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Tea stalls and small eateries are utilizing plastic cups; civic physique is just too busy with COVID-19 to implement ban
With the COVID-19 lockdown relaxed, single-use plastic objects, banned by the State authorities, appear to be flooding the markets from neighbouring States. Local our bodies have been too busy combating COVID-19 and have had no time to implement the ban.
From eating places to markets, banned plastic carry-bags, cups and straws have made a comeback. On January 1, 2019, the federal government banned single-use plastic objects. Since then, the native our bodies, particularly firms and municipalities, had performed searches, seized this stuff and fined these promoting them.
As enforcement was missing, the merchandise have regularly returned. “Yes, I have started using plastic cups,” mentioned S. Mariappan, a tea vendor on Old Mahabalipuram Road. “When I reopened my shop after the lockdown was relaxed, customers refused to have tea in glasses, worried about COVID-19. So I was forced to switch to plastic cups,” he mentioned. Several different tea stall house owners and even these promoting juices have embraced plastics. Many motels, primarily small eateries, are utilizing plastic cups.
On Sunday, plastic luggage have been discovered in lots of components of Chennai, together with in key areas like T. Nagar, Sowcarpet, Pondy Bazar, Saidapet and Koyambedu.
Vegetable distributors mentioned shoppers wished plastic carry-bags. “One of my regular customers, who usually carries a jute bag, has been insisting that I give a plastic bag. Since the market is crowded, he is worried about bringing his own bag. Customers can throw away the plastic bags once they reach home,” mentioned a vegetable vendor on Natesan Street.
A meat stall proprietor in Saidapet mentioned that after the 2019 ban, individuals introduced their very own containers and vessels, however now they wished rooster/mutton wrapped in plastic luggage. “I managed to source the bags from shops in Pondy Bazaar and Sowcarpet,” he mentioned.
Most store house owners utilizing the banned merchandise mentioned that native our bodies throughout the State had loads of different work due to the pandemic, and there was nobody to observe them.
‘Pandemic is priority’
“The government’s priority is COVID-19 and not plastics,” mentioned a dealer on Ranganathan Street, one of many busiest purchasing hubs in Chennai.
Asked how such enormous portions of plastic objects entered the market, S. Rakkappan, president of the Tamil Nadu Plastic Manufacturers’ Association, mentioned all factories that come below the affiliation had stopped making the banned merchandise. “These plastics that you see around are from the neighbouring States and Puducherry.”
Shopkeepers promoting the banned objects mentioned they have been sourcing them from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and areas close to Mumbai.
“There are a few units around Erode that send out these goods on lorries and tempos. With COVID-19, no one has time to monitor these vehicles,” mentioned a dealer from Pondy Bazaar. He mentioned it was not simply merchants, however even particular person shoppers have been shopping for plastics for his or her every day use.
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