Mumbai, June 24: On the first day of plastic ban in Mumbai, a total of 617 shops were inspected by the designated personnel of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Only 40 among the establishments inspected were found violating the orders, said Deputy Municipal Commissioner Nidhi Choudhari.

The civic body seized a total of 485.55kg of banned plastic in the inspections conducted today, she said, further adding that the BMC has deployed volunteers in all parts of the city to raise awareness and educate the masses about the ban order issued by the state government. (To check the full list of plastic items banned in Maharashtra, click here)

"It was heartening to see that many shops have completely moved to plastic alternatives. Our objective isn’t fining, it’s raising awareness," she said.

The plastic ban in Mumbai came into effect from Saturday, June 23. The offence will be heavily penalised, with first-time violators to be charged Rs 5,000, followed by Rs 10,000 for those caught using the banned plastic for a second time. On third violation, a fine of Rs 25,000 would be collected and/or 3-month imprisonment.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 24, 2018 04:56 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).