official said.
“There is a need for preventing degradation of environment,” a division bench of Justice Deepak Gupta and Justice Sanjay Karol had observed while hearing a petition on indiscriminate use of plastic.
The court directed the government to impose a blanket ban across the state from April 1 but the government pleaded to provide more time to the traders to clear their stocks.
The ban is likely to have wider ramifications as scores of multinational companies, which sell such eatables, will be impacted.”It is not that 100 percent biodegradable and compostable plastic and packaging material is not available in the market. It may increase the cost of the product. But then people indulging in the luxury of consumption of such consumable items, edible or otherwise, need to share the burden of costs,” the court said.
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no powerful candidate at hand, BJP grappled to find a suitable candidate who could have challenge the might of Singh, and had to field a youth candidate and four times MlA from Seraj Jai Ram Thakur against Pratibha Singh who was unanimous choice for Congress.
Initially, Thakur had openly gone on to say that he is not willing to contest against Pratibha Singh and BJP parliamentary board had to intervene to name him among the four names panel terming him as most suitable candidate.
Since the day of taking his charge as Chief Minister, Virbhadra Singh had kept his eyes on Mandi seat and had made four cabinet ministers and two chief parliamentary secretaries from the entire parliamentary constituency and entrusted them crucial responsibilities during the polls for mobilizing the voters.
Singh known of playing his political cards well, even promised to the people of Mandi during campaigning for by-poll, that one vacant post of cabinet minister will also be filled from Mandi district itself keeping the two MlA brothers of a royal family at toes and making them work for Congress.
In the last leg of campaigning and days before the rain fury hit the Kinnaur district, Virbhadra Singh openly declared that Pratibha Singh’s victory is certain but he is campaigning for the amount of lead which baffled the BJP leadership as uncertain voters were also likely to make up their mind for voting for a winning candidate.
Though low voter turnout in Mandi had made Virbhadra Singh little bit disappointed but he was sure of party’s win. After polling, he had said, “What can we do, people got busy with ploughing as it rained heavily the previous night of polling but still margin will be enough to ensure our win.”