Mumbai, June 25: Unhappy with the statewide plastic ban move, the plastic retailers association of Maharashtra state has reportedly threatened to go on strike from Wednesday. As per news reports, the association wants the government to postpone the ban till monsoon end. Moreover, they also want a buyback on plastic. They have threatened that if their demands are not fulfilled by Tuesday, they would go on a strike. (List of Plastic Items That Are Banned and Allowed to Carry)

Viren Shah, president, Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association (FRTWA), was quoted as saying, “We have got news of huge loses to the retailers especially the grocery stores and sweet shops, which necessarily need plastic to not just sell but also store the products in plastic bags. They need these especially during monsoon to stop the products like farsan (snacks) and sweets, from becoming moist. Most shops were shut due to the fear of Inspector Raj and penalties.”

He further stated that just like milk packets and dairy products, even grocery stores should be given the permission to buy back the plastic packaging from the public.

Just a day after the grace period ended, fines been imposed across the state, and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) collected Rs 3.5 lakh after penalising almost 87 shops and establishments.

The Mumbai civic body started imposing fines on using prohibited plastic items from June 23 onwards. The BMC plans to fine Rs. 5, 000 to first time offenders, Rs. 10, 000 to second time offenders and Rs 25, 000 for breaching the plastic ban for the third time. Alternatively, third-time offenders can also be made to serve a three-month jail time.

To implement the plastic ban successfully, the Mumbai civic body organised a three- day long exhibition in Worli's National Sports Club of India (NSCL) between June 22 to June 24. To educate and create awareness to reduce the number of single-use plastic from daily life, the civic body time has been holding plastic-free campaigns across Mumbai. After the ban has been imposed, the civic body successfully managed to collect around 14. 62 lakh kg of plastic, however, it is yet to find a mechanism to dispose of it.

Furthermore, the civic body also created a map for the citizens to help them locate the nearest plastic collection centre, where they can dispose of the plastic easily.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 25, 2018 05:55 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).